Economic Transformation and Agrarian Change in 19th-Century Spain
Transformation of Economic Disentailment: Process and Agrarian Change
Confiscation is the term for the sale of assets, primarily belonging to the Church and town halls, carried out by the State. These assets were converted into national property and subsequently sold at public auction, with the revenues primarily used to pay off public debt. The first major confiscation was completed in 1837 by Mendizabal, targeting Church property, and raising four billion reales.
During the 19th century, Spain attempted to undergo its own industrial revolution, modernize, and transform its economic structure, which was largely based on agriculture. The Industrial Revolution in Spain occurred primarily in two regions:
- The Basque Country
- Catalonia
Catalonia had a strong musical tradition, and its wool industry was significant. However, it was the cotton sector that prospered most, mirroring developments in England. This growth was fueled by an enterprising bourgeoisie who invested their capital in modern machinery. England was also favored by state protectionism, allowing Catalan textiles to be sold throughout Spain without foreign competition. The presence of ports in Barcelona, facilitating the import of goods, further aided Catalan industrial growth. The wool industry was concentrated in Sabadell and Terrassa, benefiting from their proximity to Barcelona’s capital and technical expertise.
The other industrialized territory was the Basque Country, where the steel industry flourished. This sector required high-quality coal to be transformed into coke. For this reason, early attempts in other regions failed due to a lack of high-quality coal. The first stage of the steel industry in Spain was in Andalusia (Malaga), using charcoal, but it failed due to deforestation. A second stage was established in Asturias, utilizing Asturian coal, primarily in Mieres and Langreo. However, this did not flourish because the coal was scarce and of poor quality. The third stage emerged in Biscay. Iron ore from Biscay was exported to England, and returning ships brought back high-quality English coal, leading to the construction of blast furnaces in Bilbao.
The second confiscation occurred during the Bienio Progresista (Progressive Biennium) under Queen Isabella II’s reign, lasting almost from 1855 to 1867. This involved selling municipal assets and remaining Church properties. It raised approximately 5 billion reales, used to pay public debt and support railway construction. Around 10 million hectares of arable land in Spain were sold, out of a total of approximately 50 million hectares. The size of the landholdings remained largely unchanged, as the buyers were wealthy individuals, not bourgeois farmers. Consequently, there was no significant land reform, and large estates (latifundios) persisted.
Agricultural yields did not increase due to the failure to adopt modern techniques and the overprotection of agricultural products. This allowed landowners to make substantial profits despite the low return on capital from their estates. Because of this, the capital that could have been applied to industrial development, as happened in England, was instead tied up in land ownership.