History of Catalonia - Industrialization

Industrialization

The second third of the 19th century saw a Catalan cultural renaissance, a cultural movement to recover Catalan language and culture after a long period of decay. This became politically important to Spain as a whole, because in the latter half of the 19th century, Catalonia became a centre of Spain's industrialization. An increasingly industrial Catalonia had to contend with a grave shortage of energy resources and the weakness of the domestic Spanish market. They were helped out by protectionist policies, which reduced the competition from foreign products. As in so much of Europe, the popular classes were molded into an industrial proletariat, living and working in inhuman conditions.