19th Century Life: Society, Industry, and Art

Life in the Nineteenth Century

Summary Page 202-203

Society

Nineteenth-century society organized into three main classes:

• The Upper Classes: The richest, comprising aristocrats and the bourgeoisie.
• Aristocrats: Nobles who had lost some of their rights but remained owners of large tracts of land.
• Bourgeoisie: Owners of factories, big merchants, and bankers.
• The Middle Class: Included small traders, entrepreneurs, small landowners, and some professionals like doctors and lawyers.
• The Popular Classes: Possessed limited financial resources, consisting of farmers, factory workers, servants, and beggars.

The living conditions for workers were very hard. Working hours exceeded twelve hours, wages were very low, and they lived in neighborhoods in poor condition. To defend their interests, they grouped into unions, such as the UGT and CNT.

The Industrial Revolution

The nineteenth century witnessed major economic changes:

• The means of transport were transformed with the introduction of railways, which allowed travel over long distances quickly.
• Various new ways of working emerged. Small workshops of artisans were replaced by large factories, concentrating a large number of workers and machines.
• The textile and steel industries were the most developed, thanks to the invention of new machinery and production techniques.
• Power looms produced fabric at high speed, and steel-producing furnaces improved efficiency.
• Industries became concentrated in Madrid, Barcelona, and the Basque Country.
• In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, new sources of energy such as electricity developed, along with new sectors like the oil and chemical industry.
• Some financial institutions, such as modern banks and stock exchanges, were created in Madrid.

Art

In the nineteenth century, art and culture also transformed:

• In architecture, Antonio Gaudí stood out, building modernist buildings characterized by the use of new materials (iron and glass) and decoration that imitated natural forms.
• In painting, Regoyos Darius, Santiago Rusiñol, and Joaquín Sorolla were highlighted. They created Impressionist-style paintings where color was the most important element.

In summary, the nineteenth century saw society organized into high, medium, and popular social classes. The Industrial Revolution caused many economic changes. In art, modernist architecture and Impressionist painting were prominent.