19th Century Spanish Social Classes and Movements
2 The Popular Classes in 19th Century Spain
The term “agrumanos classes” referred to the socially disadvantaged groups during the liberal revolution in Spain. This included traditional artisans, farmers, poor laborers, and the emerging proletariat brought about by industrialization.
2.1 Artisans and Urban Groups
The urban lower classes primarily worked in service sectors. Women often found employment in domestic service, with approximately one-quarter of the female population working in this field, enduring long hours and low wages. Additionally, many women worked as laundresses, ironers, seamstresses, or in arms manufacturing.
In 1830, skilled craftsmanship remained significant in Spain. The census recorded various trades such as carpentry, blacksmithing, and shoemaking. Urban growth and the new liberal state structure led to a concentration of service workers in cities.
2.2 The Situation of the Peasantry
The peasantry experienced diverse and complex circumstances during this period. The dissolution of the manor system and land confiscation did not significantly alter land ownership. In regions like Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia, the old gentry solidified their control over properties they previously held limited rights to. Land ownership became concentrated in the hands of a few, particularly those who did not work the land themselves.
This historical process created various situations in rural Spain. It became difficult to distinguish between small landowners with minimal land, tenant farmers, sharecroppers, and landless laborers.
Farmers generally remained subject to patron-client relationships. Religious beliefs, personal networks, and traditional ways of life persisted.
2.3 The Landless
The number of agricultural laborers and porters increased considerably in the first half of the 19th century, along with their proportion of the total population. This was due to population growth among day laborers and small farmers who, burdened by debt, succumbed to the demand for land from wealthier farmers.
2.4 The Appearance of the Proletariat
The origins of the working class are tied to the industrialization process that unfolded in Spain throughout the 19th century. The emergence of modern industry introduced a work organization distinct from the old guild system. The new factories employed wage laborers, initially called “operators” and later “proletarians.” Their numbers were still relatively small in the first half of the century.
Factory owners purchased the labor of workers in exchange for wages, which barely covered food, clothing, and housing. Working hours ranged from 12 to 14 hours in dark, damp, and poorly ventilated environments. Living conditions were extremely poor, resulting in a low life expectancy for workers. In mid-century Barcelona, the average lifespan of a worker was only 19 years.
2.5 The Popular Uprisings
The rise of the wage-earning population in rural areas created significant social problems. Conflicts and revolts were frequent throughout 19th-century Spain, particularly in Andalusia. Initially, these were spontaneous demonstrations of rebellion.
From the 1830s onward, peasants in former lordships filed complaints, initiated lawsuits, and refused to pay rent.
The first worker demonstrations, starting in the 1830s, were reactions against mechanization. However, workers soon realized that the issue was not the machines themselves but the unequal distribution of profits and wages.
3 The First Social Movements
Spain’s limited industrialization meant that the number of workers was lower compared to other European industrialized societies. The existence of two million agricultural workers and vast land ownership inequalities led to significant peasant unrest.
3.1 The Beginning of Organized Labor
The first trade unions emerged in Catalonia. The first union in Spain, the Weavers’ Society, was founded in Barcelona in 1840.
These early unions were federations of workers from various trades. They advocated for better wages and working conditions and also functioned as mutual aid societies. Workers paid dues to support a fund that provided wages during illness, layoffs, or strikes.
3.2 The Expansion of Unionism
During the Biennium Progresista (1854-1856), social unrest increased, and the labor movement expanded to other parts of Spain. Labor conflicts arose in cities like Granada and Madrid. The Biennium marked the beginning of class-based unionism and solidified the strike as an effective tool for workers.
The first general strike in Spain took place in Barcelona during this period. It demanded freedom of association, a fixed work schedule, and the establishment of a joint committee of workers and employers to resolve labor disputes.
3.3 The Andalusian Agrarian Revolts
Unequal land distribution and the increasing proletarianization of the peasantry led to the radicalization of peasant movements. Peasant uprisings often involved illegal land occupations.
In 1855, a significant land occupation movement occurred in Andalusia, Aragon, and Castilla. Six hundred peasants revolted in Loja, and uprisings spread to forty-three villages in the provinces of Cadiz and Malaga, forming armed and unarmed peasant armies.