19th Century Spain: Social and Economic Transformations
Economic and Technological Changes
Agriculture and Land Ownership
Latifundio: Large properties, predominantly in Castilla La Mancha, Extremadura, and Andalusia, that failed to improve productivity.
Legal and Financial Developments
Mon-Santillan Law (1845): Law enacted by moderate governments facing fiscal reform. It established the basis for general contributions on goods, industrial products, and consumption, but not on labor.
Law on Banks and Credit Societies (1856): Considered the starting point of the modernization of the Spanish banking system. This law allowed the coexistence of banks with old regime institutions.
Mining Act of 1868: Marked the end of rigid regulation of mining concessions and the liberalization of the sector, which started mass exploration of Spanish deposits.
Industrialization and Trade
Free Trade: Economic policy that removed barriers to international trade and postulated free movement of goods.
General Law on Railways (1855): Act approved for the development of the rail network in Spain.
Màquina de Vapor (Steam Engine): A Catalan textile mechanization process that began in 1830.
Protectionism: Economic policy that restricts the entry of foreign products that compete with national ones.
Urban Development
Urban Reform Plans: Consisted of increasing the size of some cities, demolishing medieval walls, and widening streets.
Cerdà Plan: One of the first urban widening projects, implemented in Barcelona.
Social and Political Movements
Social Unrest and Labor Movements
Luddite Movement: Movement of English origin that manifested against the industrial system through spontaneous and violent destruction of machines, burning of factories, etc.
Black Hand: Clandestine anarchist association active in Andalusia during the 19th century, attributed with various attacks.
Workers and Trade Unions: Social movements that demanded better pay and employment programs for the disadvantaged and denounced capitalism as an unjust social system.
Mutual Aid Societies or Friendly Societies: Associations that provided workers with a small fee to secure aid in case of unemployment, illness, or death.
Selfactinas (Self-acting Mules): New spinning machines that, by saving labor, led to the first general strike of 1855.
Montjuïc Trials: Trials in which five anarchists were convicted and executed.
Worker Solidarity and CNT: Anarcho-syndicalist organizations that would be created at the turn of the 20th century.
Political Developments and Ideologies
Movi. Valencia (Valencian Movement): Emerged in the second half of the 19th century within an incipient bourgeoisie that promoted the defense of Aragonese civil rights.
Nationalism: Ideology of a people aspiring to be an autonomous entity.
Regionalism: Doctrine advocating for regional governance within a state.
Rexurdimento (Resurgence): Galician literary movement whose most influential figure was the poet Rosalía de Castro.
Renaixença (Renaissance): Catalan cultural movement aimed at the recovery of the Catalan language. The language became a symbol of Catalan identity, exemplified by the Floral Games. Key figures included Aribau (Ode to the Homeland) and Jacint Verdaguer.
Romanticism: Cultural and artistic movement with core values such as love of freedom and exaltation of subjective feeling. Romantic artists claimed artistic freedom, rejected classical art standards, and proclaimed nationalism.
Pact of El Pardo: Agreement between Conservatives and Liberals after the death of King Alfonso XII.
Peace of Zanjón (1878): Signed as a result of military action and negotiation with Cuban insurgents.
Puxerazo (Rigged Elections): One of the main methods of electoral manipulation used during the Bourbon Restoration in Spain to allow agreed-upon alternation between the Liberal and Conservative parties.
Universal Male Suffrage: Expanded the electoral roll from 800,000 to about 5,000,000 men, granting voting rights to all men aged 25.
Sufragio Censitario (Census Suffrage): Restricted voting rights to the portion of the population registered in an electoral roll.
Sagasta: Civil engineer and Spanish politician, member of the Liberal Party, and several times president of the government.
Paul Lafargue: Son-in-law of Karl Marx, who promoted internationalist and Marxist positions in Madrid.
Social Classes and Demographics
Infant Mortality: Demographic indicator that measures the number of deaths in a population of children under 1 year (sometimes measured under 5 years).
Transoceanic Migrations: Emigration of people overseas or to other continents.
Mariano Fortuny: Meticulous painter of high aesthetic value. His works reflected both folkloric themes (e.g., The Vicar) and exotic ones (e.g., The Odalisque).
Patron: Owner of an industrial establishment who employed laborers for a wage, usually low.
Urban Population: Segment of the population living in localities with more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Proletariat: Hired labor that emerged with modern industry.
Liberal Professionals: Divided into three groups: those related to law, construction and property, and health.
Service Workers: Employees who blurred the lines between the middle and lower classes, such as bank employees and dependents.
Steam (Steam-powered Textiles): Name given to textile factories that used steam power. They were located in industrial districts of cities, preferably near train stations, to facilitate coal supplies.
Political Systems and Practices
Turno Pacífico (Peaceful Turn): Alternation of the two dynastic parties in government formation. The participation of each party depended on the king’s decision based on political crises.
Social and Economic Doctrines
Utopian Socialism: Doctrine that sought to create egalitarian societies with collective ownership, equitable distribution of wealth, and an end to the injustices of liberal society. Leading thinkers of this doctrine included Saint-Simon, Fourier, and Cabet.