Labor Movements & World War I Origins in Spain
7th Labor Movement: Anarchism and Marxism
Industrial society disadvantaged those who could not access property and had to exchange labor for a wage. The industrial or agricultural proletariat found a vehicle for expression in trade unions and new social ideas.
7.1 The Beginnings of Unionism
The limited Spanish industrialization meant a relatively small number of workers. In the mid-nineteenth century, there were approximately 150,000 workers, with 100,000 in the Catalan textile industry.
The earliest forms of protest had a Luddite character, including events in Alcoy where looms were destroyed, and the burning of the Bonaplata factory, one of the first to install a steam engine.
Soon, workers saw the need to create organizations to defend their rights: Syndicates. In 1840, the first union was founded in Barcelona: the Association of Weavers. Its goals were to decrease working hours, increase wages, and secure the right to form workers’ associations. Employers reacted negatively to these initiatives and banned Syndicates.
During the progressive biennium, workers experienced great expansion through greater government permission. In 1855, the first general strike took place in Barcelona as a reaction against the attempt to introduce new machinery.
During the six-year democratic period, the ideas of the First International came to Spain, creating the Spanish Federation of the International Workers’ Association. Marxism and anarchism were distributed in Spain, with anarchism eventually becoming the majority ideology.
7.2 Anarchism’s Influence
Anarchism strongly rooted itself among the workers and peasants of Catalonia and Andalusia. In the late nineteenth century, anarchism advocated for the formation of autonomous groups to undermine bourgeois and capitalist society. Numerous attacks occurred, and society entered a spiral of violence.
The proliferation of attacks by anarchist groups gained momentum, opposing violence with unions founded with the goal of leading workers toward social revolution. The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) labor union became the largest in Spain.
7.3 The Rise of Socialism
Marxism had greater influence among the proletariat and some middle class in Madrid, the Basque Country, and Asturias. Marxists founded the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and promoted the creation of a socialist union, the General Workers’ Union (UGT).
Unlike the anarchists, who saw themselves as apolitical, socialists defended the election of parliamentary deputies. They intended for workers to defend workers and to obtain favorable laws for their interests.
Despite universal suffrage opening new expectations, the influence of socialism in Spain grew slowly, and the PSOE did not get a deputy until 1910.
5th Causes of World War I
World War I (WWI) developed between 1914 and 1918. The causes of this war originated in the late nineteenth century.
5.1 Colonialism and Nationalism
Among the causes of conflict emerged:
- The rivalry between the colonial powers. The conflict between rival empires had its preferential scenario in Morocco. Germany sought to impose itself on France and Great Britain.
- Tension almost caused a war, which was avoided in principle, but it remained latent and contributed to the outbreak of WWI.
- The exaltation of nationalism. Germany and France confronted each other since the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, which meant the loss of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany. Both nations wanted to lead European continental hegemony and saw the other as its enemy.
- Germany and Britain also had rivalry in maintaining strong maritime routes and trade.