19th Century Spanish Social and Demographic Transformations
Demographic Growth and Migration
During the 19th century, Spain experienced significant population growth, increasing by 80%. This growth was tempered by a high mortality rate (27% in 1900) due to poor sanitation, famine, infant mortality, and epidemics like yellow fever and cholera. The birth rate, however, remained high throughout the century, resulting in a low vegetative growth rate, characteristic of the Old Regime demographic model. This model began to shift after the 1885 cholera epidemic.
Significant migratory movements also characterized this period. Regions with high emigration included Galicia, the Canary Islands, Andalusia, and Valencia. Primary destinations were Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela.
Internal migration, specifically the rural exodus, accelerated in the latter half of the 19th century. Farmers migrated to larger, primarily Mediterranean, towns. Spain remained largely rural, with the exception of Catalonia, where industrialization spurred urban concentration.
The Rise of Class Society
The 19th century witnessed a transition from a stratified society to a class-based one, organized around wealth. At the top were the upper classes, an alliance between the old nobility and the newly enriched bourgeoisie. Below them were the middle classes and a large mass with limited economic power.
The old nobility maintained its status through the acquisition of desamortizado goods (confiscated church and common lands). The bourgeoisie comprised bankers, industrialists, major traders, large landowners, and high-ranking state officials. Distinct bourgeois groups emerged: one focused on industry in Barcelona and another on trade and finance in Madrid.
The middle classes, or productive classes, included a rural and an urban segment. Officials constituted a particularly influential group within the urban middle class.
The lower classes comprised the majority of the population, encompassing rural and urban laborers. Living conditions for this group saw little improvement. Many worked in the service sector, and a substantial number of artisans also struggled to survive.
The excluded classes represented a diverse group whose commonality was their exclusion from the production system. They relied on charity, begging, or crime. This group included beggars, paupers (widows, homosexuals), vagrants, and rogues.
The Genesis of the Labor Movement
The Spanish labor movement unfolded in two stages. Until 1868, it remained limited due to the country’s low industrialization. After 1868, civil unrest grew, influenced by anarchism and socialism. Working conditions were harsh, with workdays ranging from 12 to 14 hours (sometimes 24), later reduced to 10. Malnutrition was also prevalent.
The first labor unions emerged in Catalonia. However, an early labor conflict occurred in Alcoy (Alicante) in 1821, involving the destruction of spinning machines. Similar Luddite actions took place in Barcelona in 1835, when workers stormed the Bonaplata brothers’ textile factory.
This fight against machinery marked the first strike in Spanish labor history. The first workers’ congress, held in Barcelona in June 1870, established the Spanish Regional Federation (FRE) within the International Workingmen’s Association (IWA), aligned with Bakunin’s ideas.
During the Restoration, anarchist and socialist labor organizations developed. The 1887 Associations Act, passed by the Sagasta government, recognized freedom of association, leading to the founding of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) in Madrid (founded in 1879 by Pablo Iglesias) and the UGT (General Workers’ Union) in 1888.
Anarchist ideas gained significant traction, particularly in Catalonia and Andalusia. Various anarchist currents emerged, including anarcho-syndicalism, propaganda of the deed (advocating violence), and libertarian communism (inspired by Kropotkin, promoting social ownership of the means of production, freedom, and equality).
A third trend was Catholic unionism, which sought to improve working conditions through paternalistic employer-employee relationships. Father Vicent was the founder of the first Catholic unions, the Catholic Workers’ Circles.
Throughout the 19th century, workers fought for rights such as association, expression, strike, and social security. The right of association was recognized in 1887, but other rights were not fully realized until the early 20th century. Until then, many union activities were criminalized and harshly repressed.