Social Stratification and Conflict in 19th Century Spain

19th Century Spanish Society: Class Structure and Conflict

The Dominant Bloc: Aristocracy and High Bourgeoisie

The progressive economic identification between the two groups completed the merger process between the families of the dominant bloc. This identification was based on shared interests, including:

• Ownership and wealth
• Links to liberal governments
• Intermarriage
• Titles of nobility

This integration between "aristocrats and princes of money" was also an ideological approach based on the values of progress, individual freedom, moral order, and a strict Catholic Puritanism.

The Middle Class (Petty Bourgeoisie)

The middle class consisted mainly of the petty bourgeoisie, who were owners of family businesses, including:

• Shopkeepers and small traders of fabrics and overseas goods (replacing traditional traveling sales)
• Professionals related to the publishing and topographic industries
• Those who ran small factories engaged in consumer products

This group also included officials, army officers, and journalists. They were the most active group in the revolutionary committees that emerged in cities throughout the nineteenth century.

Political Evolution of the Middle Class

Separated from the upper middle class by differences in money, mentality, status, and rights, the petty bourgeoisie evolved toward more democratic attitudes. Being excluded from the census-based system, they became the main generators of opposition to the dominant groups, forging systems such as:

• The republican system
• Federalism
• Secular and clerical radicalism

The Urban Working Classes and the Proletariat

Given the low level of industrialization, the urban working classes were primarily composed of:

• Craftsmen and workers linked to world trade
• Employees of small businesses
• A large number of women engaged in domestic service

The industrial working class, the proletariat, was still a minority in the second half of the century, focusing primarily on specific industrial centers:

• Barcelona: Cotton industry
• Vizcaya (Biscay): Steel industry

The daily rhythm of the fight for life in the urban world was marked by continuing instability in employment, overcrowding, begging, and a lack of social benefits covering accidents, disability, and old age.

The Rural Population and the Agricultural Proletariat

For most of the nineteenth century, the population was rural. The situation of small property owners, tenants, or laborers remained largely unchanged with the dissolution of the manors, as the underlying ownership structure did not shift.

The disentailment policy did not benefit these groups; in fact, it harmed them by causing the loss of communal property. Population growth further worsened the situation by increasing the number of landless peasants.

The agricultural proletariat (laborers and servants) was the largest group in nineteenth-century Spanish society, especially south of the Tagus River. This explains the strong social response of the Andalusian peasantry, who were driven by the idea of land distribution and influenced by Democrats and Republicans supportive of social reform.