Spain’s 19th Century Transformation: Economic, Social, and Political Change
Spain’s 19th Century Transformation
Economic and Social Reforms
The Spanish population increased throughout the 19th century, though less than in most developed countries. Lower mortality and a high birth rate explain this. Most of the rural population remained in farming, which underwent profound reforms. These included the abolition of the seigneurial regime, primogeniture, and significant confiscations under Mendizábal and Madoz. This liberalized agriculture, allowing land to trade freely and fostering market-oriented capitalist agriculture. Most land became privately owned.
The major economic transformation was the secularization of church property, beginning under Mendizábal and completed by Madoz. This involved the expropriation and sale of church and municipal assets. The goals were:
- Financial: To pay the state’s debt and fund the Carlist War.
- Political: To expand liberalism’s social base among the purchasers of the confiscated property.
- Social: To create a middle class of peasant proprietors.
While the reforms didn’t solve the public debt, they boosted liberalism’s popularity. However, they also widened the gap between liberal and Catholic public opinion. Most assets were bought by nobles and wealthy bourgeois, leaving poor farmers unable to compete. This increased social inequality, as many poor farmers faced higher rents from the new owners.
This explains the nobility’s support for liberalism and the illiberal (Carlist) opposition among many negatively affected farmers. The church’s economic power was dismantled, although the state pledged financial subsidies. Madoz’s confiscations, mainly affecting municipal lands, didn’t yield positive results; they ruined municipalities, failed to solve the debt problem, and harmed the poorest, who lost access to communal lands.
Despite flaws, the Mendizábal and Madoz confiscations radically changed Spanish agriculture. However, technical backwardness and unequal land distribution remained major problems.
Industrialization and Modernization
Spain’s industrial revolution, unlike Britain’s, was localized in Catalonia and the Basque Country. Factors contributing to this delay include:
- Shortage of coal and raw materials
- Technological backwardness
- Dependence on foreign capital
- Loss of colonial markets
Railway expansion was crucial for modernization. Spain lagged behind, with its first line (Barcelona-Mataró) built in 1848 (Cuba’s first line, Havana-Guines, was built in 1837). The General Law on Railroads addressed financial difficulties and state debt. In 1856, the Bank of Spain was created, gaining a paper money monopoly by 1874. The peseta became the new currency in October 1868.
Social and Political Change
The 19th century saw the decline of the estate system and its replacement by a class society based on property rights and equality before the law. This increased social mobility. A new dominant group emerged: the gentry, comprising the landed oligarchy and high-ranking state and military officials. A smaller urban middle class also developed. The rural population (landowners, tenants, and laborers) constituted the majority, with over half in rural areas. A small industrial working class also emerged, estimated at 150,000 in 1860, over half in Catalonia.
The Rise of the Labor Movement
Mutual aid societies emerged from 1830, along with Luddite-like protests (e.g., the 1835 conflict at”El Vapo” factory in Barcelona). These early labor movements were repressed. Political freedoms during the Sexenio (1868-1874) boosted the labor movement. The International Workingmen’s Association (IWA) was established in London in 1864, with both Marxist and Bakuninist followers. The IWA’s Spanish section was dominated by anarchist ideology, particularly in Catalonia. Paul Lafargue’s arrival spread Marxist ideas, leading to the creation of a small Madrid group that later formed the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party).