Spanish Society and Education Transformation: 1875-1902
Spanish Society and Mentality: 1875-1902
Society and Mentality
The society of Spain during the Restoration has been characterized as a dual society in which two very different worlds coexisted, with a rather weak relationship between them:
- A vast agricultural interior with subsistence lifestyles, very backward, and isolated.
- A few industrial areas where a modern society was slowly emerging. These areas were located mainly on the periphery, with the exception of Madrid.
In general, poverty was rampant. The very low incomes of most of the population prevented consumption and savings, hindering industrial development and social modernization.
The power bloc was formed by a haute bourgeoisie that formed the triangle of steel in the Basque Country, Catalan textile entrepreneurs, and Castilian cereal producers.
Society in the Farming Sector
During the period of the Restoration, these social groups could be distinguished in rural areas:
- An upper-class land oligarchy, predominantly in New Castile, Extremadura, and Andalusia.
- Lower middle classes, made up of middle-owners.
- Landless farmers, who experienced intermittent unemployment and received very low wages. This broad mass of people suffered from poor nutrition, lack of hygiene and sanitation, and the lack of elementary culture, with enormous rates of illiteracy.
Because of this social structure, social unrest was regularly violent and harshly repressed by the authorities.
Urban Society
The slow mining and industrial development led to the slow emergence of a more modernized society in certain areas of the country:
- In the Basque Country, with a preponderance of the steel industry and the most prosperous banking in the country.
- In Catalonia, whose textile industry accounted for the majority of Spanish industrial supply.
The Catalan bourgeoisie had based its economic success, in addition to their drive and business dynamism, on the protectionism of the national government, which allowed it to flourish without having to face foreign competition.
Next to the industrial and financial bourgeoisie in the cities was a complex social structure:
- A mixed middle class which, together with the main advocates of democratic and republican positions, included a broad nonpartisan mass attached to traditional habits.
- Among the working classes, a majority mass of artisans linked to traditional jobs and a growing number of workers who were beginning to organize politically and organizationally.
Education
After a period in which there existed wide freedom for professors at the universities during the Democratic Sexenio, the Restoration meant the establishment of rigid censorship against any demonstration against the monarchy and Catholic dogma. The shock to the faculty was immediate; some resigned their positions, others were dismissed.
Giner de los Rios, one of these professors, founded the Free Institution of Education in 1876 as a private and secular institution. The institution, heiress of the postulates of Krausism in Spain, introduced cutting-edge pedagogy, seeking comprehensive training, full individual freedom, and encouraging scientific curiosity, anti-dogmatism, and a critical attitude.
However, what prevailed during the Restoration was traditional teaching based on outdated and uncritical methods, subject to supervision by the Catholic Church. Secondary education was limited to 50 schools in Spain, for the children of the richest families.
This situation of the education system led to a considerable lag in scientific research.