Mining in Andalucia

Industrial Revolution: Mining, Trade, and Global Impact

What was the impact of the Industrial Revolution on Spain's mining industry? Discover how British innovation, trade, and policy shaped global resource exploitation.

By Nick Nutter on 2025-03-11 | Last Updated 2025-03-11 | Mining in Andalucia

This article has been visited 126 times

Iron Duke Locomotive 1847

The Dawn of Industrialization: Britain's Dominance and Global Influence

The sudden interest and determination to exploit the mineral reserves in the Iberian Peninsula, and in southern Spain in particular, was brought about by the industrial revolution that was happening in Great Britain, Belgium, France and, after unification in 1871, Germany.

The First Industrial Revolution (1750-1830): British Innovation and Global Trade

Textile workers c 1900

The industrial revolution can be divided into two periods, 1750 until about 1830, and 1830 until 1915.

Factors Driving British Industrial Supremacy: Resources, Trade, and Invention
During the first period, the industrial revolution was largely confined to Great Britain which ultimately gave the country a seventy-year head start on the rest of the world. Why Britain not only had this advantage but was able to profit from it is still being debated by historians. It was a combination of many factors.

By the mid-18th century, Britain controlled a global trading empire managed by entrepreneurs, some of whom would become giants of commerce. New markets for manufactured goods were being developed in North America, the Caribbean, India and, to a lesser extent, Africa.

New, innovative laws were enacted that allowed the formation of joint stock companies such as the East India Company, which could raise capital and invest in commercial endeavours at home and abroad.

Britain also had a surfeit of well-educated inventors who produced machines that revolutionised manufacturing processes, making them more efficient and the resulting products cheaper. Others looked at methods of powering those machines using steam, and later the internal combustion engine, and electricity. The iron and steel industry benefitted from new processes that decreased the amount of fuel used to produce pig iron and wrought iron, allowing cost effective iron to be used in the construction, ship building and machine building sectors.

All this was made possible by the mineral resources abundantly available in Great Britain, iron, lead, zinc, copper and coal.

Raw materials and finished goods could be moved with ease using a network of ports, canals, rivers and roads and, after locomotive steam engines were invented in the first part of the 19th century, an ever-expanding rail network.

No part of the industrial revolution would have been possible if there were not the workers available to fill the ever-growing need for manual and semi-skilled labourers.

How did the agricultural revolution influence the Industrial Revolution?
The agricultural revolution had transformed the country from a predominantly rural population to one with a surplus of people now available to work in industry. The availability of operators, and the invention of mechanised looms harnessed together and powered by steam engines, shifted the textile industry for example, from the cottage to the factory.

New machines and new processes created new businesses to make the machines and develop the processes. The industrial revolution was not confined to the iron and textile sectors, it also drove developments in the chemical industry, in the production of paper and glass, and in the fine tool machining industry.

The demand for coal to fuel the steam boilers that produced the steam to drive the engines, transformed the coal mining industry that benefitted from the steam driven pumps that could remove water from the ever-deeper shafts. In turn those same pumps allowed iron, copper, tin, lead, and zinc mines to exploit reserves previously unattainable below the water table.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain had a stable government and an efficient state bureaucracy. The British industrial revolution emerged from a period where the government actively supported and controlled its industries.

This included attracting skilled workers by encouraging skilled individuals from other countries to come to Britain, restricting foreign competition by implementing mercantilist policies like high tariffs on imported goods, expanding trade, and establishing colonies (imperialism). The powerful Royal Navy enforced these policies and protected British trade routes.

This protectionist environment allowed Britain’s nascent manufacturing sector to grow. Sheltered from intense international competition, British industries could develop and innovate.

The growth of manufacturing led to significant economic and social changes, more people found work in factories and industries. Workers earned more, leading to increased consumer spending.

The government also implemented laws to protect the actual processes. It was illegal to export newly developed machinery, skilled workers, or manufacturing techniques.

The Second Industrial Revolution (1830-1915): Free Trade and Continental Expansion

Cotton mill 19th Century

The Shift from Protectionism: Britain's Free Trade Policies
From 1820, Britain’s merchants and manufacturers felt they no longer needed protection against foreign competitors and petitioned the House of Commons for an abolition of all import duties, in other words, free trade. Over the following forty years, the ‘protectionist’ attitudes embodied in laws such as the 17th century Navigation Laws, were repealed by the government so that, by 1860, almost all the protectionist framework had been dismantled.

Continental Industrialization: Belgium, France, and Germany
On the continent, France was not able to industrialise until the 1840s due to the revolution and political uncertainty that discouraged investment. Germany had coal and mineral resources to equal or surpass those of Britain but did not take advantage of them until after unification in 1871. Belgium however had its first taste of the benefits of the industrial revolution as early as 1807 when two brothers, Willian and John Cockerill, illegally opened machine shops in Liege.

How did the Population in Britain Increase during the Industrial Revolution?
In Britain, much of the rural population moved to the towns to find work in the new factories and in the coal mines. Prior to the industrial revolution, 13.5% of the population lived in towns and cities. By 1851, that figure was 43.5% and by 1900, it was 75%. During the same period, 1750 to 1900, the population of Britain increased from 7 million to 37 million. Houses were built as quickly and cheaply as possible. The infamous two up, two down, and back-to-back terraced houses became a common sight in the industrial towns and cities such as Manchester, Glasgow, Bradford and Birmingham. The need for lead for use in the plumbing of these houses gave rise to an unprecedented demand for the metal not experienced since Roman times.

How did the Demand for Iron in Britain Increase during the Industrial Revolution?
British iron production in 1700 was 12,000 metric tons per year. By 1850, production was up to two million metric tons per year and by 1913 iron production was up to 10.4 million tons per year.

The increasing demand for metals and minerals overall meant that, by the 1840s, Britain could not supply its own needs, never mind those of other continental markets. After 1840, industrialising countries abroad, including America and Russia, became markets for the engines, boilers, and pumps manufactured in Britain, until they were able to make their own. The race was on to find and exploit other mineral resources abroad.

The exploitation of those foreign mineral deposits, by Britain, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Germany, created its own market for mining machinery, pumps, boilers, engines, iron girders, machine tools, steam locomotives and the rails they ran on. All products manufactured, in the early years at least, in Britain.

Why Spain Allowed Foreign Control: Economic and Social Factors

Land Ownership, Labor Conditions, and Infrastructure in 19th-Century Spain
The question may be asked, ‘Why did the Spanish allow so much control (and the profits) of their natural resources go to companies overseas’? The answer is with the Spanish themselves. There were few entrepreneurs, and the population of Spain was predominantly rural, so there were no spare workers for any factories. Unlike Britain, Spain had not been transformed by an agricultural revolution. There is a codicil to this. Spare workers did exist, the seasonal, often migrant labourers, that moved between rural villages as required. They were chronically under paid, sometimes working for a roof and food, and often starved when there was no work. The landlords had a refrain when such workers complained, ‘Let the Republic feed you.’

Even after the appearance of foreign mining companies, communications between towns and cities were difficult. The roads that did exist were little more than dirt tracks, there were no railways or canals, and in southern Spain, there is only one river navigable for any great length, the Guadalquivir, navigable for ships as far as Seville.

What was the effect of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure (Spain) Act 1820?
The land was owned by the nobility, the crown and the military orders. Despite the Abolition of Feudal Tenure (Spain) Act 1820, landlords still treated their rural workers as feudal serfs until between 1840 and 1875, and then only relinquished their lordly rights under protest. On the land, labour was so cheap that it was more profitable to use human labour than invest in the latest machinery (in parts of Almeria that still applies today).

The same principle applied in mining. Most mines were small affairs that depended on man and mule power. In the few, larger, mining concerns, machinery was only purchased as a last resort. At Pozo Ancho in Linares (Jaén province) it is recorded that 192 men carried sacks of water up ladders from a depth of 90 metres to 55 metres. The water bags were then raised to the surface using a capstan worked by 24 mules. A Cornish steam pumping engine installed in 1849 made the manual method redundant.

The 1849 Spanish Mining Law: Opening the Floodgates to Foreign Investment

Steam engine. Manufactured in Britain, installed in Spain

Until the mid-19th century, foreign companies faced significant restrictions in acquiring Spanish mining concessions. This changed with the introduction of a new Spanish Mining Law in 1848 and 1849, initiated by Queen Isabella II.

Changes to Tariffs and Regulations: Facilitating Foreign Mining Operations
The law established stricter regulations to ensure fair competition for both Spanish and foreign mine operators. Additionally, it offered some protection to foreign companies in the event of political unrest. Furthermore, tariffs on the import of crucial mining equipment, including steam engines, were significantly reduced.

The Social and Economic Consequences of Industrial Mining in Spain

The influx of foreign mining operations, spurred by the 1849 Mining Law and the demands of the Industrial Revolution, dramatically altered the social and economic landscape of Spain. While it brought a surge in mineral extraction and economic activity, it also created significant disparities.

The Growth of Urban centres and the need for raw materials
The rapid growth of mining towns led to a mass migration of rural workers, seeking employment in the burgeoning industry. This influx strained existing infrastructure and housing, resulting in overcrowded and often unsanitary living conditions. The demand for raw materials also drove increased urbanisation.

Although some workers experienced a marginal increase in wages, many continued to face harsh working conditions and exploitation. Landlords and mine owners often prioritized profit over worker welfare, perpetuating a system where human labour remained cheap and readily available.

The effects on the Spanish working class
Furthermore, the concentration of wealth in the hands of foreign companies and a small Spanish elite exacerbated existing social inequalities, leaving a large portion of the population struggling with poverty and limited opportunities. The shift from traditional agricultural practices to industrial mining had profound and lasting effects on the social fabric of Spain, contributing to both economic growth and social unrest.

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