The Industrialization of Spain

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Spain came late to the industrial age; never truly recovering from the stinging 17th century loss of its legendary naval Armada at the hands of the British fleet and, by the 1830s, having lost virtually all its colonies, it became the quintessential "stagnant power," sinking slowly from first to second rate and languishing there for centuries. The author points out that, although a limited industrial infrastructure of roads, railways and manufacturing plants was in place, industrial development lagged far behind that of the United States, France, Germany and Great Britain. The paper relates that none of the dramatic changes from industrialization, which often have proven so disruptive elsewhere, has had much impact on Spain's social fabric because ninety-nine percent of the population remain staunchly Roman Catholic and family life is still deeply rooted and a bedrock of support in times of crisis, thus, Spain refuses to be overwhelmed by the so-called hustle-and-bustle of newly urbanized life.

Table of Contents
Industrialization Then
Industrialization Now

From the Paper:

"Just like everything else seems to have become in the last twenty years or so, industrializing now would surely be much more difficult and complex than it was - even for Spain just four decades ago, though that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. For one, things are always more complicated in a democracy than a dictatorship, where one man can have (as Franco did) quick and final say over all exigencies. Assuming Franco's demise and the installation of a gently progressive regime like the one now in power, nowadays worker safety and, in Spain, worker wages and job security, would no doubt be studied and evaluated for any new manufacturing plant, highway or railroad to be built."

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