Railroad and Telegraph: Revolutionizing 19th Century Spain
The Communications Revolution: Railroads in Spain
The slow emergence of the railroad in the mid-nineteenth century, coupled with Spain’s complicated orography, absence of navigation channels, and poor road network, made the installation of a rail network imperative. This network would ensure coordination of the national market, enable a centralized state, and facilitate the mobility of people. The railroad arrived in Spain lagging behind other European countries due to the Carlist wars, difficulties in consolidating the liberal state, reduced capital, and low technological capacity. The first railway line was opened in 1848 between Barcelona and Mataró. In 1851, a line linking Madrid and Aranjuez was launched. It was during the progressive biennium that conditions were created for the definitive start of railways in Spain.
The Final Takeoff: The Railways Act of 1855
The Railways Act of 1855 established a climate of trust and an effective framework for railway development. It regulated the operation and investment, designing a system of subsidies. The credit company law laid the groundwork in 1856 for a funding system to encourage foreign capital inflow. In 1856, the National Credit Society Spanish Furniture was established. Also in 1856, the Spanish Society was formed for commercial and industrial concessions to buy the company for creating Madrid-Zaragoza-Alicante. The General Credit Company in Spain was also established in 1856. The Spanish railway core network was built in the next decade. A radial structure with its center in Madrid was chosen, aligning with the central idea of the liberal state.
Technical Considerations: Gauge Establishment
An important fact was the establishment of a technical gauge. This is explained by two factors:
- National Security: An attempt to avoid a direct connection to France.
- Orography: The abrupt nature of the terrain demanded a width that would guarantee convoy stability.
The consequences of this decision were very negative.
New Communications: Mail, Telegraph, and Telephone
Contemporaneous with the builders of the railway was a modern creation of communications systems based on mail and telegraph, which enabled the first telephone trials in the late nineteenth century. The new system had an enormous impact as a modernizing element:
- The railroad articulated the liberal state.
- It facilitated commercial transactions of any kind and was a pillar of the financial system.
- It was essential for the incorporation of the Spanish economy into the world economic system.
- It made possible the emergence of press information.
The Evolution of Mail and Telegraph Services
Mail service had taken its first step as a public service in the early eighteenth century but was modernized in the nineteenth century. After the appearance of the seal in 1850, rates became cheaper. The telegraph also played a major role in the modernization of communication. The optical telegraph, which encoded signals between towers, allowed the transmission of alphabetic and numeric signs. It had a strictly political and military role. The electric telegraph was the real revolution. Between 1853 and 1863, the first Spanish electric telegraph network was formed, and by 1900, lines served throughout the Spanish territory.