algodón - History Lab

Ships entering Barcelona carrying American cotton, 1781-1799 (in pounds)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:57 +0000

The growth of Spanish trade through the American trade at the end of the 18th century played an important role in the beginnings of the Catalan cotton industry. Two of the main points on the peninsula were the main points for the entry and re-export of American goods: Barcelona and Cadiz, with the latter enclave assuming a predominant position between 1760 and 1770, as in 1790 the city of Cadiz took the lead until 1796. The year 1787 is considered a year of commercial and industrial paralysis as Catalonia experienced an economic crisis, which had an impact on cotton imports. However, the recovery and leadership in cotton imports reached its peak in 1793 when Barcelona received a total of 27 ships with American cotton, as well as in 1784 and 1791, years in which several large shipments were received. On the other hand, the right-hand column shows the number of Catalan ships involved in importing American cotton. In this sense, the Catalan shippers established an autonomous stake in the colonial trade.

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Exports of raw cotton from Spain (in pounds)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:57 +0000

The growth of Spanish trade through the American trade at the end of the 18th century played an important role in the beginnings of the Catalan cotton industry. Two of the main points on the peninsula were the main points of entry and re-export of American cotton: Barcelona and Cadiz, with the latter enclave assuming a predominant position between 1760 and 1770, as in 1790 the city of Cadiz took the lead until 1796. In that year, the development of the extent of the international trade in Spanish colonial cotton changed. The dimensions between 1792-1795 were captured in the trade balances of those years. This table shows how most of the cotton was destined for Great Britain, although France also held a significant share before the outbreak of war with Spain, in addition to the importance of Italy as a buyer, especially from 1796 onwards.

The post Exports of raw cotton from Spain (in pounds) first appeared on History Lab.

Origins of cotton imported into Spain, 1781-1796 (in pounds)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:57 +0000

The growth of Spanish trade through the American trade at the end of the 18th century played an important role in the beginnings of the Catalan cotton industry. Two of the main peninsular points of entry and re-export of the American goods were Barcelona and Cadiz, with the latter enclave assuming a predominant position between 1760 and 1770, as in 1790 the city of Cadiz took the lead until 1796. The details of the ports of origin of the cotton delivered later are listed in the approvals of the free trade regulations. In this sense, the extension of the Hispanic Monarchy provided the possibility of taking advantage of the resources of two civilisations where cotton was one of the dominant textile fibres. In the American space, within the supply zone, there were some important variations in terms of suppliers. Havana enjoyed a brief hegemony until the mid-1780s. However, this region for which there is little evidence of cotton growth on the island served primarily as an entrepôt for trade, a role strengthened during the American War of Independence in the late 18th century. Cotton was imported from the viceroyalty of La Plata at this early stage. In contrast, Vera Cruz and Cartagena were also important suppliers and from 1790 the ports of Callao and Guayaquil in the Viceroyalty of Peru became regular suppliers. In 1796 a shift eastwards in supply was evident as new points emerged such as Maracaibo, Cumaná, Nueva Guayana and Trinidad.

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Weaving establishments and number of looms in Catalonia, by judicial districts, in 1841

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:57 +0000

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Monthly wages in spinning and weaving in Catalonia according to the type of spinning, in 1841 (reals of fleece)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:57 +0000

Until the 1970s, the eighteenth-century Indian factories had constituted the continuity of Catalan industry during the nineteenth century. In this sense, Catalan industrialisation did not respond to an exclusive Barcelona model, but rather emerged as a response to the diverse productive structures of the territory, combining the new fibre with new technologies. Nevertheless, cotton reinforced Barcelona in the industry by being the point of entry and distribution. Although there are certain inconsistencies in the different areas, the data are fairly homogeneous. In the area of spinning with mules, wages were much higher. Men earned 272-298 reais as opposed to women, who earned 116-146 while a child earned between 50-59 reais; in the berdagana zones men earned between 146-164, women 59.2-76.8 and children between 33.4-33.6.something similar happened with weaving, since based on the average of the prices of the different parties, men in the mule area charged 62% more than those in the berdeganas area, women 70% more and children 47% more. In weaving, men were paid 28.9% more, women 100% more and children 26.5% more. In Manresa, all salaries were in an intermediate position, while in Reus, weavers were close to Barcelona salaries. Therefore, there were significant wage differences from one area to another.

The post Monthly wages in spinning and weaving in Catalonia according to the type of spinning, in 1841 (reals of fleece) first appeared on History Lab.