13.1 full story
1.Crecimiento demographic and migration: The Spanish population was characterized throughout the nineteenth century by three aspects: “The slow population growth. Compared with other European countries, the Spanish population grew at a reduced rate, without double in one hundred years, since it went from just over 11 million inhabitants (1800) to just over 18 million (1900). A moderate population growth reveals the economic backwardness of Spain for the European countries that industrialized in the century. “The survival of ancient demographic model. Spain until the beginning of the twentieth century a high rate of mortality (29 ‰ in 1900) birth and a moderate (34 ‰ in 1900). There was also a high rate of infant mortality(29 ‰ in 1900), almost the highest in Europe. The causes of high mortality were due to economic backwardness (low agricultural productivity, terrible sanitary conditions, inadequate transport), the periodic subsistence crises, hunger and epidemic diseases (yellow fever, cholera) and endemic (typhus, measles, smallpox, etc.).. Spanish birth was lower than that of other European countries, this fact is explained by the decline in marital fertility and therefore the number of children, throughout the nineteenth century. “The existence of migration movements. Before 1880 and there was a remarkable flow of migrants to North Africa (Algeria). But more importantly, net migration and emigration to America between 1882 and 1899, amounted to one million people, reaching their highest levels between 1900 and 1914. The factors favoring this migration legislation were undoubtedly influenced by theeconomic overpopulation (negative correlation between population density and economic development) which eliminated legal barriers to emigration and the agrarian crisis of the century / / There was also a modest growth due to urban migration movement from the countryside to a destination to the city, caused by the difficulties of rural life rather than the weak attraction of the industry of towns. While major urban centers were being configured, such as Barcelona, Madrid and, later, in the Basque Country and the Coast Peninsular Spanish population remained in 1914, largely rural. One exception was Catalonia, with an urbanization rate higher than the rest of Spain and similar to that of more developed countries.
2. Economic structures-2.1El agrarian problem:In agricultural backwardness had very prominent distribution of land ownership. Owners of large estates (Castilla, Extremadura, Andalusia) were risk averse and very little interest in the efficient cultivation of their lands. Thus, in these areas were consolidated living conditions close to those of subsistence for the vast majority of the population / / At the same time, in the north and in Galicia Submeseta the small size of farms and the poor quality of the land in the first case, limited the capacity to save small farmers, forced emigration of many of them and prevented increase efficiency in farming to become competitive / / This path generally favored by high tariff protection approved since 1891, consolidated as the main cereal crop of the Spanish countryside, although its price was more expensive than in many other countries (50% higher) / / Despite this, other crops (vineyards, olive and citrus) had a more dynamic path, although the changes were not sufficient to promote the start of the transition to industrialized society. 2.2. The exploitation of mineral resources: Between 1874 and 1914 saw the massive exploitation of rich mineral deposits of the subsoil Spanish. But their removal was very little economic impact. The two most important mining activity in this period were coal and iron ore. In the first case, the increase in production was inseparable from the protection afforded by all the public sector. In contrast, expansion of iron mining contributed, along with tariff exploitation, to strengthen the industrialization of the Basque Country / / The mine expansion is explained by three factors: increasing demand for these products; Technical advances in cheaper operating costs of extraction, and the new mining legislation marked the end of a rigid regulatory concessions and extensive liberalization of the exploitation of deposits. As a result, the number of concessions to exploit the deposits grew dramatically from 1870 to 1913, reaching sales of metals and minerals to be almost one third of total exports / / coal mining. The area was more development was Asturias. Poor quality coal was not a disadvantage as tariffs were high. But when the tariff of 1869 liberalized the sector, the competitiveness of indigenous coal disappeared. Thereafter, the marked increase in the extraction was inseparable from state aid and, despite their higher prices, between 1895 and 1935 production quadrupled Asturias / / The mining of iron.The Bessemer converted dramatically stimulated the Spanish ore demand due to its special characteristic of being a phosphorus-free mineral (iron Basque). The weak domestic demand meant that the vast majority of the ore was exported. This made Spain the biggest exporter of iron in Europe.