Social Structure and Cultural Change in Modern Spain

Social Transformation in Spain

The Rural World and Land Ownership

In the rural world, major landowners were divided into three distinct groups:

• The aristocracy.
• The financial bourgeoisie (owners of big businesses and national affairs).
• The agrarian elite (who resided in rural areas and often descended from former smallholders).

A powerful agrarian oligarchy dominated La Mancha, Andalusia, and Extremadura. Conversely, small and medium property ownership predominated in Castilla y León, Aragón, Catalonia, and Levante. Small and medium farmers had suffered a considerable decrease in number, and significant differences existed among them depending on their relationship with the land (owners, tenants, and laborers).

In Galicia, subleases of property were frequent. Catalan peasants enjoyed median property rights. Extremadura and Andalusia saw a great weight of yunteros (small tenant farmers) and large estates (latifundios), where laborers (jornaleros) predominated.

Urban Society and Class Development

In Spain, the industrial bourgeoisie was initially weak, but its importance grew alongside industrial development, consolidating its expansion. The growth of business, finance, and administration fostered the development of the middle class (often referred to as "white collars").

Industrial workers constituted the bulk of the urban working classes, and their numbers had significantly increased. The majority of these employees were concentrated in Catalonia, the Basque Country, Asturias, and Madrid.

New Forms of Sociability and Culture

The development of cities led to the emergence of new social values, forms of sociability, and leisure activities, extending across broader social strata. The creation and diffusion of new lifestyles were aided by the extension of new means of transport and communication, contributing to the growth of mass culture.

One of the most relevant transformations was the improvement in educational attainment (though only one-third of the population was literate). Increased literacy fueled a greater demand for cultural entertainment, leading to a moderate development of the habit of reading. Technical improvements favored the expansion of the emerging mass press.

This period also saw the rise of new civic associations, which became platforms for the diffusion of new ideas. Furthermore, people adopted the habit of spending leisure hours on outdoor activities, leading to the spread of hiking, sports, and cinema.