Industrial Colonies in Catalonia

CATALAN HISTORICAL REVIEW, 4: 101-120 (2011) Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Barcelona DOI: 10.2436/20.1000.01.53 · ISSN: 2013-407X http://revistes.iec.cat/chr/ Industrial colonies in Catalonia Rosa Serra* Historian Received 29 March 2010 · Accepted 30 June 2010 Abstract Industrial colonies, meaning industrial population nuclei located in rural areas, are one of the most characteristic phenomena of the industrialisation process in Catalonia, both because of the industrial, business and social model they developed and because they became one of the most singular features of the landscapes in the Ter and Llobregat river basins. Thanks to these colonies, the counties where they were located ceased being rural and instead became industrialised and urbanised. Keywords: industrial colony, industrialisation, paternalism, unionist movement, river valleys Many colonies, all of them different fine the model. The Llobregat River valley is the home to Industrial colonies are characterised by the construction the most important textile colonies from the standpoint of of a workers’ village near the factory, which is powered by architecture and urban design, as well as the most complex the hydraulic energy of a river. The earliest industrial co- ones in terms of their production system: the majority of lonies appeared in Great Britain back in the 18th century. the factories in the colonies spun, wove and performed the The most famous one is New Lanark (1786), Scotland, lo- processes of finishing, sizing and dyeing. Just like in the cated along the banks of the River Clyde. Starting in 1800 ones in the Ter River valley and the basins of secondary it was directed by Robert Owen, the future social refor- rivers – the Cardener, Calders, Anoia, Freser and even the mer and proponent of the cooperative movement. Anot- Pinyana canal in Lleida – almost 100 of which have been her colony that has been extensively studied is the Saltair documented, the colonies were built in rural areas far from workers’ village (1853) in Yorkshire. There are examples the small urban nuclei that were unable to provide sup- in Italy as well, such as Crespi d’Adda (1878) in the pro- plies and services. For this reason, the owners organised vince of Bergamo, not too far from the Alps. However, everything needed to live and work at that time to render nowhere was the web of industrial colonies as dense as it them as autonomous as possible. The autonomous nature was in Catalonia; the heyday of the colonies lasted 150 ye- of the services that the colonies offered their workers-in- ars, although the factories that led the colonies to be built habitants has often been spotlighted, but this self-suffi- have now disappeared. ciency was a prime goal in order for the factory to work. Industrial colonies, meaning industrial population nu- Thanks to teams of bricklayers, woodworkers and lock- clei located in rural areas, are one of the most characteris- smiths, the desired self-sufficiency became a reality. The tic phenomena of the industrialisation process in Catalo- locksmith’s workshop and storehouse became the key that nia, both because of the industrial, business and social led the factory to operate and ensured its constant mod- model they developed and because they became one of ernisation and technical adaptation. the most singular features of the landscapes in the Ter and Even though the colonies were particularly dense in the Llobregat river basins. Thanks to these colonies, the coun- northern part of the river valleys, the phenomenon of in- ties where they were located ceased being rural and industrial colonies spanned from north to south, following stead became industrialised and urbanised. the course of the river. In the case of the Llobregat, for The textile colonies are the most important ones in example, we can find colonies just a few kilometres from terms of both number and the degree to which they are the source of the river, such as the industrial complex in known and have been studied; they are the ones that de- Clot del Moro, which had not only a cement factory and its auxiliary facilities but also a train station, the manag- ers’ house with its sports grounds and the house of the owner, Count Güell. The workers lived in La Pobla de * Contact address: Rosa Serra. Muntaner, 200, àtic 8a. E-08036 Barcelona, Catalonia, EU. Tel. +34 933 630 823. Fax: +34 933 630 824. Lillet, just a few kilometres from the complex. Further E-mail: [email protected] downstream on the Llobregat, the constant string of colo- 001-164 Catalan Historical 4 (Eng).indd 101 15/09/11 17:48 102 Cat. Hist. Rev. 4, 2011 Rosa Serra nies down to the Baix Llobregat, with Colònia Sedó and and the colony in La Vall de Peguera (Fígols), were built Colònia Güell as the most important examples, reached at the base of the coal mines in Fígols, as were others along the very river delta, where two large agricultural colonies, the Ter River at the foot of the Ogassa (Ripollès) mines. Casanova and Ricarda in El Prat de Llobregat, drew their There were also mining colonies in the potassium basin of water supply. Bages, in the towns of Cardona, Súria, Balsareny and Sa- It is worth stressing the fact that industrial colonisation llent. At times, cement manufacturing also required small is very rich and plural and that in addition to the textile colonies to be built, such as in Clot del Moro (Castellar de colonies other colonies were founded that housed people n’Hug, Berguedà) and El Collet (Guardiola de Berguedà). working in other industrial activities, since at this stage in The one in Graugès (Avià, Berguedà) and the now-van- the second wave of industrialisation, the workforce’s ished ones in Prat del Llobregat (Casanova and Ricarda) availability and specialisation was a prime requirement to are examples of the system applied to modern farms. make industrial investment profitable. The mining colo- We should especially stress the case of Colònia Güell nies of Sant Corneli, Sant Josep and La Consolació (Cercs) both because of its architectural and urban design value, Figure 1. The map of industrial colonies in Catalonia mainly shows the concentration of textile colonies on the riverbanks of the Llobregat and Ter. It also shows that it is a rich and complex urbanisation phenomenon of rural Catalonia in the 19th and early 20th centuries which includes interesting examples of mining, metallurgic, chemical and farming colonies. 001-164 Catalan Historical 4 (Eng).indd 102 15/09/11 17:48 Industrial colonies in Catalonia Cat. Hist. Rev. 4, 2011 103 which has led its church, designed by the great architect century was 35 years, and the mortality rate was 29% while Antoni Gaudí, to be declared a UNESCO Human Herit- the birth rate was 34%. These figures paint a grim picture. age Site, and because of the fact that, as a textile colony, it Furthermore, the political and economic reforms were be- is the only example from this sector that did not use river ing implemented too slowly, as only 477 kilometres of the water as a source of energy. There are many different col- state railway system had been built by 1855. onies, all of them different, because just like rural settle- The 1855 Law on Colonies was followed by its 1866 ments, towns and cities, no two are the same, even though counterpart, which was aimed at fostering what was called they do share the characteristics of their production mod- the “caserío rural” (rural farmhouse). It also dovetailed el and socioeconomic organisation.1 with another important package of laws: the Law on Wa- ter. After confirming its overall ineffectiveness, the origi- nal law was replaced by the one dated the 3rd of June Much more than a favourable legislative 1868, which laid the groundwork for the true develop- framework ment of the industrial colonies. The first article stated that a non-agricultural industry located in a rural zone would The first law on colonies and the ones that followed it be exempt from industrial taxes as long as it was part of were based on a powerful tradition of workers’ colonies. the rural town. In Spain, this tradition dated back not only to the 18th century, with the major impetus for colonisation provi- ded by Charles III, but also to centuries of experiences in The effect of the Law on Colonies in the Americas with the conquest and exploitation of that Catalonia immense colonial empire. Given this history, it is logical that agricultural colonisation would remain a pending is- However, obviously one thing is a law and another very sue in 1833. The long and fraught pathway towards crea- different thing is how it is enforced. This enforcement re- ting a liberal state was embarked on between 1833 and quires regulations and the corresponding ministerial or- 1868. In this process, the monarchy was slowly and hal- ders to be enacted. In the case of Spain at the time, all of tingly transformed under the guidance of the moderate this took place within a state under construction immer- liberals who made up the bulk of the landowning nobility sed in constant political battles, economic crises in the co- and the bourgeoisie. untryside and the nascent industrial sector, social uphea- The liberals, united against absolutism and the milieu val and the bloody civil wars – the Carlist Wars – as well of Isabel II, were the driving force behind the creation of as conflicts in Morocco and Cuba. Several royal orders the new state. They were divided into two major camps, outlined the privileges of the law in much further detail the moderates and the progressives.

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