Book

i
Entrepreneurship in Spain
The figure of the entrepreneur has become a relevant factor that explains the
process of growth and economic development. Rising unemployment rates
have generated among institutional and private agents a significant interest
in promoting entrepreneurship as a formula to eradicate this social scourge
of unemployment. Active policies that favor business culture and initiative are
being promoted in all areas.
In the university world, academic research has multiplied the work on
entrepreneurship, a term that includes a triple meaning: the figure of the
entrepreneur, the business function, and the creation of companies. This
versatile meaning must be based on a consistent theory about the company
and the entrepreneur. This book presents specific cases of companies and
entrepreneurs that have had their role throughout the history of Spain. The
intention is to show the techniques and learning acquired by those agents,
which have allowed a considerable advance in the knowledge of the structure
and business development.
This book brings together the research carried out by its authors with pri-
mary sources and makes it accessible to a wide audience—Spanish and Latin
American—and will be of value to researchers, academics, and students with
an interest in Spanish entrepreneurship, business, and management history.
Juan Manuel Matés-Barco is Professor of Economic History at the University

of Jaen, Spain.
Leonardo Caruana de las Cagigas is Professor at the University of Granada,

Spain.
ii
Routledge Studies in Entrepreneurship
This series extends the meaning and scope of entrepreneurship by capturing new
research and enquiry on economic, social, cultural and personal value creation.
Entrepreneurship as value creation represents the endeavours of innovative
people and organisations in creative environments that open up opportunities
for developing new products, new services, new firms and new forms of policy
making in different environments seeking sustainable economic growth and
social development. In setting this objective the series includes books which
cover a diverse range of conceptual, empirical and scholarly topics that both
inform the field and push the boundaries of entrepreneurship.
New Frontiers in the Internationalization of Businesses

Empirical Evidence from Indigenous Businesses in Canada
Fernando Angulo-Ruiz
Contextualizing Entrepreneurship Theory

Ted Baker and Friederike Welter
Entrepreneurial Marketing and International New Ventures

Antecedents, Elements and Outcomes
Edited by Izabela Kowalik
Entrepreneurship, Dyslexia, and Education

Research, Principles and Practice
Edited by Dr Barbara Pavey, Dr Neil Alexander-Passe, and
Dr Margaret Meehan
A History
Edited by Juan Manuel Matés-Barco and Leonardo Caruana de las Cagigas
Women and Global Entrepreneurship

Contextualising Everyday Experiences
Edited by Maura McAdam and James A. Cunningham
For more information about this series please visit: https://www.routledge.com/

Routledge-Studies-in-Entrepreneurship/book-series/RSE
iii
A History
Edited by
Juan Manuel Matés-Barco and
Leonardo Caruana de las Cagigas
iv
First published 2021

by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 selection and editorial matter, Juan Manuel Matés-Barco
and Leonardo Caruana de las Cagigas; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Juan Manuel Matés-Barco and Leonardo Caruana de las
Cagigas to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the
authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance
with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Matés Barco, Juan Manuel, editor. | Caruana, Leonard, editor.
Title: Entrepreneurship in Spain : a history / edited by Juan Manuel
Matés-Barco and Leonardo Caruana de las Cagigas.
Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. |
Series: Routledge studies inentrepreneurship |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020036186 (print) | LCCN 2020036187 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367649227 (hardback) | ISBN 9781003126973 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Business enterprises–Spain–History. |
Entrepreneurship–Spain–History.
Classification: LCC HD2887 .E58 2021 (print) | LCC HD2887 (ebook) |
DDC338/.040946–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020036186
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020036187
ISBN: 978-0-367-64922-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-12697-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Newgen Publishing UK
v
To our dear Gregorio Núñez Romero-Balmas, Professor at the

University of Granada.
For his continuous teachings, his permanent help, and his deep
friendship.
Much of the work in this book has come from his ideas and
guidance.
Thank you for everything.
vi
vi
Contents
List of Illustrations xi
Acknowledgements xii
Introduction 1
J UA N M A N U E L MATÉ S-B ARCO AN D
L E O N A R D O CA RUAN A DE L AS CAGIGAS
1 Entrepreneurship and the History of the Company 9

M A R I A N O CA S T RO -VA L DIVIA
Introduction 9
Which Example of Entrepreneur Should Be Disseminated? 9
What Do Case Studies Contribute? 13
Do Case Studies Support Entrepreneurship? 15
Do Case Studies Promote Entrepreneurial Culture? 16
Which Values or Sets of Values Can Be Determined from
Case Studies? 18
Conclusions 19
References 19
2 Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Networks: The

Development of Commercial and Financial Companies in
Early Modern Castile 22
DAV I D CA RVAJ AL
The Commercial and Financial World at the End of the
Fifteenth and Start of the Sixteenth Centuries 22
The Company in Castile: A Multiform Institution 23
The Keys to Castilian Entrepreneurial Success at the End of
the Middle Ages and the Beginning of the Modern Age 28
Conclusions 37
References 38
vi
viii Contents
3 Windmills, Not Giants. Competition and Monopoly on the
Reinosa Route 41
R A FA E L B A RQU ÍN GIL
Introduction 41
The Flour Traffic between Castile and Santander in
the Mid-Nineteenth Century 43
Brokerage Revenues on the Reinosa Route 47
Wheat Prices in Castile 49
The Flour Traffic from Santander 50
Conclusions 51
References 53
4 Lacave & Echecopar: Strategies and Businesses in the

Second Half of the Nineteenth Century 55
M A R Í A VÁ Z QU EZ-F A RIÑ AS
Introduction 55
The Origins of Lacave & Echecopar 57
The Commercial Expansion of Lacave & Echecopar
(1852–1862) 59
The Last Years of Lacave & Echecopar (1862–1870) 63
Conclusions 66
Sources and References 68
5 The Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana, a Successful

Company in Late Nineteenth-Century Spain 71
M E RC E D E S F E RN Á N DE Z-P ARADA S A N D
F R A N C I S O J O S É GARCÍA A RIZA
Introduction 71
Antequera, a Different Sort of Municipality 71
The Founders 73
The Other Managers 76
The Construction of the Sugar Factory 77
A Growing Company 78
Conclusions 79
References
6 Small, Medium and Large Companies in the Supply of

Water in Spain (1840–1940) 82
J UA N M A N U E L MATÉ S- B A RCO
Introduction 82
Public Utilities in Spain 84
The Large Companies 85
Small and Medium-Sized Companies 88
Risk and Uncertainty in the Water Business 93
Conclusions 95
Sources and references 96
xi
Contents ix
7 Credit Companies, Merchant-Bankers and Large National
Banks. The Case of Andalusia (1800–1936) 99
M A R Í A J O S É VARGAS-M ACH UCA
Introduction 99
Private Banking in the Nineteenth Century: Banks of Issue,
Credit Companies and Merchant-Bankers 100
Credit Companies in Andalusia (Nineteenth Century) 102
Banks of Issue in Andalusia 103
Private Bankers in Andalusia in the Nineteenth Century 105
The Private Banking (1900–1936): Local Bankers and
Large National Banks 106
The Territorial Expansion of the National Banking in
Andalusia in the First Third of the Twentieth Century 107
Local Bankers’ Behaviour until 1936 109
Conclusions 112
References 113
8 The Private Period of Spanish Railways 1848–1941:

A Liberal Project to Modernise Spain 115
M I G U E L M U Ñ O Z RUB IO A N D
P E D RO PA B L O O RTÚÑ E Z GO ICO L E A
The Early Steps of the Spanish Railway System: The National
Way and the Foreign Way 115
The Test of the Financial Crisis for the Companies 117
The Modernising Impact of the Railway 118
Spanish Railway Companies at the Beginning of their Decline:
Circa 1900–1913 121
The Change of Model: From the System of Concessions to
Intervention, 1914–1931 123
The End of the Concession System: 1931–1941 127
Final Considerations 128
References 128
9 The Spanish Travel Agency Business in the Early Years of

the Franco Regime 130
CA R L O S L A R R I NAGA
Introduction 130
The Decree of 19 February 1942 Regarding Travel
Agencies 132
Travel Agencies in Spain After the Second World War 134
The 1950s: New Business Possibilities 138
References 142
x
x Contents
10 The International Expansion of the Spanish Insurance
Company MAPFRE 144
L E O N A R D O CA RUAN A DE L AS CAGIGAS
Introduction 144
Planning the International Expansion 144
International Expansion of MAPFRE REINSURANCE 147
Expansion in the Direct Insurance Market 149
Conclusion 154
Sources and references 154
11 Spanish Entrepreneurs and the Two Transitions

(1975–1986) 156
J O R G E L A F U E NTE DE L CA N O
Introduction 156
Domestic and International Transitions 157
The Entrepreneurs and the Domestic Transition 158
The Entrepreneurs and the International Transition 162
Conclusions 166
References 168
12 From the Sector to the Automobile Cluster of Castilla y

León. Its Study through the History of Lingotes Especiales 170
PA B L O A L O N S O -V IL L A A N D P E DRO PA B L O O RTÚ ÑEZ G OIC OLEA
Introduction 170
The Agglomeration of Economic Activities in Economic
Theory: A Brief Summary 171
From the Sector to the Regional Automobile Cluster 173
The Companies in the Sector: The Case of Lingotes
Especiales 178
Final Notes 181
References 182
List of Contributors 185

Index 189
xi
Figures and Tables
Figure
3.1 Trading Income on the Reinosa Route (Percentage) 48
Tables
2.1 Castilian Companies According to Initial Investment, Products
& Services and Markets (1489–1538) 26
3.1 Wheat Prices on the Reinosa Route. Reales/Fanega 49
3.2 Correlation Coefficients (r) between Flour Exports by
Destination and the Price of Flour in Santander, 1848–1882 51
4.1 Wine Exports by Lacave & Echecopar, 1850–1857 62
4.2 Wine Exports by Lacave & Echecopar, 1858–1870 64
6.1 Large Water Supply Companies (1933) 87
6.2 Medium-Sized Water Supply Companies (1933) 89
6.3 Small Water Supply Companies (1933) 91
7.1 Number of Bankers in Andalusia (1922) 110
7.2 Bankers and Banking Houses with Activity in Andalusia
(1922–1936) 111
10.1 Distribution of MAPFRE Employees in America in 1999 152
xi
newgenprepdf
Acknowledgements
It is essential to sincerely thank the anonymous and external evaluators for the
suggestions and guidance they provided to improve the contents of this book.
The warm response offered by the Taylor & Francis group for the publication
of this project through the Routledge publishing house must be acknowledged.
Nor can we forget the help provided by Brianna Ascher as editor of the
Business & Management Research collection. Her attention and assistance
have been invaluable. Likewise, the debt owed to María Vázquez-Fariñas and
Mariano Castro-Valdivia for their continuous, ongoing, and selfless collabor-
ation cannot be overstated. Thank you very much to all of them.
1
Introduction
Entrepreneurship in Spain: A History

The entrepreneur is an essential element or actor in the economic fabric. They
allow the economy to grow and society to progress. Entrepreneurship and the
flourishing of business initiatives pave the way for growth and the creation of
jobs and facilitate the generation of wealth. In this way, people can achieve
higher levels of well-being.
It is no coincidence that there is a close correlation between the economic
progress of nations and the presence of entrepreneurs. The classic example is
that of the Anglo-Saxon countries, in which there is a long tradition of respect
for hard work as well as a strong defence of market freedom. These countries
were pioneers of the Industrial Revolution and have achieved the highest levels
of income. But in reality, the same can be said of many other nations: France,
Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries, among
others, as well as, in general, the countries of the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development, including Spain.
Working as an entrepreneur is not easy. Not all projects, initiatives, or ideas
come to fruition. There is the fear of failure, of bankruptcy. The investment
in capital and people is not always successful. Many companies are forced to
close down because the products and services they offer, being new, are treated
with indifference by consumers. Among the most important faculties of the
entrepreneur is the ability to make decisions and manage new projects as well
as to constantly strive for innovation and the development of increasingly effi-
cient operations. It is necessary for entrepreneurs to continually reinvent them-
selves in a globalised society. In this increasingly open and competitive world,
the entrepreneur must generate innovations that satisfy a demanding market
that insists on greater performance, better services, more quality, and lower
prices.
There is no shortage of good ideas, but managing to crystallise them in
a profitable company that satisfies the interests of today’s society is another
matter entirely. Social responsibility, good practices, decent wages, respect for
the environment, adaptation to the legal framework, legal certainty, etc. must
all be taken into account. Therein lies the challenge, but at the same time the
2
2 Introduction
attraction of the figure of the entrepreneur –a rare bird –and the driving force
behind Schumpeter’s “creative destruction”.
In Spain there are a great number of capable, excellent entrepreneurs, some
of whom even have significant global companies, but it is clear that it is neces-
sary to raise the bar in order to achieve an improvement in the standard of
living –in employment rates and in the development of society in general.
The complexity of entrepreneurship is considerable and can sometimes be
determined by the family environment. But there is also a savoir-faire that is
acquired at school and university and that is trained and perfected at work. In
the end, learning by doing is the true essence of the entrepreneur.
The economic and social environment, the family atmosphere, education,
the institutional sphere… these are elements that contribute to the emergence
of companies and entrepreneurs. This is largely the objective of this collective
book –to avoid the Buddenbrooks effect with respect to Spanish companies
and promote an entrepreneurial culture that allows for greater economic and
social development. For this reason, it is necessary to look back in order to
learn from past entrepreneurs, to review those firms that endured and try to
understand the reasons behind the failures.
The History of the Company has had a hard time making its way into the
academic arena. There seem to be two factors that have hindered its progress.
On the one hand, there is the legacy left by the historiography after the Second
World War and, on the other hand, the negative prejudice that is found in a
significant number of researchers when it comes to addressing issues related to
this discipline, especially those stemming from historical materialism. The eco-
nomic difficulties of many companies in the years of the “political transition”
(1975–1986) and the consequent rise in the unemployment rate worsened
the poor image of the figure of the entrepreneur, largely inherited from the
period of General Franco’s dictatorship. The “lack of company culture” or the
“lack of industrial culture” should also be noted. A country like Spain, where
an economy marked by excessive dirigisme has predominated, is inclined to
downplay the role of the company and disregard the social function of the
entrepreneur.
Despite the difficulties, the History of the Company has had a great impact
on the teaching and university environment, both as an academic discipline
and as a tool for research on topics related to this subject. In Spain, since the
early 1990s, seminars, conference meetings, and debates in scientific forums
have been held. This accredited academic activity has spawned a large number
of works on company histories, biographies of entrepreneurs, and sectorial or
regional studies. The economic historians who have dealt with such content are
now numerous and have established a clear path for research. Despite a slow
start, the progress made in this discipline in recent decades has led to research
questions being addressed that are increasingly far from the classical core, such
as the economic structure of companies, the degree of vertical integration, the
importance of human capital, etc.
In this process of slowly incorporating new research on companies, the
mistrust of entrepreneurs towards researchers, for a wide variety of reasons,
3
Introduction 3
cannot be ignored either. This suspicion means that studies are carried out
using only those documents that the companies themselves publish for offi-
cial or advertising reasons, as is the case with the Reports of the Shareholders’
Meetings, summaries of income statements, works carried out, projects, etc.
As a result, publications of a journalistic nature emerge –with little rigour –
concerned with current business leaders, but which lack a documentary and
critical base that allows for the development of in-depth studies. One even
finds histories of companies produced for anniversaries, which often have
little scientific value. On many occasions, entrepreneurs themselves take the
initiative to have studies carried out on their companies that improve their
image and that can be used as a form of advertising. Nevertheless, this does
not prevent academic work being undertaken with a high degree of scientific
rigour despite being supported by the entrepreneurs themselves, both in public
and private companies, in sectors such as water, gas, railways, textiles, insur-
ance, etc. Recently, the analysis of the business structure in regional areas has
emerged as a promising new field.
In Spain, the progress made in recent decades in the History of the Company
is evident, not only in lesson plans, programmes of studies, manuals or specific
research on the subject, but also in the leading role played by the figure of the
entrepreneur and the company at a social, political, and economic level. To a
large extent, the fall of the communist regime in the Soviet Union and Eastern
Europe left the market economy as the only alternative system and highlighted
the importance of the entrepreneur and private enterprise.
Historiography has largely noted the limited amount of entrepreneurship in
Spain. The reasons behind this are complex, but the debate about the existence
of entrepreneurial spirit has been ongoing for a long time. During the 19th
and 20th centuries, writers such as Pío Baroja, Ramiro Maeztu and Miguel de
Unamuno or politicians such as Santiago Alba and Joaquín Costa, exponents
of the movement known as “regenerationism”, pointed to the absence of entre-
preneurial spirit, the lack of a group of dynamic businessmen, or the indiffer-
ence to economic profit as one of the problems of Spain’s backwardness. This
approach was taken up, without any criticism, by subsequent generations of
intellectuals and politicians. With the passage of time it has been accepted by
public opinion. Other authors have explained it as flowing from the aristo-
cratic indolence towards work, the low level of education or the mercantilist
tradition and the marked protectionist bias of the Spanish economy, which
have led to an aversion to business risk.
In the 1990s, an extensive debate took place in the academic world. Firstly,
aristocratic prejudices against work or –erroneously –Catholic mistrust of
capitalism were once again touted as the primary causes of this entrepreneurial
weakness. To all this was added the deficient educational level of the Spanish
population. Secondly, emphasis was placed on the institutional obstacles to
entrepreneurship, based on the conservatism of entrepreneurs. This situation
generated a significant backwardness and produced a low level of innovation
in the Spanish economy. Despite this, some studies have noted that Spanish
entrepreneurs in the 19th and 20th centuries were not very different from
4
4 Introduction
those in other European countries, nor were there major disparities in their
social and family backgrounds or in the type of training received, and not even
in their attitude towards risk or innovation.
The purpose of this book has not been to “compile a series of cases of com-
panies and entrepreneurs” but rather to provide some knowledge about “real
experiences” that will enable university students and professionals to learn and
thus make better decisions in the business world. At first, the “case study” was
basically descriptive, but over time researchers have developed a greater know-
ledge of business processes.
The selected cases describe a broad panorama and are the result of numerous
research projects undertaken by their authors. The companies, entrepreneurs,
and sectors studied reveal the variety of enterprises and the multiple activities
that have taken place in this southern European country. The search for cases
has not been random. Regions have been analysed –Andalusia and Castile and
León, for example –where traditional historiography had detected less business
activity. The selection has sought to present companies and entrepreneurs from
some lesser known areas, both from a regional and a sectoral point of view.
However, some chapters deal with more general sectors such as water supply,
railway transport, tourism, Spanish multinationals, and the evolution that
occurred during the political transition from the Franco dictatorship to the
current democracy.
The first chapter analyses the figure of the entrepreneur and the historio-
graphical progress in the History of the Company. In essence, Mariano
Castro-Valdivia examines the vision and role given to the company and the
entrepreneur throughout the contemporary period. The intention is to pre-
sent models and undertake an approach to the theoretical postulates that have
been developed in disciplines such as Economic History or the History of the
Company.
In the second chapter, Professor David Carvajal de la Vega carries out a study
of companies and entrepreneurs in the pre-industrial stage: business companies
in Castile during the sixteenth century. In the middle of that century, Castilian
commercial and financial companies managed to establish themselves as one
of the most prosperous business networks in Europe. Their presence in the
main European cities and fairs (Antwerp, Bruges, Lyon, Florence, etc.) is an
example of the capacity reached by Castilian merchants outside their borders.
Similarly, in the Iberian Peninsula, commercial businesses grew during the first
half of the sixteenth century, promoting economic integration and commer-
cial networks. The objective of this text is to understand the foundations of
the commercial and financial enterprise in Castile, the reasons that led this
institution –in little more than half a century –to spawn powerful organisations,
as well as the strategies developed by the merchants and financiers, or dynamic
entrepreneurs, to prosper in a regional and international environment where
competition never stopped growing.
Next, paraphrasing Don Quixote’s famous phrase, “Not giants, but
windmills”, Professor Rafael Barquín addresses the topic of competition and
monopoly in the purchase and sale of wheat on the Reinosa route during a
5
Introduction 5
good part of the nineteenth century. The thesis argued in this work notes that
the set of activities developed between the production of wheat in the North of
Castile and the sale of its flour in Europe, Cuba, and Catalonia, did not have
an oligopolistic nature in any of its phases. In general terms, they were open
markets with a significant peculiarity; wheat and flour imports from abroad
were prohibited for many years. The calculation of intermediary income, the
analysis of wheat prices in Castile, and the analysis of flour exports from
Santander are three of the many arguments that support this thesis. The work
also speculates on the possible origin of the opposite belief.
For her part, Professor María Vázquez, in her study of the entrepreneurs
Lacave and Echecopar and the wineries of the same name analyses the strat-
egies and businesses in which they operated in the second half of the nineteenth
century. Traditionally, the wine business has been one of the main economic
activities undertaken in the province of Cádiz. Although this Cádiz company
was founded in the first third of the century, it gained particular importance
after 1850, a period of growth and prosperity. However, towards the end of
the century, the arrival of a crisis in the Andalusian wine sector would lead
to serious hardship for the region’s wineries. Through an analysis of business
records, documentation from notarial protocols, and publications of the time,
the chapter explores how this company undertook its business activity, what
its main businesses and strategies were, and how it faced that crisis at the close
of the nineteenth century.
Continuing with the study of another Andalusian company, the research
of Professors Mercedes Fernández-Paradas and Francisco José García Ariza
on the Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana (Antequera Sugar Company) at the
end of the nineteenth century is presented. This firm enjoyed great promin-
ence with respect to the production of sugar and illustrates the uniqueness of
Antequera, an important municipality in the province of Málaga where the
company was located. In addition, the chapter analyses the group of men who
shaped the company, as well as other managers who played a significant role in
establishing the sugar mill during the 1890s. The work also examines its evo-
lution and other aspects such as the production of sugar and the income and
profits of the company.
Professor Juan Manuel Matés-Barco studies the water supply sector from
the perspective of small, medium, and large companies in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries. All of them stimulated the development of this public
utility, although their differences were closely related to the size of the cities
they supplied. Likewise, the business strategy adopted by these companies to
dominate the market and the risk management function existing in this type
of business is analysed. The trajectory of these companies shows a flourishing
sector that contributed to the modernisation of Spanish cities. Their establish-
ment was determined by the very nature of the activity –considered a public
service –which is based on the natural monopoly and the formula of the
administrative concession.
Returning to the region of Andalusia, Professor María José Vargas-Machuca
examines the credit societies, merchant-banks, and large national banks in this
6
6 Introduction
region of southern Spain. During the nineteenth century, banking activity in
its private aspect was developed by two types of agents. On the one hand,
bankers, merchant-banks, and banking houses were established individually
or, on some occasions, as collective or limited partnerships. On the other hand,
other entities were set up in the form of a corporation, such as banks and credit
companies. In Andalusia, banking legislation in the mid-century led to the cre-
ation of four banks of issue and five self-funded credit societies, but with an
ephemeral life as a result of the crisis of 1866 and the Echegaray Decree of
1874. The region has since been left without any indigenous banks. The finan-
cial needs of the population were covered by private bankers and by the large
national banks that began to operate in this territory in the early years of the
twentieth century.
The study of small businesses in the history of Spain is still not very
developed. However, these types of firms, most of them having a family struc-
ture, have a long tradition and a singular importance in the Spanish economy,
the same today as in the past. An initial assessment shows that these companies
can be remarkably effective thanks to a range of qualities that are unique to
them: simplicity, resilience, and an ability to adapt to and take advantage of
different opportunities. As an example, Professor Gregorio Núñez presents the
so-called “Escoriaza group”, a cluster of companies and business initiatives
that operated in different regions of Spanish over three generations of the same
family. The history of the Escoriaza family and its leader, Nicolás Escoriaza
Fabro, is representative of a group of small companies that emerged from a
marginal position but that knew how to grow and sustain themselves for many
decades.
Professors Pedro Pablo Ortúñez and Miguel Muñoz have carried out exten-
sive research on the private phase of the railway in Spain between 1848 and
1941. Throughout their chapter they analyse the transformations that the
transport sector underwent for technological and institutional reasons, espe-
cially in the second half of the nineteenth century. The difficulties that existed
in the institutional sphere and in transport policy were completely intertwined
and it is impossible to understand them separately. The Spanish liberal state at
the end of the 19th and the first decades of the twentieth century was systemat-
ically weighed down by the scarcity of public resources and, despite the efforts
made, the seriousness of the Spanish debt was one of the causes of the weak
economic growth and the delay in the modernisation of Spain.
Professor Carlos Larrinaga examines the Spanish travel agency business in
the early years of the Franco dictatorship. Although Spain became a major
tourism power during the 1960s, the groundwork was laid earlier, initially
during the first third of the twentieth century and then, after the Spanish Civil
War (1936–1939), in the early years of Francoism (1940–1960). In those years
the Spanish tourism sector was rebuilt with the goal of attracting new flows
of travellers, which had dried up during the war years. In fact, travel agencies
were a major part of the reorganisation of the tourism industry in the early
decades of Franco.
7
Introduction 7
As an example of the internationalisation of a Spanish company, Leonardo
Caruana studies the keys to the overseas expansion of the insurance company
MAPFRE. Their strategy has been one of growth, using reinsurance as a means
to learn the real state of the companies that were later acquired. The leap in
quality was substantial and the firm became one of the leaders in the Latin
American market, not to mention its presence in the United States, China, Italy,
Turkey, etc., to the point that by 2006 half of its business was done abroad.
The expansion was based on its high levels of efficiency, with the advantage
of having know-how and intangibles acquired in Spain, especially in the auto-
mobile insurance sector. This branch was the spearhead for its expansion into
many countries and almost all areas of the insurance business.
In a more general and recent field, Jorge Lafuente examines the role played
by Spanish entrepreneurs during the political and economic transition between
1975 and 1986. Spain underwent a profound process of transformation after
the death of General Franco in 1975. With the end of the dictatorship and the
arrival of democracy and the expansion of freedoms, new actors began to take
on prominent roles in the country’s debates and in public life. Entrepreneurs
and their representative organisations emerged as necessary interlocutors.
Domestic, foreign, and economic policies were intertwined at a time that was
particularly serious and sensitive for companies and business leaders.
Finally, Pablo Alonso and Pedro Pablo Ortúñez present a paper on the
automotive sector in the region of Castilla y León, through the study of the
company Lingotes Especiales. The automotive sector began to develop in
the mid-twentieth century in Spain. Since then it has expanded with the arrival
of new foreign companies manufacturing parts and equipment and with the
appearance of other firms funded from local capital. Currently, this region,
together with Catalonia, is the national leader in the production and export of
vehicles and their components. Behind this tremendous growth, based on com-
petitiveness, are a series of advantages that have generated significant benefits
for companies. These externalities have led to the spontaneous emergence of
an automotive cluster that has become the driving force behind the regional
industry, surpassing the sector itself in importance.
These cases –and this book as a whole –are intended to be a reference
work for courses on the History of the Company, but also a study and consult-
ation text for professionals and readers in general. These works are the result
of rigorous and detailed studies and capture the business activity existing in
Spain. In essence, these have been the main motivating factors behind the prep-
aration of this work.
Finally, it is essential to sincerely thank the anonymous and external
evaluators for the suggestions and guidance they provided to improve the
contents of this book. The warm response offered by the Taylor & Francis
group for the publication of this project through the Routledge publishing
house must be acknowledged. Nor can we forget the help provided by Brianna
Ascher as editor of the Business & Management Research collection. Her
attention and assistance have been invaluable. Likewise, the debt owed to
8
8 Introduction
María Vázquez-Fariñas and Mariano Castro-Valdivia for their continuous,
ongoing and selfless collaboration cannot be overstated. Thank you very much
to all of them.
Juan Manuel Matés-Barco
University of Jaén
Leonardo Caruana
University of Granada
9
1
Entrepreneurship and the History
of the Company
Mariano Castro-Valdivia
Introduction
The businessman has become one of the factors that explains economic devel-
opment and the growth process. Likewise, a significant interest in promoting
entrepreneurship as a way to eradicate the social scourge of growing rates of
unemployment has been generated among institutional and private agents. The
promotion of active policies, which favour entrepreneurial initiative and cul-
ture, is being encouraged in all areas: political, educational, social, economic,
and so on.
In the academic world, research has caused studies on entrepreneurship to
multiply. Entrepreneurship has a triple meaning: the figure of the entrepre-
neur, entrepreneurial function, and creation of companies. This multi-purpose
meaning needs to be supported by a consistent theory on the company and the
entrepreneur (De la Torre & García-Zuñiga, 2013).
Research, through case studies in particular, provides answers to sev-
eral questions related to entrepreneurship and the History of the Company
while also generating debate. This chapter will look at what case studies con-
tribute, which example of entrepreneurship should be disseminated, whether
case studies support entrepreneurship, whether case studies foster entrepre-
neurial culture, and which values or sets of values can be determined from case
studies. After exploring these questions, the chapter concludes with some brief
conclusions and a list of the bibliographical references used.
Which Example of Entrepreneur Should Be Disseminated?

It is difficult to determine the direction in which the entrepreneurial factor
acts: was it entrepreneurs who promoted development, or was it development
which stimulated their appearance? The influence was most likely circular
(González González 1995).
Case studies on firms and entrepreneurs provide insight into the different
types of entrepreneurs that have emerged over the course of history and are
therefore very useful. However, it is also necessary to understand how the
concept of the entrepreneur evolved in order to define which business model
should be promoted.
01
10 Mariano Castro-Valdivia
Richard Cantillon (1680–1734), of Irish origin, was the first to establish the
theory that the entrepreneur is linked to the concept of uncertainty; that is, to
assume that the risk of an activity is what determines whether an economic
agent is an entrepreneur or not. The entrepreneur is the economic agent who,
by assuming risk, allows society’s needs to be covered through the market. For
Cantillon, an entrepreneur was not the same as a capital provider as the profit
of the entrepreneur is derived from the difference between what was fore-
seen and what happened, and the level of risk they assumed determined profit
levels. The capital provider or capitalist, however, provides capital at an agreed
interest rate with guarantees in the event of non-payment, which implies a
different profile to the entrepreneur who assumes market risk.
The French economist Jean-Baptiste Say (1767–1832) furthered Cantillon’s
approach by breaking away from the ideas put forward by classic English
economists referenced in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, who did not distin-
guish between capitalist profit and corporate profit. In Say’s view, the return
on capital is not corporate profit, since it is the profit obtained by assuming the
risk of a commercial activity. He defended this position from the fourth edition
of his Traité, published in 1819, onwards. Say’s approach brought about yet
another idea of the theory of the entrepreneur. He posits that the entrepreneur
is the main agent of production, the one who combines productive factors,
and that they should be introduced as a new actor to the traditional trilogy of
interveners in the productive process (landowners, workers, and capitalists),
so much so that without entrepreneurs, new industry would not exist (Castro-
Valdivia 2015a, 2015b).
The classic economist had barely developed this line of thinking when the
company and entrepreneurs came to have an almost irreverent position. It is
worth mentioning, however, that the term entrepreneur was popularised by
John Stuart Mill (1806–1873). Mill, an English economist, was the only one
of Adam Smith’s followers who understood the specific role of entrepreneur-
ship. However, although he introduced risk and uncertainty into the equation
of entrepreneurial profit, he was not able to completely abandon the Smithian
position and continued to believe that the functions of the capitalist and the
entrepreneur go hand in hand.
Neoclassical economists did not pay much attention to entrepreneurship
either, but Alfred Marshall (1842–1924) highlighted the role of the entrepre-
neur in economic activity. Both he and John Bates Clark (1847–1938) tried to
introduce the figure into their models of economic growth. The English econo-
mist Marshall stated that the entrepreneur is an essential agent of develop-
ment. He considered their ability to organise business to be a specific factor of
production. However, in keeping with the classic British economists, he did not
distinguish between the role of the entrepreneur and the capitalist, as Say had
indicated. He considered the remuneration of the entrepreneur to be a fusion
of the remuneration of a qualified administrator, who manages the company,
and that of a capitalist. In his analysis, he did not reference the effects of risk
and uncertainty on business profits, as stated by Cantillon and Say, although
he did not discount the possibility that these factors might affect profits, which
1
Entrepreneurship & the History of Company 11

he described as extraordinary. He also argued that the desire to accumulate
wealth is not a bad pursuit –on the contrary, he saw it as a symbol of business
success, as an incentive to become an entrepreneur, which fosters competi-
tiveness. The American economist Clark continued Marshall’s postulates, but
he did distinguish between business profits. The profits that came from the
work of the administration of the company, which he considered to be a type
of salary, and which for him were ordinary profits were, for him, different to
extraordinary profit, which he deemed determinant on risk and uncertainty.
Joseph Alois Schumpeter (1883–1950) went a step further, noting the innov-
ation factor of the entrepreneur and their relationship with the degree of devel-
opment of an economy. The Austrian thinker placed the entrepreneur at the
centre of economic activity. In his model, the economy defaults to a situation
of equilibrium, so that the world is neither uncertain nor profitable and, there-
fore, in the long term there is no development, which implies the stagnation of
society. However, periodically, innovations emerge which cause imbalance in the
economy and produce development. Therefore, in order to improve humanity’s
well-being we need to innovate, and the agent of innovation, for Schumpeter,
is the entrepreneur. In short, the author associated entrepreneurial activity and
innovation with the mechanisms of economic growth. This addresses the issue
of the nature of the entrepreneur’s profit, although Schumpeter did not offer
any contrastable explanations. Furthermore, his model does not contain the
issue of risk or the option of failure, implying the union between business
activity and innovation always generates success.
For his part, Frank H. Knight (1885–1972) highlighted the realms of risk
and uncertainty in which the entrepreneur moves. The American economist,
after publishing his doctoral thesis in 1921 —Risk, Uncertainty and Profit—
explained that the entrepreneur is the only factor of production, since the rest
of the factors—land, work, and capital—are only the means of production.
On the other hand, he pointed out that the main function of the entrepre-
neur is to assume the risk of an activity and that their profit will depend on
it. As he indicated in his thesis, his business model is indebted to the work of
the German economists Johann Heinrich von Thünen (1783–1850) and Hans
von Mangoldt (1824– 1868) and the American Frederick Barnard Hawley
(1843–1929). In his model, Knight systematically organises and expands on
the positions of these authors, who collated the seminal ideas of Cantillon
and Say. In particular, he defines risk as an objective uncertainty, which can
be estimated and therefore measured, i.e., it has a cost and can be insured. He
introduces the idea of subjective uncertainty to explain the role of the entre-
preneur. He points out that subjective uncertainty is the result of our limited
rationality, which is conditioned by the expectations of the entrepreneur and
the lack of certainty that the entrepreneur expects, i.e. not having perfect infor-
mation about the future, and that it is what separates a manager from an
entrepreneur. However, uncertainty, as well as an individual’s own capabilities,
accompany human beings throughout their lives. This leads to a specialisa-
tion of people, so that the individuals with the greatest capacity to manage
uncertainty will be the entrepreneurs of society. For Knight, entrepreneurial
21
skills are innate, although they can be improved upon through education and
experience, and for precisely this reason they are not susceptible to commer-
cialisation. The entrepreneur’s remuneration, therefore, cannot be taken as a
type of salary but rather as profit.
Later, Keynesian and neoclassical economists in the years following the
Second World War dismissed protagonism in the company and the entrepre-
neur. Finally, the Austrian school with Israel Kirzner at its helm began to out-
line the value of the entrepreneurial function and, almost immediately, studies
began to emerge which breathed new life into the contributions of Schumpeter
and Knight. Other authors such as Casson or Shane have enhanced this by
reaffirming the role of the entrepreneur in economic theory, combining
Schumpeter’s doctrine with aspects of Kirzner. Casson, for example, points out
that entrepreneurial function is based on making decisions in conditions of
incomplete information, while for Shane, entrepreneurship not only relies on
the presence of enterprising individuals, but rather responds to the confluence
of it together with the existence of initiative business opportunities. Studies
on this issue have highlighted some elements to be taken into account such as
geographical setting, political and institutional regime, financial system, and
economic context, as well as the educational, scientific, and cultural model.
At times, company theory and the technical change brought about by evolu-
tionary economics has played an important role for a large number of business
history researchers. To a large extent, the ascendancy of evolutionary theory
can be seen, as well as the weight of Schumpeter’s contributions, which have
led to the work of Rosenberg and Basalla. Some characteristics of this theory
can be seen through the work of Richard Nelson and Sidney Winter. For these
authors, the strategy of a company is marked by its “natural trajectory” and
constitutes a characteristic and persistent feature of it. This is acquired through
experience and is passed on hereditarily, although it is evident that in decision-
making processes there can be elements of uncertainty.
On the other hand, some authors have developed a History of the Company
which take their hypotheses from transaction cost theory. This is notable
in the studies of Alfred Chandler and Oliver Williamson. Their study and
application of the theory has proved controversial in its interpretation. For
some, transaction cost theory, derived from Coase’s work, has considerable
nuances when adapting it to the current climate and, although it contributes
to the analysis of business organisation, there are limitations which other the-
ories could rectify. Williamson’s work responds more to a theory of the com-
pany or industrial economy than to the History of the Company itself. While
Chandler develops an eminently historical method, which makes no attempt
to select contrasting data to validate general theories. However, for others,
the history of the American company has been seen as a process of growth
which culminated in the great multi-division and multinational corporation.
For this reason, the theory, which focuses on the determinants of company size,
allows for interesting relationships with the history of American companies.
This is why Chandler’s work is one of the most emblematic examples of its
type, especially his work The Visible Hand. The history of American business
31

is characterised by its being limited solely to the United States in the time after
American independence. This sometimes invalidates the development of these
proposals in other times or other territories. In any case, studies on companies
and entrepreneurs in the United States have been very widely disseminated,
perhaps more so than those carried out in Europe (Castro-Valdivia et al. 2019).
Spanish business history has sometimes been blamed for excessive empiri-
cism and scarce theoretical analysis. It is therefore necessary to analyse the
reality which drives the company, the historical context in which it was born
and developed, and the aspects which mark its size and organisational form,
as well as the particularities which determine the degree of vertical inte-
gration of an activity, internal organisation, or characteristics of contracts.
The History of the Company allows us to contrast reality with the analysis
to which theory has been alluding, never forgetting that the power of the
businessperson is limited on many occasions, that they cannot be given an
excessive role, and that their actions are generally determined, to a large
extent, by the social and economic conditions of their environment. Here
lies the importance of the History of the Company developed in the United
States, which frames, in the context of economic history, the performance
of the entrepreneur, never denying the existence of a personal factor but not
exaggerating it either.
Therefore, in a context where technical-economic progress is indispens-
able to the growth of welfare, the entrepreneur is a reference to achieve the
objective. In any case, the History of the Company should not be restricted to
the confirmation of economic theories, or to trying to accentuate one theory
over another, but rather to show that previous approaches determine which
questions can be answered in any given research.
What Do Case Studies Contribute?

Evidently, when talking about the history of a company or the biography of
an entrepreneur, one does not refer to the hagiographies of times gone by,
although examples of this nature do still survive (Ballestero 2014). In aca-
demia, apart from the commitment to basic standards in all historical research,
it is also necessary to maintain critical thinking which is incompatible with
complacency. The dreaded “Stockholm syndrome” can be overcome through
the deft management of sources and the rigorous search for information. In
this context, case studies on companies and entrepreneurs prove to be useful
tools to shed light specifically on the History of the Company as well as on
economic history in general. In order to achieve this, the preservation of his-
toriographical work is advisable. The alternative would be counterproductive
(Fernández-Paradas & Matés-Barco 2016).
Knowledge of these case studies paints a picture of the entrepreneur as an
economic agent and presents the company as the nucleus of productive activ-
ities. For this reason, it is important to frame the geographical setting in which
the entrepreneurs and companies develop. In Andalusia, a region in southern
Spain, the analysis of companies and entrepreneurs has aroused little interest
41
among specialists. It is not in vain that Andalusian entrepreneurs have been
given responsibility for the frustrated modernisation of the region. The owners
of agricultural land and businesses in the late nineteenth and early twen-
tieth centuries have been described as abstainers, speculators, and rentiers.
Industrial entrepreneurs have even been accused of quickly abandoning
prospects in a highly dynamic sector to become part of the group of rentiers
and farm owners. This gave rise to the broad generalisation of Andalusia and
Andalusians lacking entrepreneurial spirit, of being unable to assume the risks
inherent in a capitalist system. Through a certain level of reductionism, this
generalisation has come to define “the Andalusian” as the Andalusian of the
Guadalquivir, when, in truth, the historical reality has been more complex. The
response to the historical productivity differential of the Andalusian economy
has been shown to be neither due to anthropology nor genetics, but rather
due to factors such as the allocation of physical resources, human capital, and
existing institutional framework (Parejo 2011, p. 12–13).
These three aspects, which vary according to the region or autonomous
community being analysed, are fundamental to the understanding, not only
of the workings of the productive structure, but also to how entrepreneurs
adapt to it. In other words, the biographies can help us understand how these
entrepreneurs overcame and even took advantage of the difficulties presented
to them –in short, how they adapted to changing circumstances. In the life of a
business over three, four, or even five decades, physical resources are, of course,
important, but so are any changes in the rules of the game and the allocation
or lack thereof of human capital. An entrepreneur must always seek to adapt
to these phenomena in order to maintain and expand their business and not go
bankrupt. This is a constant throughout history, however this chapter is essen-
tially concerned with the entrepreneurs of the contemporary age. Knowledge
of these biographies allows the reader an adequate vision of the changes which
have occurred over time and the need to adapt to changing circumstances, a
transformation which is not only carried out individually but also collectively.
This is something that is highlighted by the transition from the First Industrial
Revolution to the Second.
This transition meant access to managerial capitalism and the ascendancy
of the multi-division company. This in turn involved the need to raise more
capital, the separation of ownership from management, the introduction of
new forms of energy, new labour relations, and the creation of new industries.
Such changes also included a shift from partnership or limited partnership
to the ascendancy of the corporation. There was simultaneously an evolution
from individualistic capitalism to corporatist capitalism to the extent that
agricultural, industrial, and commercial entrepreneurs influenced by corpor-
atism set in motion their own pressure mechanisms. Through chambers of
commerce and even political parties, they organised to ensure the government
hear their demands above those of other organised parties. At a social level,
in the face of labour movement organisation through unions and class parties,
entrepreneurs managed to create the first employers’ associations (Arana 1988;
Calvo Caballero 2003). The businessperson, therefore, stopped acting alone, as
51

they had done in the first industrial revolution, in order to carry out collective
action. This is evidently a sign of adaptation to new circumstances.
Knowledge of these entrepreneur’s biographies in the long term provides a
great opportunity to learn not only of their individual life trajectories, but also
of their adaptation to the changes which occurred in the aforementioned planes.
Bibliographies provide knowledge and experience to both current and future
businesspeople, on how to act in the face of similar problems, strategies to
follow in certain scenarios, and lessons on how to avoid bad decision-making.
Do Case Studies Support Entrepreneurship?

During the First Industrial Revolution, entrepreneurs were not educated at
universities or polytechnics. Many of them came from commercial activities,
industry, and, to a lesser extent, trades and guilds or agriculture. They were
entrepreneurs with an innovative spirit who saw the opportunity to create new
goods from inanimate energy sources and new materials such as cotton which
was destined not only for local or regional markets, but also national or even
international markets. First through the canals, and then through railways and
steam navigation, these entrepreneurs embarked on an unprecedented adven-
ture, armed with little academic instruction but extensive practical knowledge.
Their schools had been businesses or workshops, not classrooms. This situation
started to change from the mid-nineteenth century onwards and, above all,
with the dawn of the Second Industrial Revolution. From the mid-nineteenth
century, the great engineering schools of mining, roads, and later forestry and
industry trained not only qualified technicians for the administration of a lib-
eral state under construction but also entrepreneurs. Many of the technicians
educated in these higher education institutions became entrepreneurs, as well
as managers of numerous companies (Garaizar 2008).
From the Second Industrial Revolution onwards, the relevance of human
capital increased (Núñez 1992; Núñez & Tortella 1993). The introduction of
new techniques and innovative production processes implemented at the end
of the nineteenth century required personnel which were more highly qualified.
The entrepreneur was no exception. It was normal that, at the turn of the cen-
tury, an increasing number of businesspeople had a certain degree of education
or training that was, at least, higher than that of the businesspeople of the First
Industrial Revolution, although this was not always the case. As late as the end
of the twentieth century, 43.9% of Andalusian entrepreneurs either had no
studies or only primary education, 31.5% had completed secondary education
or vocational training, and only 23.6% had entered higher education (Parejo
2011, p. 21). One of the most backward regions of the European Union may
prove an exception, but behind this data, the existence of an entrepreneurial
spirit in people with hardly any studies is notable. It may be that this was
possible in sectors such as construction and mass tourism or those with little
added value. Today such circumstances would be less likely.
In a globalised world and in the midst of a technological revolution led by
Information and Communication Technology (ICT), most businesses require
61
increasingly more highly qualified human capital. The acquisition of training
is, therefore, also a way of adapting to change. It is not enough to have a good
idea. You have to be able to implement it, and that is where education plays a
key role. Once again, it is not necessary to resort to the theory of human cap-
ital. No one today doubts the benefit of education, so we should imagine an
entrepreneur who is increasingly more educated. In the prologue to the book
One Hundred Andalusian Entrepreneurs, former minister Manuel Pimentel
points out the suitability of recommending it to students in Andalusian
Business Schools and Faculties of Economic and Business Sciences, to pro-
vide them with clear references and possible examples to follow (Pimentel
2011, p. 10). It is true that knowledge of these case studies could be a useful
tool in the promotion of entrepreneurship. Above all, they serve as examples
of overcoming difficulties and adapting to change. It has never been easy to
start a company and succeed, so knowledge of what has gone before can be
an incentive, especially the success stories, which are usually the ones most
studied.
In any case, this leads to a question which is difficult to answer: Are
entrepreneurs born or are they made? Surely some are born, so do not need
this knowledge, while others are made, and for them, this type of biography
can be very useful.
Do Case Studies Promote Entrepreneurial Culture?

In the Anglo-Saxon historiographic tradition, the figure of the entrepreneur
never lost its Schumpeterian character which was focused on innovation. In
fact, in the United States, where Joseph A. Schumpeter spent a good part of
his life, a tradition of business studies was consolidated, both historically and
professionally. One example of this is the Harvard Business School, which
began publishing the Bulletin of the Business Historical Society in 1926. This
was subsequently renamed the Business History Review in 1954 and is now
published by Cambridge University Press for the Harvard Business School.
This was not the only initiative –other prestigious American universities
created similar schools and academic journals of notable importance, such as
Explorations in Entrepreneurial History. This was published by the Harvard
University Research Centre of Entrepreneurial History between 1949 and
1958. From 1963–1965 a second series began, published by Earlham College,
which was later continued by the University of Wisconsin. In 1969 the journal
was renamed Explorations in Economic History. It is now a journal published
by Elsevier. In Great Britain, great interest in this type of study followed, as
demonstrated by the founding of Business History magazine at the University
of Liverpool in 1958. It is now published by Routledge, Taylor and Francis
Group (Tortella 2000, p. 13).
The company and the entrepreneur are analysed as economic agents capable
of facing the challenges of competitiveness on a global scale. Changes in the
political regimes which practiced centrally planned economies, the complexity
and speed of the changes caused by new technology, as well as the public sector
71

setbacks which have been experienced in some countries have been some of
the issues which have prompted this change in perception (Matés-Barco &
Castro-Valdivia 2017).
Growing interest in studying business and the role played by the entrepre-
neur could be due to several reasons. Firstly, there is the weight of the his-
toriographic tradition in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in
which a large group of English and American historians –Toynbee, Hobson,
Webb, Veblen, etc.–described the entrepreneur as a symbol of exploitation,
selfishness, and excessive profit. At the same time, in Germany another group
of historians applied an inductive methodology to analyse different social
segments and, specifically, to the emergence and evolution of local companies
and the changes experienced in business organisations. It is worth mentioning
Gustav Schmoller, Karl Bucher, or Werner Sombart who promoted studies on
particular companies and the development of “entrepreneurship” as a means
to explain capitalist expansion.
Secondly, the trend of studying the History of the Company is largely due to
the enormous field of exploration which this subject provides within the scope
of Economic History (Castro-Valdivia, 2019). In recent decades, the import-
ance of company archives has been highlighted, and there are still many to
be studied. At the same time, emphasis has been placed on the need to use a
methodology which combines economic theory with the detailed description
of specific cases and their study through sources. Therefore, it is important to
combine theoretical analysis with empirical data to obtain a reflection which
allows us to understand a company’s evolution.
On the other hand, studies on the industrial revolution in its different phases
have shown the importance of the figure of the entrepreneur in the process of
economic development. Publications on specific companies, sectors, and biog-
raphies of entrepreneurs have been frequent.
Interest in the study of past entrepreneurs is an instrument for the pro-
motion of entrepreneurial culture. Knowledge of history is an excellent tool
which helps confront the challenges of the present or the immediate future. In
this sense, when reading the biographies of Spanish businesspeople contained
in different dictionaries available today, it is notable that those who did not
receive secondary or higher education made a point of educating their children
more intensely both in terms of quantity and quality. This is clearly detectable
in family sagas (Tortella 2000, p. 16–17). The self-made entrepreneurs, from
the workshops and factories, with little training, ensured the next generation
became educated entrepreneurs. The fact that several Basque steelmakers sent
their children to study at the Liège School of Mining is an obvious example of
this (Anduaga 2010). Of course, they were well aware of the need for the most
advanced and exhaustive training possible, so, as far as they could, they did
not hesitate to send their offspring to prestigious centres. These were centres
where innovation and knowledge were the order of the day. In some cases,
this not only served to develop their own businesses and companies, but also
served to improve the educational centres in their respective countries of origin
(Camprubí 2017).
81
Reading and careful analysis of entrepreneurs’ biographies does help to pro-
mote entrepreneurial culture from this vantage point. In fact, the behaviour,
risk taking, innovations in production processes and management styles, adap-
tation to state of the art technology and adaptation to the institutional changes
which have occurred during the course of their professional lives can serve as
examples and references for today’s entrepreneurs. Above all, we should take
into account that the development of entrepreneurial culture has become the
main challenge for organisations nowadays (Schatsky & Schwartz 2015). One
definition of business culture is “the set of rules, values, and ways of thinking
which characterise behaviour, placement of staff at all levels of the company,
management style, allocation of resources, corporation organisation, as well
as company image” (Leyva Granados 2008, p. 30). In colloquial terms, one
could say that corporate culture is the DNA of a company, hence its relevance
(Robbins 2010). The study of companies through their owners or managers,
especially those who have survived for decades, is a very useful way to under-
stand the DNA of the company and would serve as a useful example.
Which Values or Sets of Values Can Be Determined from

Case Studies?
From a practical point of view, reading case studies also helps us to analyse
the values which could prove useful to the businesspeople and entrepreneurs
of the future (Matés-Barco 2019). In the case of Spain, a distinct theme is the
strength of the family, which has played a decisive role in the business sagas.
This is evident not only in collective societies, but also in a few public limited
companies, in which certain families played or continue to play a predominant
role. The case of the Botín family at Santander bank is a paradigmatic example,
which does not stand alone. Another value which can be extracted from
reading these biographies is the complex relationship Spanish business has had
with innovation. In general, Spanish entrepreneurs have innovated little and in
many cases have devoted themselves to adapting innovations implemented in
other countries (López & Valdaliso 1997, Ortiz-Villajos 1999.). Every business
involves risk, however small. Here it is true that many entrepreneurs chose to
obtain state concessions, which were considered more remunerative, rather
than innovating. It is therefore worth analysing the institutional framework
of the time, to discover the factors which helped or hindered entrepreneurship
(Tortella et al. 2008). Professor Gabriel Tortella has stressed that the survival of
habits, social structures, and the mentality of the Old Regime act as an impedi-
ment to the development of entrepreneurial drive (Tortella 1994). However, it
is important to distinguish between different regions of Spain and the different
institutional frameworks which exist in them. The Basque Country is clearly an
example of the opposite being true, at least for a good part of the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries.
The desire to obtain state concessions was not exclusive to Spanish
businesspeople, there were foreigners who behaved in the same way, which is
perhaps explained by Tortella’s theory. However, there were also entrepreneurs
91

who took risks and diversified their activities by investing in several businesses
at once. Here, undoubtedly, audacity and initiative can be considered a notable
value, which once again brings us back to the model of the Schumpeterian
entrepreneur, where, this time, innovation plays a fundamental role.
Furthermore, another value to be considered could be social responsibility,
i.e., the understanding that a company or individual has an obligation towards
its fellow citizens. This responsibility can be “negative”, meaning that there is
a commitment to refrain from acting, or “positive”, meaning an obligation to
act. Positive responsibility and examples provided are of interest here, as they
can be very useful. Honesty and honourability, or the absence of it, are also
aspects to be taken into account. It is true that there are numerous cases of
corruption and scandal, not only today but also throughout history. However,
generalisations are not appropriate, as there were also honest businesspeople
who were concerned with doing things properly and respecting the law.
Conclusions
The preparation and dissemination of case studies on companies and
entrepreneurs are useful tools. They allow comparison of the individual with
the general, help in the establishment of similarities, and provide possible
examples of action when faced with similar problems. If it were not for these
instruments of dissemination, today’s society would not be able to take advan-
tage of this wealth of experience and of human capital, and we would not
understand the successes and failures of the past which occur cyclically in a
company or country.
Today, where socialisation is normalised, and where citizens first learn in
books and then in the real world, case studies are a basis for building a business
culture which promotes entrepreneurship, since they indicate the values which
every good entrepreneur should possess. Therefore, reading these studies on
successful companies and entrepreneurs instils examples and references to be
imitated by future entrepreneurs, where innovation in production processes
and management styles are the pillars that enable a company to endure over
time and for an economy to maintain long-term sustainable growth.
References
Anduaga, A. 2010. La cadena vasca. Barcelona: Ediciones del Serbal.
Arana, I. 1988. La Liga Vizcaína de Productores y la política económica de la
Restauración, 1894–1914. Bilbao: Caja de Ahorros Vizcaína.
Ballestero, A. 2014. José Mª de Oriol y Urquijo. Madrid: Lid.
Calvo Caballero, P. 2003. Asociacionismo y cultura patronales en Castilla y León
durante la Restauración (1876–1923). Valladolid: Junta de Castilla y León.
Camprubí, L. 2017. Los ingenieros de Franco. Crítica: Barcelona.
Castro-Valdivia, M. 2015a. La difussion mondiale de l’œuvre de Jean- Baptiste
Say. Traductions précoces et impacts sélectifs. In, Et Jean- Baptiste Say… créa
l’Entrepreneur, ed. Société Internationale Jean-Baptiste Say, 219–245. Bruxelles:
Peter Lang, doi.org/10.3726/978-3-0352-6525-5
02
Castro-Valdivia, M. 2015b. Money and Finance in the Wealth of Nations: Interpretations
and Influences. Journal of US-China Public Administration 12(5): 415–429, doi.org/
10.17265/1548–6591/2015.05.007
Castro-Valdivia, M. 2019. La figura del empresario y el avance historiográfico de la
Historia de la Empresa. In Empresas y empresarios en España. De mercaderes a
industriales, coord. J. M. Matés-Barco, 19–36. Madrid: Pirámide.
Castro-Valdivia, M., C. Larrinaga-Rodríguez, & J. M. Matés-Barco. 2019. La enseñanza
de la Historia de la Empresa en la Era Digital. In Educación y felicidad en las Ciencias
Sociales y Humanidades. Un enfoque holístico para el desarrollo de la creatividad
en la Era Digital, coords. A. R. Fernández Paradas, M. Fernández Paradas, L. Tobar
Pesántez & R. Ravina Ripoll, 469–488. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanc.
De la Torre, J. & M. García-Zúñiga. 2013. Instituciones y empresarialidad en el norte
de España, 1885–2010. Revista de Historia Industrial 51: 141–170.
Fernández-Paradas, M. & J. M. Matés-Barco. 2016. Un recurso para la docencia y la
investigación: la biografía empresarial. In Nuevas perspectivas en la Investigación
docente de la historia económica, eds. M. A. Bringas, E. Catalán, C. Trueba & L.
Remuzgo, 111–117. Santander: Editorial de la Universidad de Cantabria.
Garaizar, I. 2008. La Escuela Especial de Ingenieros Industriales de Bilbao, 1897–1936.
Bilbao: Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Industriales de Bizkaia y Escuela Superior de
Ingeniería de Bilbao.
González González, M. J. 1995. La empresa en la historia del pensamiento económico.
In De empresas y empresarios en la España contemporánea, coord. M. Llordén
Miñambres, 13–28, Oviedo: Universidad de Oviedo.
Leyva Granados, Y. A. 2008. Desarrollo de una cultura empresarial contra el paradigma
de las agencias publicitarias. www.repositorioinstitucional.uson.mx/handle/unison/
2723 (accessed March 10, 2020).
López, S. & J. M. Valdaliso. (eds.) 1997. ¿Qué inventen ellos? Madrid: Alianza.
Matés-Barco, J. M. & M. Castro-Valdivia. 2017. La Historia de la Empresa: herramienta
para fomentar la cultura emprendedora. In, Educación Histórica. Patrimonios
olvidados y felicidad en la Didáctica de las Ciencias Sociales, Coords. A. Fernández-
Paradas, M. Fernández Paradas & G. A. Gutiérrez-Montoya, 123–150. San Salvador:
Editorial Universidad Don Bosco.
Matés-Barco, J. M. (coord.) 2019. Empresas y empresarios en España. De mercaderes
a industriales, Madrid: Pirámide.
Núñez, C. E. & G. Tortella. (coords.) 1993. La maldición divina: ignorancia y atraso
económico en perspectiva histórica. Madrid: Alianza.
Núñez, C. E. 1992. La fuente de la riqueza: educación y desarrollo económico en la
España contemporánea. Madrid: Alianza.
Ortiz-
Villajos, J. M. 1999. Tecnología y desarrollo económico en la historia
contemporánea. Madrid: Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas.
Parejo, A. 2011. Introducción. In Cien empresarios andaluces, dir. A. Parejo, 11–23.
Madrid: Lid.
Pimentel, M. 2011. Prólogo. In Cien empresarios andaluces, dir. A. Parejo, 9– 10.
Madrid: Lid.
Robbins, S. 2010. Comportamiento organizacional (8ª ed.). Madrid: Prentice Hall.
Schatsky, D. & J. Schwartz. 2015. Global Human Capital Trends 2015. Leading in
the new world of work. Westlake: Deloitte University Press. www2.deloitte.com/
content/dam/insights/us/articles/cognitive-technology-in-hr-human-capital-trends-
2015/DUP_GlobalHumanCapitalTrends2015.pdf (accessed March 16, 2020).
12

Tortella, G. 1994. El desarrollo de la España contemporánea. Madrid: Alianza.
Tortella, G. 2000. Prólogo. In Cien empresarios españoles del siglo XX, dir. E. Torres,
13–18. Madrid: Lid.
Tortella, G., J. L. García Ruíz, J. M. Ortiz- Villajos López, & G. Quiroga. 2008.
Educación, Instituciones y Empresa. Los determinantes del espíritu empresarial.
Madrid: Academia Europea de Ciencias y Artes.
2
2
Entrepreneurship, Strategy and
Networks
The Development of Commercial and
Financial Companies in Early Modern
Castile
David Carvajal
The Commercial and Financial World at the End of the

Fifteenth and Start of the Sixteenth Centuries
In the mid- sixteenth century it was common to find Castilian merchants
trading in the principal European markets and trade fairs. Antwerp, Bruges,
Lyon, London, Florence, and Rome were just some of the centers where those
who managed or represented large Castilian companies settled and played a
relevant role. Such companies as that of Simón Ruiz, or those of the Astudillo,
the Bernuy, or the Quintana dueñas are examples of the acquired relevance
(Lapeyre 1955; Casado 2003). The Castilian presence and the success of their
businesses, even though in many cases it was short-lived, was the result of
a long process of consolidation and expansion of their commercial activity,
encouraged by several companies and families of merchants for over a century
and a half.
From the end of the fourteenth century onwards, in addition to a com-
mercial and financial recovery, Western Europe started on a path to economic
recovery which was particularly important in the centers of Northern Europe
(Flanders) and the North of Italy. Having overcome the effects of the many
crises that rocked the old continent during the fourteenth century, these centers
continued to enjoy a privileged position and the benefits of the commercial
revolution spearheaded by the great Italian companies, the great dominators of
the Mediterranean, and the main commercial and financial circuits. Given their
success, the Italian companies became the model to imitate.
In the case of Castile, the presence of foreigners –especially Italians –was
notorious in the great commercial centers, such as Seville, and in those ter-
ritories yet to be conquered, such as the Nazarí kingdom of Granada or the
Canary Islands, where the expectations of profit were high (Otte 1996; González
Arévalo 2012; Bello 1994). In any case, the foreign merchants and companies
took advantage of the favorable climate throughout the fifteenth century and
they were soon followed by the Castilian initiative. The Castilian merchants
found a favorable economic context to develop their activities, expand their
businesses, and start up new companies. The population passed the threshold
32
Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Networks 23

of four million towards the end of the century and continued to grow over
the first few decades of the sixteenth century; the territory increased after the
incorporation of Granada and other possessions in the Atlantic and North
Africa (Aznar 1983); the ratios of urbanization were around 8%, only lower
than Flanders and the North of Italy; the renaissance of the urban markets and
the appearance of great fairs favored the creation of commercial circuits that
also took advantage of the boost in agricultural and artisanal production. All
these elements are characteristic of a strong process of endogenous growth
which, in addition, was accompanied by a continued opening up to abroad.
Castile was a geographically large and disperse territory in which some
regions, such as the northwest coast, had remained traditionally isolated from
the rest of the territory. Nevertheless, the expansion of internal trade during
this period and the progressive integration of the local, regional, and penin-
sular markets improved the conditions so that many merchants felt they could
assume the risk of doing business beyond the urban markets or the nearby trade
fairs. The dense network of urban and rural markets as well as the network of
trade fairs that took place throughout the year in diverse places belonging to
the crown were a great opportunity for those who wished to progress in their
business. This phenomenon permitted groups of merchants from such cities
as Burgos to act together and become known in such centers as Seville where
the local community and the Genoese had traditionally dominated the market
(Otte 1996; Palenzuela 2003). To the expansion in interior trade must be added
the increase in financial activities. The movement of money, the expansion of
credit, and the frequent use of diverse financial instruments and operations
acted as a support to promote commercial activity and, without a doubt, was
also vital for encouraging investment in and the foundation of companies.
During the last decades of the fifteenth century, with an expanding economy
and a relatively quiet institutional situation following the reforms of the
Catholic Monarchs, the merchants knew how to take advantage of a favorable
situation to create new companies, a process that came to fruition in the six-
teenth century. The change of century supposed a strengthening of businesses
that had been going on for decades, instigated by the Castilian merchants in
other territories of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as in European centers where
the great merchant families and their companies finally managed to become
integrated (Casado 2003).
The Company in Castile: A Multiform Institution

The sources of the period link the term merchant to all those who trade goods.
Having said that, the diversity of the merchants to be found in Castile is there-
fore immense. From the small rural merchants and shopkeepers to the great
merchants dedicated to international trade, variety is the common character-
istic, as was their interest in founding companies. Legal sources tell us that
companies existed in Castile from at least the thirteenth century. Nevertheless,
testimonies of commercial companies in existence before the fifteenth century
are extremely scarce. It was then that companies began to appear in the wake
42
24 David Carvajal
of the economic recuperation –companies whose prime objective was to carry
through their business in a relatively short period of time and to obtain a profit
from doing so (Carvajal 2019).
As happened in other European territories, especially in the Italian cities
(Igual & Navarro 1997; Franceschi et. al. 2007; De Ruysscher et al. 2017),
the company became one of the principal associative strategies for facing up
to the risks of an uncertain business with some degree of security. Essentially,
the company allowed both profits and losses to be shared, thus decreasing the
merchants’ economic and financial risk and strengthening their capacity to gen-
erate profits. At this time, the dangers that could send a merchant into bank-
ruptcy were many: from the uncertainty of not being able to reach business
expectations when selling goods, to the risk that such activities as piracy posed,
or a simple natural catastrophe which could sink a ship full of merchandise.
So, sharing the risk through a company became an interesting and desirable
option for the merchants. As for the benefits, we should note the convenience
of associations thanks to the organizational benefits derived from a society
with commercial representation in different places and the capacity to develop
different types of business at the same time, thus allowing economies of scale
on various different levels (Casado 2015a; 2018, p. 171).
Faced with the scarcity of company contracts or capitulations that would
permit a more accurate definition, the laws of Castile allow us to make a
first approximation to defining and characterizing the company as that asso-
ciation “which merchants and other men make with each other in order to
gain something”1. Above and beyond that, diversity is both important and
formidable (Caunedo 1993a; Carvajal 2019); even so, it is possible to charac-
terize Castilian companies through a series of parameters such as type, number
of associates, duration, strategy, etc., and which undoubtedly had an Italian
influence.
At the end of the fifteenth and start of the sixteenth centuries, most Castilian
companies fell into the category of what the law called “sobre cosa señalada”
since, in their deeds of incorporation, it was usual to indicate the objective or
objectives: to trade, provide a center, offer financial services or tax manage-
ment, etc. Even if the objective was defined, the definition was very general,
and this allowed the partners to develop one of the most interesting strat-
egies, which we shall analyse below: diversification. Thus, the Castilian com-
pany was a multiform structure (Casado 2015a, 2018) that allowed a limited
number of partners, normally between two and five, to carry out a multitude
of business activities under a single legal umbrella. In addition, the different
modes of participation in the company at the time and the different ways of
organizing the social capital, due to the existence of senior and junior partners,
commercial representatives, or partners “fuori del corpo” (copying the Italian
model), gave the society’s structure great flexibility. Another characteristic
of these companies concerns their chronology. In general, companies lasted
between one and five years. As far as we know from the existing documenta-
tion, the main activity usually influenced the association’s period of validity.
The shortest lived companies were created to develop a concrete, periodical
52

activity, such as urban provisions or rent collection, which depended on an
annual renovation by a Council or the Crown (Carvajal, 2020). On the other
hand, if the activity were complex, involving other Peninsular or European ter-
ritories where company employees had to be settled, for which a commercial
network had to be set up and various different products were traded, then the
company was usually created for several years (Casado 2015a, 2018; Carvajal
& de la Torre 2019). None of this stopped the companies from being renewed
as many times as the partners so wished if the business was successful and the
partners were in favour of doing so, thus generating associations that, in some
cases, could last for over two decades, as happened in the case of the Portillo
family in Valladolid (Al-Hussein 1986, p. 196).
One of the great strengths of the company was its capacity to unite a large
amount of capital with which to make an initial investment that, individually,
would have been impossible or would have supposed an excessive risk for any
Castilian merchant. The amount with which companies were founded at the
start of the 16th century varied according to the purpose and range of operation
(see table 2.1). We find, in general, small companies such as the Marroquín-
Sánchez, whose initial capital was around 30,000 maravedís (3.32 kgs. of
silver); other medium-sized companies such as the Medina-Calatayud, with an
initial capital of 1.4 million maravedís (157.67 kgs. of silver); or large com-
panies dedicated to exports, such as the company Pesquera-Silos, with an ini-
tial capital of 8.7 million maravedís (962.61 kgs. of silver) in 1514 (Casado
2015a, p. 79), or the Daza-Urueña, founded with 12.5 million maravedís
(1,383.06 kgs. of silver) in 1533. To understand the value of these sums, we
can compare them to some of the great mercantile fortunes of Burgos, the
home of the great exporting companies. We know that in 1507 at least 11
merchants dedicated more than three million maravedís (331.94 kgs. of silver)
to investments in commercial activities, reaching a total of 12 million in the
case of Juan Alonso Salinas; therefore, individually taking on board the risks
of international commerce was practically impossible, even for the richest
merchants of the period (Caunedo, 1993b). In addition, these companies
improved their debt capacity, something which was fundamental when first
operating or during subsequent years. Having several credit-worthy partners
strengthened the company’s financial structure and its credit possibilities.
Another characteristic aspect of Castilian companies was their management.
At the head of the company was a principal administrator –normally one of
the partners who knew well the necessary mercantile techniques for registering
the operations in the accounts books while also having sufficient basic know-
ledge to be able to develop the mercantile activity. As we shall see, the part-
ners had to possess aptitudes for controlling the flow of information and the
human resources employed by the company and had to be able negotiators.
The task of management was sometimes shared by several partners who could
also represent the company in the places where it operated alongside commer-
cial representatives and commission merchants.
Finally, it is worth mentioning a fundamental question in Castilian com-
mercial and financial companies: the profit share-out and the liquidating of the
62
newgenrtpdf
Table 2.1 Castilian Companies According to Initial Investment, Products & Services and Markets (1489–1538)
26
Year Name City Initial investment Initial Products and Markets
David Carvajal
(maravedís) investment services
(Silver Kgs.)
1489 Daza-López de Valladolid 1,350,000 149.37 Trade and Iberian Pen.

Calatayud financial
services
1500 Marroquín-Sánchez Medinaceli 30,000 3.32 Wood Regional
de Toledo
1500 ca. Esquivel-Sánchez Bilbao 130,000 14.38 Trade International Ireland
1514 Pesquera-Silos Burgos 8,700,000 962.61 Trade International Flanders,
Italy, and
France
1515 Díaz-Medina Medina del Banking
Campo
1517 Ruiz-Soto San Martín de 130,000 14.38 Meat Regional
Valdeiglesias
1524 Medina-Calatayud Medina del 1,425,000 157.67 Fish Regional
Campo
1525 Medina-Ram Medina del 2,550,000 282.15 Trade and Iberian Pen. Aragon
Campo financial
services
1528 Plazuela-Resxo Medina de 965,524 106.83 Trade Regional
Rioseco
1522 Medina-Urueña Medina del 12,500,000 1,383.06 Trade and International Flanders,
Campo / financial Italy
Valladolid services
1532 Alcazaba-Martínez- Cuéllar /Medina 2,750,000 304.27
Soto del Campo
72
newgenrtpdf
1534 Medina-Aranda Valladolid 4,500,000 497.90 Trade and International Flanders,
financial Italy, and
services Portugal
1535 Roquien-Mizariego- Barcelona / 562,500 62.24 Trade Iberian Pen. Aragon
Calbet Zaragoza /
Medina del
Campo
1536 Portillo-Ávila Valladolid / 975,000 107.88 Trade Iberian Pen.
Granada
1536 Frías-Medina- Medina del 300,000 33.19 Trade Iberian Pen.
Huerta Campo /Uceda
1537 Medina-Urueña Medina del 16,170,000 1,789.13 Trade and Iberian Pen. Flanders,
Campo / financial Italy
Valladolid services

1538 Rodríguez-Román Medina del 750,000 82.98 Trade Regional
Campo
Sources: Author’s own elaboration with data from Al-Hussein 1986; Casado 2015; Carvajal 2015a, 2018 2020; Irioja et al. 2019. Exchange rate
maravedí-silver: 0.1001 grs./maravedí.
82
28 David Carvajal
company. What profits could those who participated in a commercial and finan-
cial company expect? If we take into account the annual return with respect to
the initial investment, the figures vary considerably. The known references to
companies from Burgos show that a company could obtain an annual profit or
interest of between 10% and 20–25% of the initial capital (Caunedo 1993a,
p. 53). These margins seem attractive today, yet we must remember that not
all companies managed to achieve their initial purpose and, in some cases,
such dangers as pirates could result in important losses; although the prin-
cipal problem was usually a delay in being paid pending debts, which was the
cause of most known bankruptcies. This is a model in which the majority of
decisions were taken based on the risk. At the moment of a company’s liquid-
ation and the proportional sharing out of the profits or losses according to the
capital invested, the partners could decide to renew their company for a further
cycle. Thus, the Castilian company showed itself to be a flexible and dynamic
model in so far as its formation and dissolution are concerned, capable of
taking advantage of those trading opportunities that were on the rise and of
withdrawing when the expected profits did not appear. In short, a model that
adapted well to an economy in constant flux and one in which the conditions
for trading and mobilizing capital were ever changing in both the short and
medium term.
he Keys to Castilian Entrepreneurial Success at the End of the

T
Middle Ages and the Beginning of the Modern Age
The Castilian company was a flexible, dynamic, and multiform institu-
tion. This versatility, together with other key points, allowed the Castilian
merchants to consolidate a progressive expansion through regional, penin-
sular, and international markets. The capacity to do business and the success
of most Castilian companies resided in at least four aspects: the ability to vary
the strategy between specialization and diversification, human capital and the
adoption of commercial innovations, the widening and consolidation of com-
mercial networks, and the institutional framework favourable to mercantile
interests.
etween Specialization and Diversification: Products and

B
Geographical Area
At the time of developing a company’s strategy, the Castilian companies stood
out for the ability of their partners and managers when deciding between spe-
cialization and diversification. Although specialization was a common strategy,
as we have learned more about these companies, we have noticed how diversifi-
cation became one of the keys to Castilian entrepreneurial development. Many
merchants, conscious of the new opportunities offered by such businesses as
the tax and financial, expanded their traditional diversification (product and
markets) to enter into such areas as tax, where specialization was well known
(Carretero 1999; Ortega 2012). The Castilian commercial companies also
92

diversified towards the tax business. We know that the companies dedicated
to supply could take control of the taxes levied in their activity, which allowed
them to improve their potential profits. Nevertheless, on a higher level, we
know that the company headed by Gonzalo de Segovia, dedicated to breeding
livestock and the trading of wool and other products, also got into the tax
business, securing the management of rents in several bishoprics of the north
and south of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as that of the almojarifazgo mayor
of Seville, a custom tax which was possibly one of the most succulent rents in
the whole of Castile.
Between Specialization and Diversification in Products and Services

As for specialization, one of the commercial areas where this strategy can best
be appreciated was in the marketing of basic products: food stuffs and raw
materials. The demographic growth that took place in the cities and towns of
Castile during this period and the dietary changes, more diversified and with
an increase in the consumption of animal proteins, boosted the business of
supplying meat and fish around which new companies arose. These companies
became the hub of supply for large cities and towns such as Madrid, Cordoba,
or Valladolid, as well as in medium sized towns such as Toro and small towns
such as San Martín de Valdeiglesias (Bonachía 1992; Hernández 2006; Puñal
2014; Carvajal 2020). The company in San Martín in particular, founded with
only 130,000 maravedís, is an example of specialization in the purchase of
livestock (acquired in a fair 130 kilometres away), and in the sale of meat
and other secondary products in the town. In spite of being small companies
made up of butchers, merchants, and other capitalists, their activity demanded
great organizational capacities since the purchase of animals was usually done
in different places –sometimes far from the market to be supplied –and the
procedure of transporting and processing the animals was long. These capaci-
ties were also necessary in the case of companies dedicated to supplying fish
from the northern ports to such cities as Madrid, situated in the center of the
peninsula (Puñal 2014), or the company Medina-Calatayud, founded in 1524,
dedicated to supplying Medina del Campo and the surrounding area with fish
(conger eel, sardine, etc.) acquired in Galicia2.
The participation of the companies was also important in the commerce of
raw materials. The boom in construction in the urban and rural world meant an
increased necessity for such materials as timber. The demand generated a new
business opportunity for small companies specialized in transport over forty
or fifty kilometres, as well as the commercialization of important quantities of
timber to such centres as Madrid or Toledo (Carvajal 2015a). Nevertheless,
when we speak of raw materials, it is necessary to cite two products that stood
out due to their exportation to European markets: iron and wool. Of the
former, we know of the importance it had for the Basque companies, which
specialized in its exportation in spite of such controversial measures as the pro-
hibition to trade abroad at the end of the fifteenth century (Irijoa et al. 2018,
p. 26).
03
30 David Carvajal
The star product of the Castilian commercial companies was wool. Once
more, an increase in the demand for textiles, as well as the rise of large pro-
ductive centres such as Segovia, Toledo, Cuenca, or Palencia, boosted the
production and sales of wool throughout the Iberian Peninsula. Companies
such as that formed by Gonzalo de Segovia, Pedro del Campo, Álvaro de Soria,
and Pedro Gómez Tapia, active between 1492 and 1519, possessed their own
flocks and commercialized the production of other farmers, in their heyday
possessing 2,589 sheep and commercializing 1,534 arrobas of wool (Casado
2000, pp. 141–145). However, if the companies dedicated to the commercial-
ization of wool stood out for any reason, it was for exportation to the great
European textile centres, which continued to grow throughout the fifteenth
and the first half of the sixteenth centuries. A good measure of the size of
the business are such figures as the price of 40,760 ducats paid for 537,989
pounds of wool sold by the company Pesquera-Silos in Tuscany between 1516
and 1519 (Casado 2015a, p. 88). The merchants from Burgos had a special
protagonism in its exportation and they used the company as a vehicle for their
trading, as we shall see later.
The companies that were dedicated to mobilizing important quantities of
goods and money understood the benefits they could obtain by diversifying
their business, in both products and services: reducing the risk derived from
investing in a single product and the potential benefits from complementary
business activities to the principal one, such as the commercialization of other
goods, the transfer of money, or the control of taxes. Diversification in product
within Castile could be more limited than that carried out by the large com-
panies dedicated to exportation, yet the size and capacity of demand in the
Castilian economy soon favoured the diversification of the local companies.
For instance, the company Daza-Calatayud traded between 1490 and 1494
with different types of fabric, jewellery, and other products (Carvajal, 2015b);
while the company of Gonzalo de Segovia, cited above, besides wool traded in
cloth, canvas, silk, and dyes3. Meanwhile, companies oriented towards the inter-
national markets, such as the Pesquera-Silos, traded with wax, leather, ancho-
vies, sardines, almonds, madder, or dried fruit sent from the Iberian Peninsula
to Florence, while they imported high quality cloths (velluto, bordetes, etc.)
or pottery. Textiles was one of the products with the greatest international
projection and this company from Burgos, as did others, managed to obtain
huge profits on trading them with Florencia, Lyon, or Naples, exchanging silks,
Damask textiles, brocades, as well as spices such as cumin and other luxury
products such as oil (Casado 2015a, pp. 83–84). In the 1530s, such companies
as those of Castro-Mújica or Daza-Aranda continued on the same lines of
exporting wool and trading cloth between the principal Castilian fairs and
Lisbon, Flanders, and Lyon, or the Italian cities (Casado 2018; Carvajal &
de la Torre 2019). In their balance sheets for 1535–36 we find Dutch linen,
linen from Brabant, tablecloths, serge, linens, fustian, etc. The Castilian com-
panies quickly understood the potential profit margin they could obtain by
importing luxury goods (ivory, exotic animals, tapestries, books, miniatures,
artistic objects, alabasters, weapons…) from such centres as Flanders, whose
13

fashions were in vogue in Castile. The companies also understood that they
could obtain more profit by offering their services as commercial intermedi-
aries between the European merchants who were demanding products with a
high added value, especially in Italy and Flanders. Being a commercial inter-
mediary for foreign markets offered large returns, although it was neces-
sary to assume many risks, as the Genoese companies had been doing for a
long time, using their ships, shipowners, and foreign sailors (including
Castilians) to take such luxury products as cotton, spices, or perfumes from
the Aegean to Flanders4.
If diversification in products increased in line with the greater size of the
company, the same happened with the other forms of business developed by
these institutions, i.e., the financial business. From the end of the fifteenth cen-
tury onwards, we can find several companies in Castile dedicated to offering
commercial and financial services. The partners of these companies were usu-
ally moneychangers and other businessmen with sufficient capital to be able
to take the risk and offer services in exchange for currency, deposits, loans,
drafts, bills of exchange, etc. Starting up a business that had not yet flourished
in Castile meant taking an important risk; however, we know of such cases
as the company Verdesoto-Salinas which, during the 1490s, offered its ser-
vices in important financial centres of the period, such as the trade fairs of
Medina del Campo and Valladolid, or even in the Royal Court5. These primi-
tive mercantile-banking companies continued to grow amidst the boom in the
Castilian fairs and their integration into the European financial system (Casado
2015b). The commercial companies played a key role as financial agents since
they possessed the right organizational structures to foster the transfer of cap-
ital between mercantile centres, especially between the great financial markets
of Europe and the Iberian Peninsula.
From Local to International Commerce

As we have seen, the Castilian companies swung between specialization, in par-
ticular the smaller companies, and diversification in the type of business and
in the products. As the companies grew and the relations between the partners
became more solid, many widened their radius of activity towards new terri-
tories, encouraging geographical diversification as a new strategy to deal with
growth in a highly competitive environment. The merchants of Burgos, prob-
ably one of the most active and innovative groups in the kingdom, understood
quite soon the necessity to extend the location of their activities and, conse-
quently, there then appeared an important group of merchants and companies
in what possibly was then the greatest economic and financial hub of Castile:
the city of Seville (Palenzuela 2003). However, geographical diversification
was not only limited to establishing the company in another city of the kingdom,
it went beyond the borders. It involved finding partners and representatives of
the established companies and negotiating in various geographical points of
the Peninsula. For instance, in the fifteenth century, companies from Toledo,
such as the Cota, soon appeared at great fairs and markets like that of Madrid,
23
32 David Carvajal
a place in full commercial development from where many merchants aimed to
widen their links with the south (Toledo, Seville, Cordoba), the east (Cuenca)
and the north (Segovia, Medina del Campo, and Burgos) (Puñal 2014, pp. 127–
128). If we speak of geographical diversification as a strategy, we ought to
mention the companies of Gonzalo de Segovia or Daza-Calatayud, whose
partners and managers settled in various different places around the entire
Iberian Peninsula. Meanwhile, the companies established in the south were not
unaware of this process, although their capacity as entrepreneurs soon focused
on the opportunities offered by the Atlantic Ocean, that is to say, the Canary
Islands and the New World (Aznar 1983; Bello 1994). The north-south inte-
gration of the Castilian economy, by sea and by land, opened up a new oppor-
tunity for the Castilian entrepreneurs.
In a wider geographical context, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
the presence of Castilian companies in the principal Peninsular and European
territories continued to grow. The Castilian merchants increased their com-
mercial interests in such Peninsular kingdoms as Portugal, where companies
such as that of Ruy González del Portillo and the Italians Gabriel and Mateo
Pinelo traded cloth and silk (Medrano 2007, p. 346). The Crown of Aragon,
as well as such centers as Valencia, became a destination for merchants from
Burgos (Casado 2003, p. 59). Nevertheless, the great process of international
expansion by the Castilian companies came about through the normaliza-
tion of commercial routes and the establishment of Castilian merchants in
Flanders, France, England, or the Italian cities, among other places. This phe-
nomenon has been studied and defined by H. Casado (2003) for the case of the
merchants of Burgos, although we know that other communities, such as the
Basques from Vizcaya, also followed the same route. The community of Burgos
was represented in the principal European cities through the members of the
main mercantile families of the city who exercised the role of commercial
representatives and commission merchants responsible for negotiating the sale
of Castilian products and acquiring new products for sale in other Castilian or
European ports. The presence of Castilian companies in these places mirrored
what we can see of the Italian companies. Thus, a Castilian company such
as the Pesquera-Silos, essentially a company of Burgos, was able to connect
Castilian production, especially the Andalusian production in the south of the
Peninsula with such European centers as Florence, Naples, Rome, Pisa, Lyon,
or Flanders, developing up to eight routes between different points, each one
specializing in demanded goods and taking the Florentine capital as its center
of operations (Casado 2015a, pp. 83–84). Besides the companies of Burgos,
other companies, such as Daza-Aranda from Valladolid, were capable of diver-
sifying their business to include operations at all market levels: local, regional,
peninsular, and European, through commerce between Flanders, Lisbon,
Burgos, Valladolid, Toledo, Bilbao, Seville, Madrid, Granada, and many other
places around the Iberian Peninsula6.
In short, the Castilian companies were capable of adapting their strategy to
the market conditions. The smallest companies tended towards specialization,
but when they had the opportunity, they also went for controlled diversification.
3

As a company got larger as a result of its reach for new business opportunities
and higher profits, diversification became a common strategy. However, they
were not blind to the increased risk that diversification in products or the geo-
graphical orientation of their business supposed.
Human Capital and Changes in Management

Entrepreneurship and the founding of companies was closely linked to the
existence of an important element: the human capital developed around
the Castilian mercantile groups. The generation and improvement of the human
capital within the mercantile world was closely linked to the formation of
Castilian businessmen. At the end of the fifteenth century, the merchants were
educated throughout their childhood and youth, a process that usually began
with the learning of the more theoretical subjects: reading, writing, and maths
were the fundamental disciplines that allowed future merchants to manage
their businesses, keep their accounts books and other registers, control the com-
panies’ finances, etc. (Caunedo 2006). The second stage of learning was based
on the more practical formation that the young aspirants received. In general,
such formation was done within the family group or in other companies of
the same city. The youths would normally undertake different roles until they
became, in the best of cases, a company’s agent or representative. Learning
such skills as negotiation, the control of both the quality and quantity of goods,
paying taxes, and managing basic operations of information allowed them to
acquire, in the eyes of their peers, the condition of fully-fledged merchants.
Nevertheless, it is important to state that this process of forming the human
capital was followed by another of improvement through continuous learning.
Those merchants who innovated and created large companies did not cease
to improve their knowledge throughout their lifetimes, complementing their
formation through practice or Merchant Handbooks (Caunedo 2006, p. 449).
Such changes in the generation and improvement of the human capital
had a direct impact on what H. Casado called “management innovations”
(Casado 2003, p. 45). The long learning process that a partner or manager of
a commercial company went through resulted in them introducing important
innovations in at least three aspects: information management, risk manage-
ment and reduction, and improving the financial capacity through knowledge
and the use of double-entry bookkeeping, used from the mid-fifteenth cen-
tury by Castilians even before such European regions as England or France, or
other financial knowledge linked to operational credit, insurance contracts, or
such procedures as bills of exchange. We could add a fourth innovation linked
to an excellent human capital that we have just examined: the capacity to
manage entrepreneurial strategies concerning the specialization or diversifica-
tion of products, services, and markets, both interior and exterior.
If the development of the human capital and the learning process had a not-
able impact on the management capacity of the partners and managers, it also
had a lot to do with the skills of the companies’ agents and representatives, espe-
cially if they were abroad. Although such posts were related to the merchant’s
43
34 David Carvajal
learning phase, it is possible to find many merchants who, while not partici-
pating in a company as a partner, did so as contracted staff, with the possibility
of entering to form part of the company. These agents, who could at the end of
the fifteenth century earn between 12 and 50 thousand maravedís, were essen-
tial to the expansion of the Castilian international trade given their exceptional
mercantile and representation skills and their ability to act as representatives
of several companies if their contracts so permitted (Caunedo 1998, p. 105).
On a lower level, as far as human resources are concerned, we find the
servants and temporal workers. Once more, the human capital was an essen-
tial factor since it was essential for the companies to have efficient servants,
who were normally able to read and know arithmetic, as well as workers with
their own skills in the business in which they were to work. For instance, the
workers of the company that transported timber along the river Tagus had
to have sufficient skills to move hundreds of floating timber logs while also
being able to set up and take down the mills, the dams, and other hydrological
infrastructures en route (Carvajal 2015a).
Finally, around the companies, there also existed many other people respon-
sible for facilitating the mercantile and financial activity. These people were
especially valued in foreign centers where contact was occasional, and they
usually acted as commission merchants for several firms at the same time. We
are talking here about such characters as Pedro de Arnedo (Goicolea 2018) or
Arnao del Plano in Antwerp, professionals with great knowledge in mercantile
and financial matters and who, thanks to their dynamism and flexibility, were
of great help to the Castilian companies in their foreign trade.
The Creation of Networks

One of the most characteristic aspects of the commercial success of the Italian
merchants and companies was their capacity to generate all kinds of networks
that surpassed regional geography and provided them with a powerful infra-
structure through which they could continue to trade and expand their interests
throughout Europe. In this sense, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries,
the Castilian merchants made great efforts to emulate this model and to gen-
erate various types of network covering both the Peninsula and Europe so as
to be able to enjoy the very same benefits they observed among the merchants
from Genoa, Milan, or Florence.
Before going any further, it is necessary to consider that the fundamental
unit within the mercantile networks was the family. This was true in Italy
(Goldthwaite 2009, pp. 105–108), but also in Castile, although the concept
of family was different in the Iberian Peninsula. In any case, at the time of cre-
ating mercantile networks, the companies played an essential role as the cre-
ation of societies was one of the most common and solid connections between
families of merchants who, during that period, were interested in creating
networks upon which they could then consolidate their enterprises and their
strategy for climbing the social ladder. Thus, it is not surprising to observe how
their business connections became superimposed upon those of their existing
53

neighbourhood, marriages between members of the families, or the joint par-
ticipation in organs of urban government (Carvajal 2014). The model for these
relationships in Castile can be found in Burgos (Basas 1954).
Although we know about the personal nature of many companies, such
as that of Diego de Soria (Caunedo 1985), it suffices to cite some of the
companies already mentioned (Daza- López de Calatayud, Daza- Aranda,
Verdesoto-Salinas, Castro-Mújica, Pesquera-Silos, etc.) to understand that the
company acts as a catalyst for the mercantile networks that, with the support
of the agents from other merchant families, wove a dense network on both the
Castilian and European levels. This support network based on the family, the
neighbourhood, and the company, was one of the elements that favoured inter-
national expansion during the first half of the fifteenth century.
The potential of these mercantile networks woven through company
links was reinforced by other networks that arose in a juxtaposed or parallel
way. We are referring here to the financial networks and to the information
networks. Concerning the former, we have already mentioned such cases as the
company of Gonzalo de Segovia, capable of moving, between 1495 and 1498
from the fairs of Medina del Campo and Villalón, Burgos, and Segovia, almost
3 million maravedís in bills of exchange sent by Álvaro de Soria to Seville in
order to pay his creditors, who were mainly Italian (Carvajal 2015b, p. 95).
In the 1520s, such companies as the Medina-Ram transferred capital through
exchange operations between the crowns of Castile and Aragon, moving up
to 617,500 maravedís between Medina del Campo, Zaragoza, and Valencia7.
These networks were the basis of a structure that soon became consolidated
on a European level, thus allowing such companies as the Daza-Aranda to
send money to Antwerp, in particular to the abovementioned Arnao del Plano,
who offered his financial services to manage the payments and the purchase
of clothing and other products for a value of 4,000 ducats (Carvajal & de la
Torre 2019). The same happened with the Castro-Mújica company, although
on a larger scale. This company developed an important financial business
through the transfer of money, from their own business as well as that of
other companies, between the Castilian fairs and the principal fairs of Europe:
Antwerp, Bergen op Zoom, or Lyon. They also developed a thriving business
in maritime insurance, able to divert 55,505.41 ducats from Flanders to the
Castilian fairs between 1535 and1538 (Casado 2018, pp. 183–187). These
financial networks formed by partners, bankers, and moneychangers provided
the necessary liquidity for the business activities in the Peninsula and, perhaps
more importantly, abroad, facilitating the flow of finance to the European sites
and the return journey of the profits to Castile.
The second type of network was that based on the flow of information
that existed between the members of a company, whatever its size: from the
small company transporting timber down the Tagus river whose servants acted
as messengers, carrying letters and transmitting information between partners
concerning the conditions on the river and other management problems, to
the flow of international information, which we know was vital to the large
Italian companies (Infelise 2007). The importance of information management,
63
36 David Carvajal
particularly in such a competitive context as the international one, was such
that important institutions, such as the University of Merchants, or Consulate
of Burgos, developed their own postal system, which consumed around 5%
of the institution’s expenditure (Casado 2008, p. 47). Without a doubt, the
benefits of having up to date information concerning such market conditions
as prices, goods, dangers, etc., were helpful to the members of the said institu-
tion. The commercial, financial, and information networks were protected by
the institutions themselves which, in turn, were fundamental for developing
other tools necessary for risk management.
Risk Management: Institutions, Insurance and Justice

One last aspect that we should deal with that concerns the causes of the
Castilian entrepreneurial success is risk management and the role played
by the mercantile and civil institutions. In recent years, historiography has
been widely debating the role played by institutions to encourage mercantile
activity or, on the contrary, to defend privileges that impeded improvements
in market conditions (Ogilvie 2011). In this sense, the Castilian merchants
had the support of two great consulates, that of Burgos (1494), that of Bilbao
(1511), or that of Seville (1543), which helped to consolidate the process of
the creation of mercantile consulates during the fifteenth century in the main
European markets. Having the consulates was a well- known competitive
advantage that had been developed by the Italians, conscious of the reduced
risk they brought to their international enterprises. Following a similar model,
the network of Castilian colonies and consulates provided a certain security
and support to the merchants in foreign parts, but also to those within Castile.
They also reduced the high costs of transactions that small companies faced
when acting individually (Casado 2003).
The consulates supported the mercantile activity and facilitated risk man-
agement through two further aspects. The first of these was the development
of the insurance market. Since its creation in 1494, the Consulate of Burgos
promoted legal regulations and the contracting of insurance, converting the
city into one of the principal markets for contracting during the sixteenth
century and promoting the development of insurance techniques, both mari-
time and life insurance. Thus, the merchants of Burgos in particular and the
Castilian merchants in general could take advantage of the institutional infra-
structure and the flow of information through the consulate to negotiate and
manage the risks to their commercial expeditions through the Mediterranean,
the Straits of Gibraltar, or the English Channel and, for that matter, their com-
panies (Casado 2003). In addition, the consulates offered the merchants legal
protection since most enjoyed privileges granted by the kings of Castile or by
the governors of the places where the companies were situated to judge cer-
tain conflicts in which they may be immersed due to commercial and financial
disputes.
Another element that helped the Castilian companies in risk management
was the institutional environment. At the end of the fifteenth and start of the
73

sixteenth centuries, the development and organization of such institutions as
the civil courts or the notary’s office meant that the merchants could make
use of a series of institutions in case of need and lay claim to their rights. In
this sense, the importance of these institutions in defending property rights
should be remembered. Royal justice and the legitimacy provided by notarial
documentation were beginning to be key elements in business for the Castilian
companies during the 16th century (Carvajal 2018).
Finally, although it may seem fairly evident, we cannot avoid mentioning
the development of modern methods of entrepreneurial management within
the Castilian companies as a tool capable of improving risk management. The
development of double-entry bookkeeping and registration through the prep-
aration of diverse books, from the general ledger to the day book and other
auxiliary books, and other documents such as the inventories and balance
sheets allowed the partners to maintain an almost immediate control of the
company’s economic situation, facilitating the decisions that needed to be
taken when assuming new risks or maintaining less reckless strategies.
Nevertheless, in spite of the importance of the institutions and the tools
involved in risk management, it was impossible to eliminate this component
completely from mercantile negotiations. At this point, one last aspect came
into play: the need to establish a relationship based on trust. This concept
only reflects how the good name, fame, and honor of a merchant and his com-
pany could be key elements for improving their negotiating capacity, increasing
the possibility of obtaining greater profits, and reducing the risks to their
operations. Although never a certainty, negotiating with other merchants with
whom one maintained a relationship built on trust was always a good resource
for reducing risks and assuring success in business.
Conclusions
Starting up a business has never been and is not an easy task –it requires
many different ingredients. The Castilian merchant has traditionally been
characterized as a conservative individual averse to risk. Nevertheless, the
example of the Castilian merchants and companies in the fifteenth and six-
teenth centuries demonstrates that there was a time in which launching a
business and participating in the great international markets was relatively
frequent in Castile. In fact, it was done with quite a lot of success. Besides the
Castilian merchants who acted individually, we have also focused on those who
took the trouble to found companies with the purpose of increasing profits by
gaining access to regional, peninsular, and international markets.
It was a complex process. A merchant did not take risks just for the adrenaline
rush, nor could he create a company out of nothing. As has been pointed out
over recent years, there are diverse factors acting in favor of entrepreneurship
in Castile. Without a doubt, the expansive dynamic of the Castilian economy
(demography, production, exchanges, etc.) made for a fertile breeding ground
that was ideal to foster entrepreneurship. However, other factors intrinsic to
the Castilian mercantile world, such as the facility to create companies or the
83
38 David Carvajal
attempts to emulate the corporate model of the Italian cities, which had proven
to be the most modern by leaving behind the medieval company. The Castilian
companies knew how to adapt and generate an adequate organizational model
for the time and for their expectations. The success of this model was based
on the capacity to develop different specialization and diversification strat-
egies; on the generation and improvement of the human capital which, in turn,
imposed changes and innovations in management; on the creation of mercan-
tile, financial, and information networks to act as safer foundations for the
activity; and, finally, on an institutional environment capable of improving risk
management, reducing it through support among merchants or the signing of
insurance contracts, in addition to promoting trust between merchants and
their companies.
In short, Castile lived an unparalleled moment as far as innovation and
successful entrepreneurship is concerned, both within Castile’s frontiers and in the
wide world beyond, where competitiveness continued to grow. During the second
half of the sixteenth century, the situation began to change. Castile’s economic
boom began to lose pace and the bankruptcies among Castilian merchants and
their companies began –merchants and companies who, until that moment, had
enjoyed entrepreneurial success (Al-Hussein 1986, 260). In any case, the Castilian
merchants and companies gave a boost to the first globalization from its initial
moments and the geographical discoveries that came with it (Lapeyre 1955).
Notes
1 Thirteenth century legal compilation: Las Partidas, Partida V, Título X.
2 Archivo Municipal de Valladolid (=AMVa), Fondo H. de Esgueva, c. 404–78. Reg.
97, 1524, julio 23, Medina del Campo.
3 Archivo de la Real Chancillería de Valladolid (=ARChV), Pleitos Civiles, Pérez
Alonso (F), 103-1 and 104-1.
4 For example, companies like the one founded by the Genoese merchant Giorgio de
Cazana and the shipowner Martín de Uriste in 1492 (ARChV, RE, c. 141–6) or the
company stablished by Francisco de Riberol and the shipowner Juan Martínez de
Amezqueta in 1505, trading with goods valued at 10,000 ducats (ARChV, Regitro
de Ejecutoria, c. 197-41).
5 ARChV, PC, Masas (F), c. 3174-3; Archivo General de Simancas, Regitro General del
Sello, leg. 1499-10, 96.
6 AMVa, Fondo H. de Esgueva, c. 404–97. Reg. 182.
7 AMVa, Fondo H. de Esgueva, c. 404–45. Reg. 98.
References
Al-Hussein, F. H. A. 1986. “Las compañías o asociaciones de mercaderes.” In Historia
de Medina del Campo y su tierra, vol 2, edited by Eufemio Lorenzo, 191–220.
Valladolid: Ayto. de Medina del Campo –Excma. Diputación Provincial de
Valladolid –Consejería de Educación y Cultura.
Aznar, E. 1983. La integración de las islas Canarias en la Corona de Castilla (1478–
1526): aspectos administrativos, sociales y económicos. La Laguna: Universidad de
La Laguna.
93

Basas, M. 1954. “Mercaderes burgaleses en el siglo XVI.” Boletín de la Institución
Fernán González 126: 156–169.
Bello, J. M. 1994. Extranjeros en Castilla (1474–1501). Notas y documentos para el
estudio de su presencia en el reino a finales del siglo XV. La Laguna: Universidad
de La Laguna.
Bonachía, J. A. 1992. “Abastecimiento urbano, mercado local y control municipal: La
provisión y comercialización de carne en Burgos (Siglo XV).” Espacio, Tiempo y
Forma, Serie III. Historia Medieval 5: 85–162.
Carretero, J. M. 1999. “Los arrendadores de la hacienda de Castilla a comienzos del
siglo XVI (1517–1525).” Studia Historica. Historia Moderna 21: 153–190.
Carvajal, D. 2014. “Merchant Networks in the Crown of Castile Cities between
Medieval and Early Modern Age.” In Commercial Networks and European Cities,
1400–1800, edited by Andrea Caracausi and Christoff Jeggle, 137–152. London:
Pickering & Chatto.
Carvajal, D. 2015a. “Compañías y comercio de la madera en Castilla a fines del siglo
XV e inicios del XVI.” Espacio, Tiempo y Forma. Serie III 28: 201–219.
Carvajal, D. 2015b. “Flujos financieros norte-sur en Castilla a fines de la Edad Media.”
Anales de Historia Medieval de la Europa Atlántica 2: 81–104.
Carvajal, D. 2018. “Ley, justicia y cambio económico en Castilla a fines de la Edad Media
e inicios de la Edad Moderna.” Ricerche di Storia Economica e Sociale 2: 35–60.
Carvajal, D. 2019. “Compañías y negocios en Castilla (siglos XV-XVI).” In Empresas
y Empresarios en España, edited by Juan Manuel Matés, 37–56. Madrid: Ediciones
Pirámide.
Carvajal, D. 2020. “Los carniceros y sus negocios en el mundo rural castellano a fines del
siglo XV e inicios del XVI.” In Les bouchers et leurs affaires entre villes et campagnes
XIIIe-XVe siècles, edited by Catherine Verna, Sandrine Victor and Ramón Banegas,
279–301. Valencia: University of Valencia.
Carvajal, D. & S. de la Torre. 2019. “Los Daza: mercaderes aragoneses en Medina del
Campo.” Revista de Historia Jerónimo Zurita 95: 153–175.
Casado, H. 2000. “Comercio, crédito y finanzas públicas en Castilla en la época de los
Reyes Católicos.” In Dinero, moneda y crédito en la monarquía hispánica, edited by
Antonio Miguel Bernal, 135–156. Madrid: ICO–Marcial Pons.
Casado, H. 2003. El Triunfo de Mercurio. La presencia castellana en Europa (Siglos XV
y XVI). Burgos: Caja Círculo.
Casado, H. 2008. “Los flujos de información en las redes comerciales castellanas de los
siglos XV y XVI.” Investigaciones de Historia Económica 10: 35–68.
Casado, H. 2015a. “Los negocios de la compañía Pesquera-Silos en Florencia en los
inicios del siglo XVI.” In Hacienda, Mercado y Poder al norte de la Corona de
Castilla en el transito del Medievo a la Modernidad, edited by Ernesto García and
Juan Antonio Bonachía, 69–97. Valladolid: Castilla Ediciones.
Casado, H. 2015b. “Circuitos comerciales y flujos financieros en Castilla a fines de la
Edad Media e inicios de la Modernidad.” In Estados y mercados financieros en el
occidente cristiano (siglos XIII-XVI): XLI Semana de Estudios Medievales, Estella,
15–18 de julio de 2014: 273–307. Pamplona: Gobierno de Navarra
Casado, H. 2018. “Comercio y finanzas castellanas en los Países Bajos en la primera
mitad del siglo XVI: el ejemplo de la compañía Castro- Mújica.” In Comercio,
finanzas y fiscalidad en Castilla (siglos XV-XVI), edited by Hilario Casado, 165–
198. Valladolid: Castilla Ediciones.
Caunedo, B. 1985. “Los negocios de Diego de Soria: mercader burgalés.” In La ciudad
de Burgos: actas del Congreso de Historia de Burgos: MC aniversario de la fundación
de la ciudad, 163–172. Valladolid: Junta de Castilla y León.
04
40 David Carvajal
Caunedo, B. 1993a. “Compañías mercantiles castellanas a fines de la Edad Media.”
Medievalismo 3: 39–57.
Caunedo, B. 1993b. “Acerca de la riqueza de los mercaderes burgaleses: Aproximación
a su nivel de vida.” En la España medieval 16: 97–118.
Caunedo, B. 1998. “Factores burgaleses, ¿privilegiados o postergados?” En la España
medieval 21: 97–114.
Caunedo, B. 2006. “La formación y educación del mercader.” In El comercio en la
Edad Media: XVI Semana de Estudios Medievales, edited by José Ángel García de
Cortázar et al. 417–454. Logroño: IER.
De Ruysscher, D., A. Cordes, S. Dauchy, & H. Pihlajamäki (eds.). 2017. The Company in
Law and Practice: Did Size Matter? (Middle Ages-19th century). Leiden-Boston: Brill.
Franceschi, F., R. Goldthwaite, & R. Mueller (eds.). 2007. Commercio e cultura mercan-
tile. Il Rinascimento italiano e l’Europa. Vol. IV. Treviso-Costabissara: Fondazione
Cassamarca-Angelo Colla.
Goicolea, F. J. 2018. “Castilian Trade in the Low Countries in the early 16th century.
The activities of the merchant Pedro de Arnedo in the town of Middleburg.” Annales
Mercaturae 3: 51–83.
Goldthwaite, R. A. 2009. The Economy of Renaissance Florence. Baltimore: The Johns
Hopkins University Press.
González Arévalo, R. 2012. “Apuntes para una relación comercial velada: la República
de Florencia y el Reino de Granada en la Baja Edad Media.” Investigaciones de
Historia Económica 8-2: 83–93.
Hernández, P. 2006. “Abastecimiento y comercialización de la carne en Córdoba a fines
de la Edad Media.” Meridies: Revista de historia medieval 8: 73–120.
Infelise, M. 2007. “La circolazione dell’informazione commerciale”. In Commercio e
cultura mercantile. Il Rinascimiento italiano e l’Europa, Vol IV, edited by Franco
Franceschi et al., 499–522. Treviso-Costabissara: Fondazione Cassamarca-Angelo
Colla.
Igual, D. & G. Navarro. 1997. “Los genoveses en España en el tránsito del siglo XV al
XVI.” Historia. Instituciones. Documentos 24: 261–332.
Irijoa, I., F. J. Goicolea, & E. García. 2018. Mercaderes y financieros vascos y riojanos
en Castilla y Europa en el tránsito de la Edad Media a la Moderna. Valladolid:
Castilla Ediciones.
Lapeyre, H. 1955. Une famille de marchands: les Ruiz. Paris: SEPVEN.
Medrano, V. 2007. “El comercio terrestre castellano-portugués a finales de la Edad
Media.” Edad Media. Revista de Historia 8: 331–356.
Ogilvie, S. 2011. Institutions and European Trade. Merchant Guilds, 1000– 1800.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ortega, Á. 2012. “Estrategias, dinero y poder. Compañías financieras castellanas a
finales de la Edad Media: Una primera propuesta metodológica.” In Los negocios
del hombre. Comercio y rentas en Castilla. Siglos XV y XVI, edited by Juan Antonio
Bonachía and David Carvajal, 261–286. Valladolid: Castilla Ediciones.
Otte, E. 1996. Sevilla y sus mercaderes a fines de la Edad Media. Sevilla: Universidad
de Sevilla.
Palenzuela, N. 2003. Los mercaderes burgaleses en Sevilla a fines de la Edad Media.
Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla.
Puñal, T. 2014. “El comercio madrileño en el entorno territorial y urbano de la Baja
Edad Media.” Edad Media: revista de historia 15: 115–133.
14
3
Windmills, Not Giants. Competition
and Monopoly on the Reinosa Route
Rafael Barquín Gil
Introduction
There is surely no statement on which all economists in the world can agree.
But if there were, it might well be the following: the closest we come to per-
fectly competitive market conditions is in the market for wheat. Of course,
such conditions are unattainable. Economic theory identifies six conditions
for perfect competition: a large number of buyers and sellers; a homogeneous
product; complete, free and symmetrical information; an absence of barriers
to entry; an absence of transaction costs; and perfect mobility. Several of these
are clearly impossible to achieve (which could also be said of the opposite
conditions for the perfect monopoly). However, the wheat market is a good
candidate, even if it meets the conditions imperfectly. Indeed, standard eco-
nomic theory textbooks in universities use this case as an illustration of perfect
competition (Krugman 2006: 207; Hall & Lieberman 2005: 236; Mankiw
2004: 40; Samuelson et al. 1996: 126).
The circumstances under which the Spanish wheat market operated in the
nineteenth century were not very different from those in the rest of Europe. It
can therefore be assumed that economic relations were governed by “imper-
fect perfect competition”. And yet there are historians who believe that this
market was characterized by the most extreme forms of collusive practices. In
what follows, I will refer to this belief as the “collusion hypothesis” (Moreno
1995: 244–46; 1996: 189–90; Moreno 2006: 318; 2018; Hoyo 1993: 189–90;
1999). The setting for it is the so-called “Reinosa route” in the north of the his-
torical region of Old Castile. This in itself is striking. One could imagine that
there were collusive structures in place in remote areas, where a small number
of landowners controlled isolated markets thanks to their political influence
and inadequate communication. But the characteristics of this region at that
time were quite the opposite. The north of Castile had good transport routes
and the ownership of the land was widely dispersed. Not coincidentally, it has
been a devout, politically conservative area, although it is not reactionary.
The aim of this work is to confirm what we would expect to find; that is,
that the wheat and flour market at that time and place was fairly competitive
(Barquín 1999, 2000, 2011, and 2019). While this is a necessary task, it may
not be particularly interesting. Disentangling the obvious never is. The really
24
42 Rafael Barquín Gil

thought-provoking issue is to find out why the obvious interpretation has been
called into question. Therefore, before addressing the core, “uninteresting”
part of this topic, I propose a possible explanation of how the implausible
interpretation came to be seen as the truth. Moreover, this will provide us with
the historical context.
One of the most successful interpretations of Spain’s contemporary eco-
nomic history relies on what is referred to as the “nationalist path of Spanish
capitalism” (Serrano et al. 1978). It has enjoyed such a degree of success that
it forms part of the basic corpus of educational texts on this subject and is
even used as a heading for a standard section in university textbooks. The
contention is that from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century,
the Spanish bourgeoisie often turned to the State to protect themselves from
threats and secure their hold on the domestic market. This was accomplished
by means of three instruments: trade policy, cartelization, and state regula-
tion of the markets. The problems of economic growth that Spain faced in
those years, especially during the early Francoist period (1936–1959), can be
explained by this convergence of unfortunate policies.
In my opinion, this interpretation is essentially correct. But I also think it
should be treated with a degree of circumspection as these elements do not
all occur at the same time in the same place. Indeed, state intervention in the
functioning of the markets is only seen during the Franco years (in the case of
cereals, Barciela 1986). The earlier appearance of cartels has been demonstrated
in some sectors, such as steel (Fraile 1991), but not in others, such as banking
(Pueyo 2006). In any case, with the exception of the railways and a few other
industries, cartelization was virtually nonexistent before 1914. The scope of
application of the “nationalist path” is somewhat limited. It is significant that
the dire first twenty years of Franco’s dictatorship were preceded by a remark-
able economic transformation and modernization (Beascoechea & Otero
2015). If the Spanish economy underwent a radical change with Francoism it
is likely because the economic policies of the late Restoration period, the Primo
de Rivera dictatorship, and the Second Spanish Republic were so substantially
different.
The problem with research built around the idea of the “nationalist path”
is that it has at times entailed an unconstrained search for precedents in ever
more distant periods. It was certainly warranted at times. For example, there
was not a free-trade period in the history of Spain before the current democ-
racy (Serrano Sanz, 1987). But it is not easy to find precedents for the other two
pillars of the “nationalist path”. With few exceptions, the liberal governments
of the nineteenth century did not fix prices or foster monopolies. Ultimately,
the Spanish Liberal State was no different from those of the rest of Europe.
As such, the evolution of the Spanish economy in the nineteenth century did
not diverge from that of other European countries, unlike the economy in
Francoist Spain.
Therefore, suspicions about how free the market for wheat and flour was in
nineteenth-century Spain are an unfortunate example of this search for such
precedents. It is underpinned by a pessimistic and atavistic view of Spanish
34
Competition and Monopoly on Reinosa route 43

history, according to which the disaster of the Francoist period can be traced
back to liberal Spain. But the reality is that the massive intervention in the
economy of the Franco years, similar to that of any communist economy, is
the antithesis of liberalism. The particular history of the flour millers and
merchants of northern Castile is a success story because it occurred in an envir-
onment of free competition, albeit limited to the national scope. This success
could well have been even greater if Spanish producers had not only competed
with each other, but also with foreign producers. But that is something we will
never know.
The Flour Traffic between Castile and Santander in the

Mid-Nineteenth Century
Between 1820 and 1880, the regions linking the wheat plains of Tierra de
Campos with the Port of Santander —the Reinosa route —witnessed large
volumes of commercial traffic. The cereal from Castile was transported
in carts and barges to the mills and “flour factories” of the Pisuerga River
and the foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains. There, the flour was bagged
and transported to Santander, from where it was sent to three destinations:
Cuba (and also Puerto Rico), Catalonia (and the rest of the Spanish coast),
and Europe (especially France and Great Britain). There was also a significant
traffic of wheat to Catalonia and Europe, but not to America.
This trade was supported by highly protectionist trade legislation. In Cuba,
the duties levied on imports of non-Spanish flour were equivalent to its price
in the United States1. In the Spanish mainland and the Balearic Islands, imports
of wheat and flour had been banned since 1820 (in reality, 1826; see Barquín
2003: 129), unless their price was above certain levels, which were clearly
exceeded only in 1856 and 1857. It was only after 1869 (in actual fact, from
the preceding year) that this prohibitionism was replaced by a less restrictive
trade regime, the Figuerola Tariff. As a result, Cantabrian flour almost com-
pletely dominated the Cuban market, while in Catalonia and the rest of Spain
the only competitors were the Levantine, Andalusian, and Aragonese flours.
The trade and industrial activity on the Reinosa route started to emerge
in the final decades of the eighteenth century (Moreno 1991b) but did not
reach particularly notable levels until the 1820s. The amounts involved were
never very remarkable2. Flour exports to America increased from about
5,000 tonnes in the 1820s and 1830s, reaching peaks of 40,000 and 50,000
tonnes in 1866 and 1873, respectively. Trade with Catalonia registered similar
albeit more stable volumes. Although flour was not normally sold to the rest
of Europe, in some years those exports surpassed the two former shipments
combined. All together, these trade flows were small relative to total wheat
production –not just relative to national production but now also to regional
production. Although we do not have data on wheat harvests until the end of
the nineteenth century (GEHR 1991, Barquín 2002), on the basis of the avail-
able statistics we can estimate the harvest of the two most active provinces in
this regard —Valladolid and Palencia —at about 200,000 tonnes, and the
4

combined harvests of the Duero Basin at about 600,000 tonnes. Thus, the lar-
gest volumes shipped out represent less than half of the production of these
two provinces, and a fifth of that of Castile and León.
One of the most striking aspects of the collusion hypothesis is that, if true,
it would run counter to the spirit of the times. In the early decades of the
nineteenth century, a radical transformation of Spain’s institutional frame-
work took place, a process known as the Liberal Revolution. At the economic
level, it meant the dismantling of the system of privileges, regulations, and
restrictions of the Ancien Régime, and the affirmation of freedom as a legal and
economic principle. Apart from the Spanish Constitution of Cádiz of 1812,
and the even more important associated legislation (both suspended but not
ignored), various liberalization measures were adopted during the reign of
Ferdinand VII. At the beginning of the reign of Isabel II, Spain was already
part of the ever-growing group of nations adhering to liberalism. This applied
to domestic trade in wheat and flour, but not to foreign trade, as we have seen.
This economic freedom (and precisely because it was free) allowed for
the legal existence of collusive organizations such as monopolies or cartels.
Nothing in the Spanish legal system of those decades prevented merchants
and industrialists from joining forces to defend their interests. Indeed, business
alliances were sometimes created, albeit only on a temporary basis. Thus, in
1839 several flour manufacturers put forward a joint proposal for supplying
the army, which seems to have been viewed unfavourably by the Treasury and
the Military Quartermaster (Moreno, 1995: 240). However, that initiative did
not result in the founding of a cartel. It was only much later, in 1887, that the
Spanish Agrarian League was created. This was the first lobby of agricultural
producers and it included the cereal farmers. In short, there was never a cartel
per se, or at least not as a formal structure. But if lobbies, cartels, and other
associations were not prohibited, and we even know of their existence in other
sectors, why were they not present in the flour industry or in wheat farming?
The formal and legal existence of a cartel is relevant because appearances
are more important than the reality in this matter. Any cartel member may be
tempted to break collusion agreements and make sales behind the backs of the
others. As such, there must be sanctioned mechanisms for which courts and
laws are needed. But if these do not exist, or cannot be applied, the group must
exert pressure on the splitter through informal mechanisms, such as said asso-
ciations. To fill this gap, researchers have turned to inter-family relationships,
but this hypothesis is weak because there are families in all the companies and
institutions and their presence often means nothing.
But before we go any further, where was such a cartel supposedly located?
There is not one but two possible answers here. On the one hand, there
were the flour manufacturers in the south of the province of Palencia, spe-
cifically in the town of Grijota and its surrounding region. These would
be the so- called (in an unfortunate neologism) “flourcrats”. On the other
hand, there were the large trading houses of Santander. It is interesting to note
that the research on these two groups addresses them independently, and that
only recently (Moreno 2018) has their vertical integration been considered,
54

but never a true merger or takeover. In any case, all indications point in the
opposite direction. For example, only eight matches are found between the
80 surnames of Cantabrian merchants in the period 1828–76 (Hoyo, 1993:
113 and 288) and the 57 surnames of flour manufacturers from Palencia and
Valladolid in the period 1853–60 (Moreno, 1991a: 175–80). Nor do contem-
porary testimonies support this argument. According to Sierra (1845: 94–98)
“there are many more shipowners who do not have factories than those who
do” (which nevertheless indicates that some did have factories). Another indi-
cation is the sporadic nature of purchases of country estates or crops by flour
manufacturers and merchants (Moreno, 1991a: 178–83 and Hoyo, 1993: 256–
63). We also know that many of the flour trading operations in Santander for
shipment were freely contracted and were published in the “Revista Semanal”,
a section in the Boletín de Comercio. The transparency of these operations also
underlines the lack of vertical integration3. In short, neither group dominated
the other, and there was no combined entity governing them. They were two
different groups in terms of where they came from and what they did, with
discrete relationships maintained between the two, and the preeminent figures
in each were different. It is a genuine challenge to determine how one cartel
might be organized around two separate cartels (which are not in fact cartels).
There is another important question: how many individuals- families-
companies made up these alleged cartels? This is an issue of particular relevance
when it comes to the “flourcrats” because we first have to establish which terri-
tory we are referring to. Grijota was a small town (1,170 inhabitants according
to the Diccionario de Madoz of 1845) with a few large flour factories, which
would obviously have no problem reaching an agreement. However, only a
fraction of the flour shipped from Santander came from Grijota. If we extend
the scope to all the towns that, more or less regularly, supplied that port, we
should include not only the provinces of Cantabria and Palencia but also those
of Valladolid, Burgos, and León. This lack of precision explains why the lists of
flour factories are sometimes limited to the Reinosa route (although never only
to Grijota) and sometimes extend far beyond that. Thus, Luis Ratier (1848:
24–30) cited 26 factories in Cantabria (with 124 millstones), 21 on the Canal
of Castile (123 millstones), and 14 outside of those two areas (64 millstones)4.
In total, there were 61, of which only two belonged to the same person. For
the five-year period of 1855–60, Moreno (1991a: 175–80) identifies about 60
owners of flour factories only in the provinces of Palencia and Valladolid. If
we add the 26 of Cantabria from 10 years earlier, we have at least 86 owners
(Barquín 2011: 269).
The issue of territorial scope is much less problematic when it comes to
the Cantabrian merchants because we can safely assume that all of them –or
almost all –lived in Santander. Hoyo (1993: 108–26 and 1999: 278) speaks
of 55 “surnames”, and of course, being spatially concentrated would make it
easier for them to coordinate. The problem is that in Santander cartelization is
unlikely for mere technical reasons. Firstly, ships entering the port came from
so many different places. Indeed, there were many more foreign flags on ships
than Spanish ones. Thus, even if all the Santander merchants and shipping
64

companies were able to collude in some way, they would still face competition
from foreign merchants and shipping companies.
But there is a second reason. Storage and speculation was a very risky
activity with wheat and flour as both were perishable goods. Nobody could
store these products without incurring losses due to their deterioration or the
measures that would have to be taken to reduce that deterioration. Therefore,
storing them and waiting for prices to rise could be a disastrous strategy. This
was such a serious problem that it constitutes a definitive argument ruling out
any type of long-term speculative storage, at least until the invention of effi-
cient, inexpensive procedures to do so (Barquín 2019: 109–110). However,
flour does not deteriorate in the same way as wheat. While it may be econom-
ically viable to store wheat for a year, since any losses can be borne over such
a short timeframe, speculating with flour is entirely unfeasible because it is a
very delicate commodity. That is why it was never stored in warehouses except
immediately prior to being shipped. In short, the collusion hypothesis can only
be constructed on the basis of stockpiling wheat, not flour. But this represented
a major complication for Cantabrian merchants for two reasons. First, because
they lived far away from the production centres in Castile. Second, because
transporting the wheat to Santander was less appealing than converting it into
flour in Castile, since flour weighs less and takes up less space, making it more
economical to transport. This is why on the Reinosa route there were almost
no mills near Santander.
In both of these supposed cartels, small-scale capitalists predominated. For
example, in Santander in 1874, the largest trading house –and the one that had
the closest relationships with the other families, the house of López-Dóriga –
accounted for only 13.2% of the total commercial investment (Moreno 2018:
14). As for the Spanish ships (which were only part of the total), in 1845
there were 66 registered, of which 7, accounting for 8.2% of the total tonnage,
belonged to the largest trader (Sierra 1845: 94–98, Ratier 1848: 120–124).
Regarding the Reinosa route, and as Sierra pointed out (1845: 89), “there are
factories that belong to respectable capitals, more generally, the owners are
of middling fortunes and [in] some cases very small”. This is not surprising
because, as we have seen, there were more than fifty different owners of mills
and factories. Even more interesting is the fact that there was much greater
milling capacity than production capacity (Sierra 1845: 85, 89 and 101). Thus,
a hypothetical “flourcrat” cartel would become unworkable if two or three of
them were not part of it.
We can identify another difficulty: the absence of barriers to entry. From the
production of wheat to the export of the flour, all these businesses were open to
anyone. Of course, the initial stages were completely free: there were countless
farmers and mills in Castile. This was also true of the carts: the transportation
of grains and flour had also been liberalized since the beginning of the nine-
teenth century, if not before. The construction of the railways brought about
a major change by replacing the myriad of roads with a single carrier. But the
line was not completed until 1862; more importantly, the company that held
the concession, Norte, never distributed or stored wheat, nor did it hold any
74

ownership stake in the companies that did. Rail fares were based on rational
criteria of quantity, distance, and price, and were always well below the legal
limits (imposed on the carrier by law), both for large-scale traders and for
small-scale vendors.
As a matter of fact, the only restrictions in this area prior to the Liberal
Regime were on the manufacture, storage, and sale of flour. The Cortes de
Cádiz abolished water rights at the same time as the feudal lordships. But,
unlike the feudal system, this abolition of water rights still held under the res-
toration of absolutism (Maluquer de Motes 1983: 85–86). Later, the law of
8th May 1822 on Promoting Industry and Trade recognized millers’ right to
stockpile wheat for processing into flour. But perhaps the most important piece
of legislation was the decree of 26th February 1824 which, while reiterating
the ban on the import of wheat and flour, declared the freedom of this trade
in mainland Spain, implicitly including its storage. This freedom was later
confirmed in The Commercial Code of 1829 and the Royal Decree of 19th
November 1835. In fact, it seems that by that time there had long been a tacit
understanding of the freedom of trade and industry (Castro, 1987: 748–49).
Thus, these activities were permitted according to both the legal framework
and the customs of the time, a fact that contemporaries viewed as so obvious
it did not merit further comment. For example, Sierra (1845: 85) states that
flour manufacturers “mill and sell flour according to market prices”. Similarly,
Torrente (1852: 365) claims that “it is not thought, however, that it is at the dis-
cretion of [sellers and buyers] to raise or drive down the prices to an excessive
degree”. In other words, they both assumed that flour manufacturers were price-
takers rather than monopolistic. And the same could be said for the rest of the
participants in other activities. In the same vein, this transparency in business is
reflected in the notices in the Boletín Oficial del Comercio de Santander where
we find numerous sales of all kinds of industrial goods (Barquín 1999: 295).
The existence of a futures market in Valladolid also confirms the extent and
depth of the goods and factor markets (Moreno 2018, 15).
Thus, the cartel did not formally exist, –we cannot identify a clear stage in
which it could have been established, there was no vertical integration, con-
temporaries saw only a fragmented market, and there were no legal conditions
to foster the emergence of a cartel. In short, there is absolutely no evidence to
support the collusion hypothesis. Let us now look at three findings that point
in the same direction.
Brokerage Revenues on the Reinosa Route

The first is what we can refer to as brokerage revenues, which could also be
considered a cost if we regard it as an additional component of the final price
rather than the income of one of the participants, (Hoyo 1993, Barquín 1999,
and 2011). Whichever way we look at it, this figure would be calculated as the
difference between the sale price of the good (flour) and the purchase price of
the raw material (wheat) and all the inputs needed to transport and process it.
High brokerage revenues could be due to either the existence of monopsonistic
84
25
20
15
10
–5
–10
1820 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
Figure 3.1 Trading Income on the Reinosa Route (Percentage)

Source: author’s own elaboration with data from Barquín 2011: 272–276
practices that depressed wheat prices in Castile or monopolistic practices

that inflated flour prices in Santander. Note that evidence of high brokerage
revenues does not necessarily indicate that such practices were in place, but it
does open up the possibility of their existence. On the other hand, if brokerage
revenues are low we can safely say that there was no cartel (or that it was
useless, which is essentially the same).
Calculating this cost on the Reinosa route is a complicated task because we
need to know the costs of the various activities involved. The result is shown in
Figure 3.1 (Barquín 2011, 2000, and 1999). Each datum is the percentage that
the broker would receive with respect to the income from the sale of the three
quality classes of flour as well as the bran. The average for the period from
1821 to 1882 is 4.8%, with some years registering negative values (the end
of the reign of Ferdinand VII) and others high values (during the Carlist War).
There is a slight downward trend. The key thing is that brokerage revenues
are low.
These figures are confirmed by four pieces of information from the Reinosa
route (Barquín 2011: 275–76). In chronological order, the first is evidence
from a certain road transport company that emerged in 1840. According
to its rate chart, partners of that company benefitted from a small discount
compared to external clients. This discount, which could be equated with
brokerage revenues, ranged from 1.0% to 2.7% of the price of the goods.
A second piece of information is provided by Sierra in 1845, who stated that
the commission and brokerage fees paid for transported flour amounted to
2.1% of its price (without specifying where the flour came from). The third
such finding was reported by Hoyo (1999: 282–83), drawn from his review
of the various notarial records of merchants operating between Herrera de
Pisuerga and Santander in late 1853; their commission amounted to 2.5%
94

of the final price of the flour. The last is from the “Revista Semanal” of the
Boletín de Comercio appearing on 6th August 1877. It reported a sales trans-
action for the export to America of 2,000 sacks of flour priced at 18.75
reales/arroba, which had been purchased for 18 reales at the railway station,
“without charges for the seller”. In short, the commission for this broker
would have been 2% of the final price. A similar conclusion can be drawn
from the limited information available for other geographical areas. In
summary, the collusion hypothesis is refuted on the basis of both indirect
calculations and the documentary review.
Wheat Prices in Castile

Simply by observing the prices of wheat along the Reinosa route, we can con-
firm the sub-hypothesis that the “flourcrats” did not exercise a monopsony.
These prices are shown in Table 3.1. The prices for Palencia (A), Herrera
De Pisuerga, and Reinosa are weekly statements compiled by the Army
Quartermaster (AHN file 1357). Those of Medina de Rioseco come from its
Mercurial (official commodity price list). For the sake of comparability with
the previous set of figures, only the months present in both series have been
used. The prices of Palencia (B) are those paid by the flour manufacturers for
the purchase of wheat, according to Sierra (1845: 82).
There are two relevant facts. First, except for the first year (in which prices
were almost equal), the prices at which the flour manufacturers bought the
wheat in Palencia were higher than those listed for Rioseco, by between 1.4
and 6 reales. In other words, these “flourcrats” paid about three reales above
the market price for a bushel of wheat, contrary to what one might expect
from a monopsony.
Table 3.1 Wheat Prices on the Reinosa Route. Reales/Fanega
Military Intendancy Mercurial Sierra
Palencia A Herrera Reinosa Rioseco Palencia B
1828 (jan-apr) 22.2 23.3 30.7 19.9 –

1830 (jun-dec) 18.7 22.9 26.9 19.8 –
1831 (jan-jul) 21.9 23.9 31.5 20 –
1834 – – – 26.6 26
1835 – – – 22.7 27
1836 – – – 29.3 35.3
1837 – – – 35.6 37
1838 – – – 36.3 41
1839 – – – 26.6 33.3
Sources: author’s own elaboration with data from AHN . leg. 1357; Sierra 1845: 82; Mercurial de
Medina de Rioseco. See text.
Note: Four reales is one peseta. Fanega equals 55.5 litres.
05

Second, wheat prices rose from Rioseco to Reinosa, with increases above
the rise in transport costs. Rioseco, Palencia, and Herrera are located close
together on the plains crossed by the Canal of Castile. They are all considered
“tierras de pan llevar” (land that brings forth bread; in other words, cereal-
growing lands). Nonetheless, there is a slight difference in prices, increasing
with their proximity to the sea. There is then a substantial jump in prices
between Herrera and Reinosa of about six reales per fanega. The distance
between these locations —60 kilometres —is similar to the distance between
the aforementioned localities, but passing through more challenging terrain,
where there was no canal. However, there was a suitable road, which had been
open since the eighteenth century. Thus, although the transport conditions
were worse, they were still fairly good.
These price differences —the small gap between Rioseco and Herrera, and
large one between Herrera and Reinosa —can primarily be explained by the
influence of the flour trade. The competition among flour manufacturers and
merchants to gain possession of the wheat drove up prices, as Sierra points out
(1845: 92). Incidentally, Grijota, located close to Palencia, does not seem to have
exerted any particular influence in any regard. The collusion hypothesis fails.
The Flour Traffic from Santander

A solution to the problem of the deterioration of goods due to prolonged
storage could be found in the foreign market. It would act as a “safety valve”
to prevent the sale of goods at a loss. The “flourcrats” would act as follows:
when the price of wheat in Castile was low they would buy it, not to make
and sell flour, but rather to store it as a basis for speculation. This would create
shortages in the local market. When the price was high enough, they would
sell that wheat, or the flour made from it, generating a significant profit. The
problem is that a good harvest could prevent the price from rising. Or even if
it did rise, the local market could be unable to absorb all the goods that had
been stored. To solve this problem, the external markets (Catalonia, Cuba,
and Europe) would act as a “safety valve”, providing a market for wheat and
flour at a remunerative price. What is interesting is that, if all this is indeed
true, exports and sales would move in the same direction as the prices. In the
years when prices were high in Castile, there would be a lot of traffic from
Santander; in the years of low prices, there would not be.
Table 3.2 shows the coefficients of correlation (r) between the quantities of
flour shipped to these three destinations and their prices in Santander, in con-
temporary series and lagged one year back and one year forward. In this way,
we seek to determine whether these shipments affected prices or vice versa,
and by how much. To see its interpretation, we can consider the highest coeffi-
cient, 0.67, which is the one between sales to mainland Spain (Catalonia) and
the prices in Santander a year earlier. Since these relations are a function of
a single variable, r equals the square root of the coefficient of determination
(R2), which is 0.444. Thus, this result can be interpreted as indicating that flour
prices in Santander explain 44.4% of the variance in sales to Catalonia. It is
15

Table 3.2 Correlation Coefficients (r) between Flour Exports by Destination and the
Price of Flour in Santander, 1848–1882
America Europe Mainland Spain Total
q(t) /p(t) –0.25 0.38 –0.57 –0.24

q(t+1) /p(t) –0.35 0.17 –0.67 –0.49
q(t-1) / p(t) –0.02 0.23 –0.18 0.09
Sources: author’s own elaboration with data from Boletín Oficial de Comercio de Santander,
Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Santander, Comisión creada por el Real Decreto de 7 de julio de
1887, Mercurial de Santander and own elaboration (data in www.uned.es/cee/rbarquin)
an inverse relationship (the sign of the correlation coefficient is negative): the

lower the prices in Santander, the more flour was sent to Catalonia. Similarly,
the highest positive coefficient r in the third row, 0.23, which is equivalent
to an R2 of 0.054, can be interpreted as indicating that shipments of flour to
Europe would explain 5.4% of the increase in its price in Santander.
Looking at the table as a whole, the conclusions that can be drawn are as
follows. First, in general, the causal relationships are weak or non-existent.
This should not be surprising given that this analysis overlooks at least one
important variable: the price of flour in Europe and the other markets. Second,
the relationships in q(t-1)/p(t) are much weaker than in q(t+1)/p(t). That is,
the price explains the sales better than the sales explain the price. Third, the
mainland market is the one that is most influenced by Santander, followed
by the American market, in both cases showing an inverse relationship. The
European market is the only one that registers a direct (positive) relationship,
albeit weaker than that with mainland Spain and of a similar strength to the
relationship with the American market.
In short, it may be the case that a decline in flour prices in Santander favoured
sales to the three markets (and, above all, to mainland Spain). But the inverse
relationship is much weaker or even non-existent: flour sales hardly affected
its price in Santander. Storage and speculation do not explain the prices and
movements of flour. Once again, the collusion hypothesis fails.
Conclusions
The underlying question raised in these pages is whether Spain differed from
the rest of Europe in the nineteenth century. That is, were the wheat and flour
markets of Palencia-Santander different, and were they dominated by obscure
business interests? The answer is no. There is no indication to suggest such
a thing. Hundreds of companies and thousands of workers with beliefs and
attitudes similar to those in the rest of Europe participated in all the related
activities carried out between the fields of Castile and the Port of Santander.
The legal framework was similar to that of France, Italy, or even Great Britain.
There were no barriers to entry into any of the businesses. Nobody possessed
market power because nobody controlled a significant part of any of the
25

businesses. In fact, the very notion of controlling that market is meaningless
because of the inevitable deterioration that wheat and flour would suffer over
the long term. Of course, this does not mean that the conditions for perfect
competition were precisely met. That never happens. What it means is that,
within the constraints of an imperfect market, with transport costs, transaction
costs, incomplete information, etc., the agents operated with relative freedom,
and the price of the goods was reasonably aligned with supply and demand.
Exactly as would be expected.
So why do some see giants where there are only windmills? It is my belief, in
line with Steven Pinker’s wonderful book Enlightenment Now (2018: 55–71),
that the time has come to question the psychological causes behind untenable
economic theories. My explanation for the case addressed here, and which
I put forward only as a possible hypothesis, is that it is due to the continued
presence in Spain of historiographical traditions born during the late Francoist
period and the transition to democracy seeking to explain the immediately pre-
ceding period. But long before that, during the nineteenth century, Spain had
a liberal economic system; this was even true in the time of Ferdinand VII, the
epigone of Spain’s absolutist monarchs. And this liberalism applied to every
aspect of economic life except one: foreign trade policy. Spaniards’ economic
relations with one other were based on the prevailing rules of liberal capit-
alism –undoubtedly the most successful economic system of all time. It was
the system that made it possible to establish the flour factories on the Reinosa
route, and that assured the prosperity of the city of Santander.
Notes
1 Garrabou and Sanz 1985: 22. Moyano 1880: 15. Torrente 1845: 19 and 20. Sierra
1833: 61. The beginning of this policy can be dated to 1824, when the tariff of 1818
came into effect (Moreno 1995: 232).
2 Official statistics on the export of wheat and flour after 1849 have been published
on several occasions, for example, GEHR 1985: 356–57. Most of the figures prior to
that year can be obtained from the “Tariff Information” published in the Gaceta de
Madrid (BOE) of 17/4/1848. Moreno (1995) and Barquín (2003) have reduced and
standardized them using very similar criteria. Figures specifically from the Port of
Santander, which was by far the most important, can be downloaded at www.uned.
es/cee/rbarquin, for both annual and monthly figures (in this case, since 1858).
3 And anyway, the statement to the contrary would not be true. In other words, if we
had no notice of such trading, even if it was carried out through supply or forward
contracts, it would not mean that there was vertical integration, just as such integration
is not necessarily present between an industry and its upstream suppliers. It is note-
worthy that Moreno (2018: 14) claims that the flour sold “from hand to hand” between
flour makers and shipowners accounted for less than 10% of the total. Admittedly, the
public information reviewed does not seem to suggest that the percentage was so low,
but at any rate the figure does not really matter as it proves nothing. Santander monthly
flour and wheat exports database is in www.uned.es/cee/rbarquin
4 Sierra 1845: 84 and Ratier 1848: 24–31. There may have been more flour factories.
One indication of this is, for example, the news that appeared in the Boletín Oficial
de la Provincia de Santander on 18th April 1838, which referred to the destruction
35

caused by flooding. Eight flour factories in Cantabria suffered damages. Among them
were two in Rionansa and one in Hermandad del Campo de Suso, which do not
appear on Ratier’s list.
References
Archivo Histórico Nacional (AHN). Fondos Contemporáneos. Sección del Ministerio
de Hacienda. Serie General. Legajo 1357.
Barciela, C. 1986. Introducción (segunda parte). In Historia agraria de la España
contemporánea, Vol. 3, El fin de la agricultura tradicional (1900– 1960) ed. by
R. Garrabou, C. Barciela, and J. I. Jiménez: 383–454. Barcelona: Crítica.
Barquín, R. 1999. El comercio de la harina entre Castilla y Santander y la crisis de
subsistencia de 1856/57. In Consumo, condiciones de vida y comercialización ed. by
B. Yun and J. Torras. Junta de Castilla y León, Valladolid: 293–309.
Barquín, R. 2000. El mercado español del trigo en el siglo XIX. PhD diss. Universidad
de Burgos. doi.org/10.36443/10259/134
Barquín, R. 2002. La producción de trigo en España en el último tercio del siglo XIX.
Una comparación internacional. Revista de Historia Económica, 20, 1: 9–36 doi.
org/10.1017/s0212610900009654
Barquín, R. 2003. El comercio exterior de trigo y harina y las crisis de subsistencia en
España. Tst: Transportes, Servicios y telecomunicaciones. 5: 127–148.
Barquín, R. 2011. El comercio de harina entre Castilla, Santander, Barcelona y Cuba:
¿Cártel o libre comercio? Revista de la historia de la economía y de la empresa, 5:
265–86.
Barquín, R. 2019. Teoría, mito y realidad del acopio y la especulación el comercio de
trigo y harina en el norte de Castilla. In Empresas y empresarios en España: de
mercaderes a industriales, coord. by J. M. Matés: 99–117. Madrid: Pirámide.
Beascoechea, J. M. & L. E. Otero (eds). 2015. Las nuevas clases medias urbanas:
transformación y cambio social en España, 1900–1936. Madrid: Los libros de la
catarata.
Boletín Oficial del Comercio de Santander. Cámara Oficial de Comercio Industria y
Navegación. Biblioteca Municipal de Santander.
Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Santander. Biblioteca Municipal de Santander.
Castro, C. 1987. El pan de Madrid. Madrid: Alianza.
Comisión creada por el Real Decreto de día 7 de julio de 1887. 1887–1889. La Crisis
Agrícola y Pecuaria. Madrid: Sucesores de Rivadeneyra.
Fraile, P. 1991. Industrialización y grupos de presión. Madrid: Alianza.
Garrabou, R. & J. Sanz. 1985. Introducción. La agricultura española durante el siglo
XIX. ¿Inmovilismo o cambio? In Historia agraria de la España contemporánea,
Vol. 2, (Expansión y crisis 1850–1900), ed. by R. Garrabou and J. Sanz: 7–192.
Barcelona: Crítica.
Grupo de Estudios de Historia Rural (GEHR). 1985. Los precios del trigo y la cebada.
In Historia Agraria de la España Contemporánea, Vol. 2, (Expansión y crisis 1850–
1900), ed. by R. Garrabou and J. Sanz: 321–68. Barcelona: Crítica.
Grupo de Estudios de Historia Rural (GEHR). 1991. Estadísticas históricas de la
producción agraria española, 1859–1935. Madrid: Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca
y Alimentación.
Hall, R. E. & M. Lieberman. 2005. Microeconomia: Principios y Aplicaciones. Thomson.
Hoyo, A. 1993. Todo mudó de repente. Santander: Universidad de Cantabria.
45

Hoyo, A. 1999. Gestión comercial, precios y crisis de subsistencias en Castilla, 1820–
1874. In Consumo, condiciones de vida y comercialización ed. by B. Yun and J.
Torras. Valladolid: Junta de Castilla y León: 275–91.
Krugman, P. R. 2006. Introducción a la economía. Microeconomía. Reverte.
Maluquer de Motes, J. 1983. La despatrimonialización del agua: movilización de un
recurso natural fundamental. Revista de Historia Económica, I, 2: 79–96.
Mankiw, N. G. 2004. Principios de economía. Madrid: Mc Graw Hill.
Mercurial de Medina de Rioseco. Archivo del Ayuntamiento de Medina de Rioseco.
Mercurial de Santander. Archivo del Ayuntamiento de Santander.
Moreno, J. 1991a. La fiebre harinera castellana. La historia de un sueño industrial
(1841–1864). In Estudios sobre capitalismo agrario, crédito e industria en Castilla
(siglos XIX y XX), ed. by B. Yun. Valladolid: Junta de Castilla y León.
Moreno, J. 1991b. La fábrica de Monzón de Campos (1786–1805): La primera harinera
de España Investigaciones históricas: Época moderna y contemporánea, 11: 109–30.
Moreno, J. 1995. Protección arancelaria, distorsiones de mercado y beneficios
extraordinarios: La producción de harinas en Castilla la Vieja. 1820–1841. Revista
de Historia Económica, XIII, 2: 227–50.
Moreno, J. 1996. Empresas y empresarios castellanos en el negocio de la harina,
1778–1913. In La empresa en la Historia de España ed. by F. Comín and P. Martín.
Madrid: Civitas: 187–202.
Moreno, J. 2006. Factor empresarial y atraso económico en Castilla y León (siglos XIX
y XX). In Historia Empresarial de España. Un enfoque regional en profundidad dir.
by J. L. García and C. Manera. Madrid, LID: 315–36.
Moreno, J. 2018. Los harinócratas. Organizaciones, mercado e inquietudes inversoras
de los empresarios de Castilla la Vieja y León, 1820– 1868. Investigaciones de
Historia Económica 14: 11–22. doi.org/10.1016/j.ihe.2016.06.003
Moyano, C. 1880. Informe sobre el comercio de harinas de trigo con nuestras Antillas...
Gaceta Agrícola del Ministerio de Fomento, 1880-I: 11–20.
Pinker, S. 2018. Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and
Progress. Penguin.
Pueyo, J. 2006. Relaciones interempresariales y consejeros comunes en la banca española
del siglo XX., Investigaciones de Historia Económica 6 (6): 137–162
Ratier, L. 1848. Anuario Estadístico de la Administración y el Comercio de la Provincia
de Santander. Valladolid.
Samuelson, P. A., W. D. Nordhaus, & M. J. Mandel. 1996. Economía. Madrid:
McGraw-Hill.
Serrano, A., S. Roldán, & J. Muñoz. 1978. La involución nacionalista y la vertebración
del capitalismo español. Cuadernos económicos de ICE 5: 13–221.
Sierra, L. M. 1833. Memoria sobre el estado del comercio que publica la Real Junta de
Santander. Santander.
Sierra, L. M. 1845. Cuestión de harinas. Contestación al Sr. D. Mariano Torrente.
Santander: Imprenta de Martínez.
Torrente, M. 1845. Memoria sobre la cuestión de harinas. Madrid: Imprenta de
J. Martín Alegría.
Torrente, M. 1852. Bosquejo económico político de la Isla de Cuba. Madrid: Manuel
Pita.
5
4
Lacave & Echecopar
Strategies and Businesses in the Second
Half of the Nineteenth Century
María Vázquez Fariñas
Introduction
Throughout its history, Cádiz has been recognized as an important city of trade
and commerce. Among other reasons, this is due to its strategic geographical
position, which has been one of the key factors in its development. Likewise,
the wine business has traditionally been one of the most important economic
activities in Andalusia, particularly in Cádiz, which acted as a bridge between
producers in the wine region of Marco de Jerez1 and European wine importers
(Maldonado Rosso 1999, pp. 35–40).
Thus, the wine business has always played a particularly significant role in
Cádiz, especially between the mid-eighteenth and nineteenth centuries during
which time there was a gradual transformation of the traditional viticulture
into a modern winemaking agribusiness in Marco de Jerez. The end of the
eighteenth century saw the introduction of a number of advances that led to
a major boom in the wine industry. These included the ageing of the wines,
storage, the vertical integration of the business, and the construction of a great
many wineries. The wine industry of Marco de Jerez thus experienced a huge
concentration of capital with an increase in the number of Spanish exporters
(Maldonado Rosso 1996, pp. 17–21).
In the nineteenth century, intermediaries (agents and almacenistas2) played
an increasingly important role in the business, although the process of change
was enormously complex and contentious (Maldonado Rosso 1999, pp. 79–
99). According to studies by Maldonado Rosso (1999, pp. 159–181), for
years there had been various clashes between grape-grower associations, the
merchants, the coopers, and even the government. On the one hand, the wine-
making bourgeoisie defended the freedom to set prices and the sale of wines
year-round; in order to meet the demand of its main market—the British—it
was in favour of producing aged wines by incorporating foreign wines and
blending them with those from the area. On the other hand, the grape-grower
oligarchy preferred to maintain the production of basic wine products, pro-
hibit the introduction of foreign wines, set minimum prices, and sell wines on
a seasonal basis. This conflict between proponents of traditional viticulture
and those pushing for the modern approach was one of the main obstacles to
the development of the sector. Eventually, after the government had enacted
65
56 María Vázquez Fariñas

several provisions aimed at liberalizing the production and trade of wines, sev-
eral notable transformations occurred in the sector. These included the wide-
spread implementation of the criaderas and soleras system for the ageing of
sherry wines, the construction of large wineries, the creation of new types of
winemaking companies, and the emergence of new business relationships. All
these innovations, together with the improvement of the transport network in
the mid-nineteenth century, contributed to a significant increase in overseas
wine sales.
But the city of Cádiz did not become a centre of the wine industry until the
second or third decade of the nineteenth century. During the city’s modern his-
tory (fifteenth to eighteenth centuries), it was, along with other regional port
towns (El Puerto de Santa María, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Rota, Chiclana…),
the commercial and financial centre of sherry wines destined for the British
Isles, northern continental Europe, the area of the Strait of Gibraltar, and the
Spanish colonies in America. However, in all this time there is no record of
wines being aged in the city of Cádiz. The functions of Cádiz with regard to
this branch of business were brokering (mainly between British importers and
representatives of the winemaking localities and as a port linking Europe and
India), financial services (discounting bills of exchange, providing monetary
services…), and shipping agency services for the shipment of wines (Vázquez
Fariñas & Maldonado Rosso 2017, pp. 114–115).
It was during the nineteenth century when large winemaking houses appeared
in the provincial capital Cádiz, involved in the ageing and exporting of wines
in addition to the abovementioned brokering and shipping. In this regard, it
is worth pointing out the prosperous businesses of three specific families of
the Cádiz winemaking bourgeoisie: the Lacave, the Gómez, and the Abarzuza
families. All three enjoyed a leading position in the national and international
markets and had a wide variety of wines in their products portfolio.
In this chapter, we focus on the Lacave family, and more specifically, on
the role played by the company Lacave & Echecopar in the latter half of the
nineteenth century. To that end, the main sources used were the company’s
internal information, stored in a private archive donated by the family to the
Historical Wine Studies Unit of the University of Cádiz; documentary records
found in the Provincial Historical Archive of Cádiz (the deeds for the foun-
dation, renewal, and dissolution of companies, wills, divisions of assets, and
deeds of sale, among others); contemporary press reports; official reports; and
various statistics that provide information on the historical context, the com-
pany, and the individuals associated with it.
Drawing on these sources, it is interesting to analyse the activity of this
wine company, the different businesses in which it invested, and strategies it
adopted to maintain its position in a constantly changing market. Furthermore,
by studying this Cádiz-based wine company we can add to the knowledge on
the business and economic life of the city of Cádiz in the nineteenth century.
Therefore, following this introduction, we analyse the origins of the commer-
cial company Lacave & Echecopar in the first third of the nineteenth cen-
tury. In so doing, we seek to provide an understanding of the structure of the
75
Lacave & Echecopar 57

company’s share capital and the partners who had a stake in it before then
detailing its main activities with a particular focus on the wine business as the
company’s most important activity. We then analyse the strategies developed
by the company during the latter half of the nineteenth century, a period of
growth and expansion in the wine sector. Finally, by examining the last sur-
viving years of this company, we can gain an understanding of how it faced up
to the Andalusian viticulture crisis in the last third of the century.
The Origins of Lacave & Echecopar

The history of this company begins with Pedro Lacave Miramont, descended
from a family of farmers from Navarrenx, a French town in the Department
of Basses-Pyrénées3. At the end of the eighteenth century, at just 11 years of
age, he came to Cádiz to join his uncle and cousin, Juan and Lucas Miramont,
in trading. After several years in this world of business, he took the bold
step of starting his own company (Vázquez Fariñas 2018a, p. 75). Thus, in
1810, Lacave & Company was born. It was dedicated to the trade of colonial
products and shipping agency services, especially for English ships (Retegui
y Bensusan 1992, p. 48), which allowed it to establish trading relations with
the rest of Europe and expand its network of contacts. To do so, Pedro Lacave
partnered with Hugo Macdermot until the latter’s death in 1824 (Greiner y
Gindroz 1897, p. 18). He then continued his business alone until 1830, when
he founded, along with his fellow countryman Juan-Pablo Echecopar, the com-
mercial company Lacave & Echecopar, dedicated to general trade and the
commission business4. Thanks to his association first with Hugo Macdermot
and later with Juan- Pablo Echecopar, Pedro Lacave achieved considerable
business growth in the first half of the nineteenth century.
In these years, he was already involved in the wine sector. In addition, his
marriage in December 1821 to Ana María Lacoste Salazar, the daughter of a
renowned winemaker from Jerez, helped to improve his business and socio-
economic standing (Vázquez Fariñas 2018a, p. 75). Since the eighteenth cen-
tury, matrimonial alliances had become increasingly important in mercantile
Cádiz, as marriage was a fundamental way of securing financing, integrating
into society, and gaining a degree of credibility and trust for business dealings
(De la Pascua Sanchez 2009, p. 161). Thus, establishing matrimonial ties
between members of the more economically and socially prestigious families
became a strategy widely used by the business-owning bourgeoisie to reinforce
the power of their companies and prevent the dispersion of the family fortune
(Cózar Navarro 2007, pp. 42–43). As such, this union was a notable indication
of the social prestige and economic level achieved by Pedro Lacave, who not
only strengthened his relationships and interests, but also linked himself to a
family with a history and prominent position in mercantile Cádiz (Maldonado
Rosso 1999, p. 261).
Through their company Lacave & Echecopar, the partners would go on
to develop a prominent wine business from the city of Cádiz while at the
same time participating in other businesses such as shipping agency services,
85

banking, salt, timber and staves5, textiles, and mining, among others; they thus
developed a clear strategy of business diversification that expanded far beyond
the province of Cádiz (Vázquez Fariñas 2020, pp. 39–50).
The company grew so much towards the middle of the nineteenth century
that the partners decided to bring in the nephews of Pedro Lacave Miramont,
who between 1824 and 1850 had come from France to join the family business.
Pedro Lacave Mulé, and Pedro-Luis and Juan-Pedro Lacave Soulé6 would spe-
cialize in the wine business, playing a decisive role in the expansion of this
family business. At that time, the person selected to succeed a business owner
was prepared for the role by sending him to university, abroad, to a company
outside the family, or introducing him to the family business from a young
age (Díaz Morlán 2013, p. 27). This last practice was the one most commonly
used by the Lacave family, with the relationship between the partners consti-
tuting an element of trust, security, loyalty, and allegiance, which guaranteed
the future of the business.
At the beginning of the 1840s, Cádiz continued to be at the forefront of
Spanish commercial activity. The products that made up the largest share of the
Cádiz economy at the time were wine and salt (Cózar Navarro 2007, p. 37).
Those years witnessed a rise in foreign demand for wines, which, together
with the ongoing modernization of maritime and land transport, greatly
accelerated the trade in these products from the Bay of Cádiz (Maldonado
Rosso 1992, pp. 25–26). Riding this economic boom that the city was experi-
encing, the partners—like many contemporary businessmen—adopted a diver-
sification strategy to secure their capital, make their investments profitable and
reduce their risk. Pedro Lacave and his partners thus created the company
Juan Pablo Echecopar & Company in Gibraltar to engage in the business of
commissions in general, and particularly of wines, spirits, iron, staves, cash,
and goods shipped to America as well as Echecopar & Company, established
in El Puerto de Santa María and dedicated to the trade and export of wines
(Vázquez Fariñas & Maldonado Rosso 2017, p. 102). In addition to the wine
business, the commissions, the banking activity, and the shipping agency ser-
vices, they held an ownership stake in a very diverse group of companies: a cork
and oil factory in Seville named Juan Pedro Lacave & Company; the famous
Sevillian pottery manufacturing company, Pickman & Company; a mining
company called La Gaditana; Los Amigos, a spinning mill, also in Seville;
Empresa Gaditana del Trocadero; Empresa Fabril Gaditana, Empresa del
camino de hierro de Jerez al Puerto, Rota y Sanlúcar and Tabacos Ygueravide7,
among others.
However, by 1860 the company’s wine exports had reached such levels
that the partners decided to specialize in the production and sale of this
product (Greiner y Gindroz 1897, p. 21). In order to focus their efforts on
this activity, they established a clear strategy of vertical integration in the
wine business, which they would further develop in later years, spanning the
process from extraction to the sale of their wines in a large business com-
plex in an area known as La Segunda Aguada in the outer part of the city of
Cádiz (Vázquez Fariñas 2018b, p. 242). To that end, they purchased various
95

plots of land and real estate, with their combined properties reaching extra-
ordinary dimensions.
These two strategies made the company extremely dynamic and better able
to adapt to changes in the market and take on the competition in the sector,
while also generating substantial profits. Moreover, they constitute a clear pre-
cedent for modern-day business organization.
In 1851, with this business expansion phase in full swing, Pedro Lacave
Miramont died (Vázquez Fariñas 2017). The role of the founder had been fun-
damental to the success of the company, but his death did not mean the end of
business, as we will see in the next section.
The Commercial Expansion of Lacave & Echecopar

(1852–1862)
After the death of Pedro Lacave Miramont, his widow, Ana María Lacoste
Salazar, came into the company to represent him, as stipulated in the company’s
deeds. This fact highlights the role that women had started to play in business
by that time. The Commercial Code of 1829 expressly permitted a wife to
participate in a commercial activity, provided that her husband had previously
given his explicit authorization (Commercial Code 1829, art. 5). We have not
found any such authorization among the notarial records of Cádiz, but Ana
María Lacoste spent some years involved in the family business helping her
husband, and her experience in the organization of the work would explain
why it was she who succeeded him as the head of the company after his death,
just as other women did at that time (Solà Parera 2012).
The heirs of Pedro Lacave Miramont (his wife and the nephews he had
brought over from France years earlier to get them involved in the family
business) decided to use their inheritance to continue the mercantile arm of
the company. So, in January 1853, Ana María Lacoste, Pedro Lacave Mulé,
Pedro-Luis Lacave Soulé, and Juan- Pablo Echecopar formally established
before a notary a new business partnership under the same name of Lacave &
Echecopar8. The company would deal in the business of commissions, wines,
staves, iron, spirits, and any other short-term speculation.
In those years, the company continued to develop its diversification strategy
by taking an ownership stake in various companies. In March 1851, it
consolidated its stake in the pottery factory in La Cartuja de Sevilla, Pickman
& Company. This ownership continued until 1868, when the four partners
liquidated the company, leaving only Carlos Pickman and his son Ricardo at
the head of the company (Maestre de León 1993, pp. 27–29).
In addition, Lacave & Echecopar continued its banking activity, which
covered three main areas: providing credit or granting loans; investments in the
share capital of other companies; and the provision of financial services such
as wire transfers, collections, and payments (Sánchez Casado 2001, p. 12). It
became one of the ten most important banking companies in the city of Cádiz.
In Cádiz, there was a long tradition of owners and merchants who, in addition
to their private business, provided banking services. Among them were the
06

partners of Lacave & Echecopar, as well as other renowned merchants such
as Francisco Paúl, Benito Picardo, Juan de Dios Lasanta, and the Aramburu
brothers (Ruiz Vélez-Frías 1977, p.80). These businessmen received amounts
of money from individuals and administered them within their business, peri-
odically paying out fixed amounts to depositors; this activity was underpinned
by the trust the merchants enjoyed due to their honesty and prestige (Ramos
Santana 1987, pp. 95–97). The expansion of these financial activities is also a
reflection of the economic and commercial prosperity that the city was experi-
encing during those years.
Lacave & Echecopar also continued to work as shipping agents in the port
of Cádiz. From the press of that time, we learn that they acted as intermediaries
for the French company Gauthier Brothers & Company in 1857, and that they
sent ships from the port of Cádiz to Havana, with port of calls in Santa Cruz
de Tenerife and Puerto Rico9.
As far as their investments in real estate are concerned, most of them were
basically aimed at expanding the facilities in La Segunda Aguada. To that
end, they purchased several farms and plots of land and carried out works on
those that they already owned. They built several wineries, warehouses, and
even their own iron quay with a crane, which was to be used exclusively at
the service of their warehouses and wineries10. They shipped their goods for
sale in foreign markets directly from there, meaning that the boxes and barrels
left the wineries just in time to be shipped. This ensured that the wines were
not left out in the open at the docks awaiting loading. In addition to investing
in real estate, they sold part of their land for the construction of the railways,
which, together with the construction of their own dock, would give them an
enormous advantage over their competitors. Their strategically advantageous
location—by the sea, and with the railway running right past their wineries
and warehouses—enabled them to easily send out their products and acquire
raw materials and other goods without having to rely on intermediaries.
All these investments show the company’s move towards vertical integration,
as these acquisitions were made in order to control the entire wine production
process from the sourcing of raw materials, through the production and prep-
aration of wines, to the transport, distribution, and sale of the end product
in the different markets. By bringing the warehouses and external elements
together in one place, they reduced costs, making the production process more
efficient and increasing business profits. Moreover, Lacave & Echecopar was
similar in this regard to most of the region’s wine companies created in the
nineteenth century, where the businessmen entering the wine industry ended up
becoming involved in all the stages of the production process (Ramos Santana
1996, pp. 170– 171; Maldonado Rosso 2011, p. 182). Examples of such
cases include the renowned winery owners Osborne, Domecq, Terry, Garvey,
Gordon, Williams, Humbert, and Sandeman, among others (Fuentes García
et al. 2020, p. 46). Against the backdrop of the growth in the wine business,
these businessmen invested in the purchase of rural and urban land. The part-
ners of Lacave & Echecopar did likewise; as mentioned above, they consider-
ably increased their investments in real estate in these years. After entering the
16

wine business, they also became producers through the purchase of vineyards11
and ended up establishing their own wineries and facilities for the sale of wines.
In little over 30 years, they gradually managed to integrate all the stages of the
wine production process into a single business.
The production method used in the wineries also represented an important
advantage for the company (Vázquez Fariñas & Maldonado Rosso 2017,
p. 104). By the end of the century, operations had been mechanized, with two
gas engines, three steam engines, and two large boilers. In addition, they used
tubes that crossed the wineries in all directions and enabled the wines to be
efficiently transported from one place to another. All of these innovations fur-
ther consolidated their strong position in the wine sector.
In addition, for the production of some of their wines, the Lacaves used the
traditional criaderas and soleras system that was typical of Marco del Jerez. At
this point it should be noted that Lacave & Echecopar did not only sell sherries.
According to the information extracted from the company’s accounting ledgers,
they also produced and sold wines from other regions as authentic; these
included Málaga, Alicante, and Bordeaux wines, as well as port and marsala12.
They probably sold them directly, as well as using them to add to their mixtures
and to create various kinds of imitations. Thus, the company was involved in
the sale of very different types of wines: not only did they produce sherry wines,
they also imitated wines from other regions, and at times, they focused only on
the sale of these wines, primarily acting as a distributor.
By this time, most of the wines the company processed came from other
companies, because according to their ledgers, the only land they had was in
Rota. By sourcing the grapes for the production of their varieties of Moscatel
and Tintilla de Rota directly from Rota, they accomplished their strategy of
vertical integration, while they bought the rest of the grapes they needed to pre-
pare their wines from suppliers throughout the Andalusian territory (Greiner
y Gindroz 1897, p. 64).
Thanks to El Álbum Nacional (Greiner y Gindroz 1897, p. 78), we have
been able to determine the volume of the company’s wine exports, which
generally show a clear upward trend in the period under study (Table 4.1).
Although there was a slight decline in exports from 1851 to 1853, between
1853 and 1857 foreign sales rose from 9,820 to 15,205 hectolitres (hl) per
year, an increase of 5,385 hl in just four years. Throughout this period (1851–
1857), Lacave & Echecopar exported a total of 92,146 hl.
We have data that allow us to compare the sales made by this Cádiz com-
pany during that time with those of other Andalusian wineries. By way of
example, the Córdoba company Bodegas Alvear, which specialized in the pro-
duction of Montilla wines, exported a total of 332.53 hl between 1851 and
1857 (Fuentes García 1995, p. 122), a very small figure compared with that
of Lacave & Echecopar. On the other hand, two wineries in Jerez, González
Byass and Domecq, recorded higher export figures in those years, with for-
eign sales of 87,834.38 hl and 93,561.99 hl, respectively (Lignon-Darmaillac
2004, p. 464). Unfortunately, however, we do not have a breakdown of these
sales, so we cannot analyse the percentage that corresponds to sherries and
26

Table 4.1 Wine Exports by Lacave & Echecopar, 1850–1857
Hectolitres
1850 10,340
1851 10,675
1852 10,535
1853 9,820
1854 10,235
1855 11,696
1856 13,640
1857 15,205
Total 92,146
Source: authors, based on Greiner 1897, p. 78.
what proportion is made up of other wines. Generally speaking, though, it

can be said that Lacave & Echecopar occupied an important position in the
Andalusian wine sector by this time.
Due to the expansion of the business during those years, on 1st January
1858 the partners went before a notary to set up a new trading company. It
was established under the same name of Lacave & Echecopar and included
Eduardo Echecopar, the eldest son of Juan- Pablo Echecopar, as an indus-
trial partner13. Furthermore, for the first time in its history, the share capital
was stated in the articles of association, amounting to 8,500,000 reales de
vellón (henceforth, rv). Of that total, Ana María Lacoste, as the senior partner,
contributed 2,500,000 rv, while Juan-Pablo Echecopar, Pedro Lacave Mulé,
and Pedro-Luis Lacave Soulé accounted for 2,000,000 rv each. Regarding the
distribution of profits, 22% was allocated to each of the capitalist partners,
while Eduardo Echecopar received 6%. Finally, the remaining 6% was to be
shared equally among several of the company’s employees.
In those years, the process of infrastructure expansion in La Segunda
Aguada continued. The businesses had developed to such an extent and their
wineries had become so enormous that the Guía de Cádiz of 1862 highlighted
the prominence of these facilities, pointing out that14:
[…] the wineries of Mr. Pedro Lacave, which are established in La Segunda
Aguada, represent great wealth, and are at all times stocked with large
supplies of wines ready for shipping. In one of them, there is a remarkable
vessel; it is a monstrous barrel in terms of its size and capacity. It was built
inside the winery itself, occupies the middle of it, and stands alone, bearing
the words “First in Andalusia”. It measures 2,144 Castilian arrobas. June
1852. […]
The creation of a large winery complex in Cádiz had already become reality
towards the last third of the nineteenth century. But investments in real estate
were not limited exclusively to the area of La Segunda Aguada. At that time,
36

the partners also purchased several properties in the city centre, thus expanding
the company’s headquarters and the family home where the owner lived with
her nephews and partners in the company. Moreover, the acquisition of real
estate highlights the capital that the partners were accumulating as a result of
their business activity. It therefore reflects the remarkable boost given to the
business by the founder’s nephews, Pedro, Pedro-Luis, and Juan-Pedro. Their
exceptional work and dedication were recognized by the press of the time,
which noted how this company’s business dealings had developed so much
in those years that they had to expand their scope of action, requiring expan-
sion works on their wineries in order to meet the demand from their clients
(Rahola, 1910, p. 309).
On 12th January 1862, Ana María Lacoste, the widow of Pedro Lacave
Miramont, died. The other partners consequently signed and notarized a
new deed on 28th June of that year to continue the business they had been
developing up to that point15.
The Last Years of Lacave & Echecopar (1862–1870)

After the death of Ana María Lacoste in January 1862, Juan-Pablo Echecopar,
Pedro Lacave Mulé, Pedro-Luis Lacave Soulé, and Eduardo Echecopar agreed
to continue on together in the mercantile arm of the business, so in June of that
same year they formed a new general partnership16. The first three continued
as capitalist partners, with Eduardo Echecopar as industrial partner, and they
kept the same name and corporate purpose as they had been using up to then.
The biggest change was the reduction in the share capital, which was set at
7,500,000 rv, with the three capitalist partners contributing equal shares of
2,500,000 rv. Regarding the distribution of profits, Juan-Pablo Echecopar,
Pedro Lacave Mulé, and Pedro-Luis Lacave Soulé, as capitalist partners, were
each to receive 27% of the profits; Eduardo Echecopar was to receive 8%; and
the remaining 11% was to be divided between the company’s four longest-
standing employees for as long as they continued working there. With these
changes incorporated, the term of the partnership was set at four years, which
would last until 31st December 1865.
In June 1866, after the previous deed had expired, the same partners
decided to renew it and increase the share capital, so that it now amounted to
12,000,000 rv. The three senior partners, Juan-Pablo Echecopar, Pedro Lacave
Mulé, and Pedro-Luis Lacave Soulé, contributed to this total in the same pro-
portion as before; that is, 4,000,000 rv each. The division of profits continued
as before, and once again a four-year term was set for the entity17.
They were tough years for the business. The port of Cádiz was experien-
cing a drop in exports due to the decline in trade with the former overseas
dominions and the difficulties already being felt in the wine sector (Sánchez
Albornoz 1970, pp. 90–92). Exports from Cádiz fell by 25% between 1856
and 1858, with their value dropping from 266,008,544 rv to 200,863,459
rv in just two years18. On top of all this, there was the monetary crisis that
46

struck in 1864 and the banking crisis of 1866, which further exacerbated the
problems of the Cádiz trade (Cózar Navarro 1998, p. 32).
The greatest problems for winemaking began in 1867, due to the fall in
the price of wine and the drop in exports. There were several reasons behind
the decline in exports: the high cost of farming the vineyards, strong com-
petition in the sector, British customs duties, the lack of protection from the
State, and the propaganda against sherry that had emerged due to the rise in
exports from Marco de Jerez to England in the preceding years. Said rise had
led to a fall in other countries’ sales, and those countries now set about belit-
tling sherry (González Gordon 1970, pp. 165–166). In those years, there was a
sharp decline in the preference for Spanish wines in the British market, and as a
result demand stagnated. To cope with this situation, sherry producers tried to
cut costs in order to be able to lower prices and thus boost their market share.
But profits fell while, in these ever shifting circumstances, the position of the
region’s wines in the international market worsened relative to that of other
wines (Simpson 1985, pp. 171–173; Jiménez Blanco 2008–2009, p. 139).
As such, they were not good years for the wine sector. This was evident
in the company Lacave & Echecopar, as their wine exports appear rather
unstable around those times (Table 4.2). Specifically, between 1858 and
1860, their sales abroad increased from 16,325 hl to 19,630 hl, but declined
slightly the following year, then remained steady at around 18,100 hl a year
until 1863. In 1864, exports rose to 20,690 hl, and although sales declined in
the following years, they rose again in 1867, when the highest figure of this
period was recorded, with this Cádiz winery selling 24,115 hl of wines to
overseas markets. At the end of the 1860s, Lacave & Echecopar was struck
hard by the economic troubles of the time, with its exports dropping to
15,215 hl in 1870.
Table 4.2 Wine Exports by Lacave & Echecopar, 1858–1870
Hectolitres
1858 16,325
1859 18,625
1860 19,630
1861 18,570
1862 18,215
1863 17,610
1864 20,690
1865 20,205
1866 17,310
1867 24,115
1868 21,085
1869 15,784
1870 15,215
Total 243,379
Source: authors, based on Greiner 1897, p. 78.

56

The analysis carried out shows that Lacave & Echecopar’s foreign sales
followed a similar trend to that of Spanish exports of wine from Jerez and
El Puerto de Santa María in those years. Between 1858 and 1860, Spanish
exports also grew, although more notably so than Lacave & Echecopar’s
exports, rising from 160,632.33 hl to 238,883.47 hl in two years. In 1864,
there was a marked increase, with 316,532.24 hl sold to overseas markets, a
figure that fell sharply the following year to 240,849.45 hl19. This reflects the
downward trend in the Spanish wine market towards the end of the 1860s, and
the drastic decrease in foreign sales of sherry and similar wines, which ended
up affecting Lacave & Echecopar.
The sector sought out different ways of mitigating these problems.
Particularly notable in this regard is the opening up of two new markets: the
domestic market—demand from Spain grew slightly—and foreign markets
in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and South America (Simpson 1985,
p. 183). Although demand from these new markets was not enough to alle-
viate all the problems in the sector, they did help to defuse some of the dif-
ficulties. In those years, Lacave & Echecopar sent their wines from Cádiz to
Barcelona, San Sebastián, Le Havre (France), Bristol (Great Britain), Havana
(Cuba), Hamburg (Germany), and New York (USA)20.
The prevailing economic crisis worsened as it coincided with the revolution
of 1868—known as the Glorious Revolution—which broke out in Cádiz, with
major social and economic consequences for the city. Several authors agree
that the fact it began there was very likely due to the general dissatisfaction
and distress felt by the people of Cádiz, who were going through economically
challenging times and thought that political change could improve their situ-
ation (Ramos Santana 1992, p. 220). It is worth noting the bourgeoisie’s loss
of wealth and the demise of many exporting industries in the years following
the revolution (Sánchez Albornoz 1970, p. 100), which increasingly underlined
the decline of the port of Cádiz, seriously hindered the growth of commercial
activity in the city.
Against this backdrop, there was an important shift in the direction of
the company, as the partners decided to separate and dissolve the company
to continue the businesses separately, thus bringing an end to 40 years of
joint commercial activity in Cádiz (Vázquez Fariñas 2018a, p. 84). Although
the available information does not unequivocally indicate the causes behind
this dissolution, the partners were likely prompted to make this decision
due to the path the business was on, the economic and political instability,
and the crisis that had emerged in the wine sector. In addition, there were
very probably certain rifts between them, since the end of the company
did not mark the cessation of commercial activities for any of the families.
From that point on, the Lacaves agreed to take on the business they had
been developing until then, retaking the original company name of Lacave
& Company, while Juan-Pablo Echecopar and his son Eduardo continued
to devote themselves to the commissions business through a new company
called J. P. Echecopar, created with the capital that the two withdrew from
the dissolved company21.
6

In parallel, the Lacaves established another company in Seville under the
same name of Lacave & Company, to continue to engage in the commissions
business, cork, cooperage, and wine storage in the Andalusian capital (Vázquez
Fariñas 2018b, p. 243).
The growth of this new company, Lacave & Company, with offices in Cádiz
and Seville, continued throughout the twentieth century, as they entered more
and more markets and exported their products all over the world. During its
more than 100-year history, the company was always headed by members of
the Lacave family. They managed to become one of the region’s most important
winemaking groups, to the point where they became part of the so-called Sherry
Triangle (highest category) after the creation of the Regulatory Council of the
Designation of Origin “Jerez-Xérès-Sherry” in 1933 (Vázquez Fariñas 2016).
Conclusions
Over the course of this chapter, we have seen that the Lacave family developed
an important business in the wine sector throughout the nineteenth century.
Lacave & Echecopar presents a family business model that, thanks to the man-
agement of human capital and the strategies developed, was able to endure in
a constantly changing market.
To that end, the partners adopted a clear strategy of diversifying their
businesses in an attempt to secure their capital and gain higher incomes. This
strategy made the company extremely dynamic over the span of the century
(with involvement in businesses such as the cork and oil factory in Seville,
Juan Pedro Lacave & Company; the Sevillian pottery manufacturing company,
Pickman & Company; the mining company, La Gaditana; and the spinning
mill in Seville called Los Amigos, among others). At the same time, they strove
to integrate the wine business, controlling the extraction, production, trans-
port, and market distribution.
Despite the death of the main partner, which is usually a major setback
for any company, the other partners managed fairly easily to continue the
business and diversification strategy, dedicating themselves to the commission
business and speculation in staves, iron, wines, and spirits, while developing
the banking business and shipping agency services. They also continued their
acquisition of warehouses and wineries that had begun before the founder’s
death, with the aim of creating their large business complex in Cádiz. By the
mid-nineteenth century, the growth of their facilities was truly remarkable,
and the company had managed to integrate in one place the entire process
of wine production, from the winemaking to the distribution and sale of the
final product. In addition, by grouping the wineries and external elements in
one place, they saved costs, allowing them to carry out the production process
more efficiently and increase corporate profits. The growth in the company’s
wine production and exports from the middle of the century reflects the fact
that the company already occupied a prominent position in mercantile Cádiz,
and more specifically in the wine sector.
76

The expansion of the company in those years runs parallel to the favour-
able trends in Cádiz and Spain as a whole. However, towards the last third
of the century, this heyday was interrupted by several events, leading to the
split between the Lacave and Echecopar families, who decided to go on
with their businesses separately. Nevertheless, the new company, Lacave &
Company, created in 1871, managed to tackle the challenges facing the sector
and continued to grow from the late nineteenth century. Their notable devel-
opment in the wine sector continued throughout the twentieth century, as
they entered into ever more markets and exported their products all over the
world, becoming a hugely important wine exporter with a weighty historical
tradition.
Notes
1 The Sherry Wine Region, where sherry wines are produced. This area of wine
production includes the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María,
Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Chiclana de la Frontera, Chipiona, Puerto Real, Rota,
Trebujena, and Lebrija; the latter two are in the province of Seville and the rest are
in the province of Cádiz.
2 Companies that produced wine but did not distribute their products on the market
or export them, rather they supplied the larger wineries with wines for blending and
ageing.
3 You can learn more about Pedro Lacave Miramont in Vázquez Fariñas 2017,
2018a, 2020; and Vázquez Fariñas & Maldonado Rosso 2017.
4 Provincial Historical Archive of Cádiz (hereinafter PHAC). Notary of Joaquín
Rubio, 1830, file no. 3,206, pp. 452–453.
5 Staves: any of the narrow strips of wood placed edge to edge to form the curved
sides of a vessel (such as a barrel or cask) (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).
6 Juan-Pedro Lacave Soulé moved from France to settle in Seville, taking on the
family’s businesses in the Andalusian capital.
7 Lacave & Echecopar General Ledger, 1845–1849.
8 PHAC. Notary of Joaquín Rubio, 1853, file no. 3,272, pp. 470–473.
9 El Clamor Público, newspaper of the Liberal Party (6th May 1857).
10 La Época (21st August 1857).
11 In the various articles of association and renewal of the company, it is noted that the
partners contributed vineyards for the development of the business activity, without
detailing their location or size.
12 Inventory ledgers from Aguada.
14 Guía de Cádiz, 1862, p. 72.
18 Statistical Yearbook of Spain, 1856–1857, 1859–1860.
19 Statistical Yearbook of Spain, 1856–1857, 1859–1860, 1860–1861, 1862–1865.
20 Official Gazette of the Province of Cádiz (29th March, 8th April, 15th May, and 24th
November 1866).
21 PHAC. Notary of Ramón María Pardillo, 1870, file no. 591, pp. 4,724–4,734.
86

Sources and References
Manuscripts
Lacave’s Archive (Historical Wine Studies Unit of the University of Cádiz):
• Lacave & Echecopar General Ledger, 1845–1849.
• Inventory ledgers from Aguada.
Provincial Historical Archive of Cádiz:

• Notary no. 2: file no. 591.
• Notary no 14: files no. 3.206, 3.272, 3.284, 3.292, 3.305.
Print Documents
Commercial Code, 1829.
Official Gazette of the Province of Cádiz. 29th March, 8th April, 15th May, and
24th November 1866. Historical Archive of the Provincial Government of Cádiz,
Cádiz.
El Clamor Público, newspaper of the Liberal Party, 1857.
Office for National Statistics (1858): Statistical Yearbook of Spain for 1856 and 1857,
Madrid, Kingdom General Statistics Commission.
Madrid, Kingdom General Statistics Commission.
Madrid, General Statistical Board.
Madrid, General Statistical Board.
La Época (Madrid, 1849): 21st August 1857, no. 2.580. National Library of Spain
(Digital Newspaper Library).
Rosetty, J. 1862. Guía de Cádiz, El Puerto de Santa María, San Fernando y su
departamento. Biblioteca Municipal José Celestino Mutis, Cádiz.
References
Cózar Navarro, M. C. 1998. Ignacio Fernández de Castro y Cía. Una empresa naviera
gaditana. Cádiz: Servicio de publicaciones de la Universidad de Cádiz.
Cózar Navarro, M. C. 2007. La actividad comercial en la bahía de Cádiz durante
el reinado de Isabel II. Revista de Historia TST. Transportes, Servicios y
Telecomunicaciones 13: 34–60.
De la Pascua Sánchez, M. J. 2009. Familia, matrimonio y redes de poder entre la élite
social gaditana de los siglos XVII y XVIII. In Las élites en la época moderna: la
Monarquía española. Vol. 1: Nuevas perspectivas, ed. E. Soria Mesa, J. J. Bravo
Caro, and J. M. Delgado Barrado, 157–174. Córdoba: Servicio de Publicaciones de
la Universidad de Córdoba.
Díaz Morlán, P. 2013. La sucesión de las empresas familiares británicas y españolas
en los siglos XIX y XX. El papel del mérito, la formación y el aprendizaje. In La
profesionalización de las empresas familiares, coord. P. Fernández-Pérez, 17–33.
Madrid: LID Editorial, Colección Historia Empresarial.
96

Fuentes García, F. J. 1995. Viñedo y comercio de vinos en Córdoba: Las bodegas Alvear
en el siglo XIX. Revista de Estudios Regionales 42: 87–129.
Fuentes García, F. J., L. J. Cabeza Ramírez, & S. Sánchez Cañizares. 2020. Alvear. La
empresa familiar decana de las exportadoras andaluzas. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch.
González Gordon, M. M. 1970. Jerez-Xerez-Sherish Saris: noticias sobre el origen de
esta ciudad, su historia y su vino. Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz): Fundación Manuel
Mª González Ángel González Byass.
Greiner y Gindroz, E. (dir.). 1897. Los vinos finos de España y la Casa Lacave y
Compañía, Cádiz. El Álbum Nacional, revista ilustrada. Serie de números dedicados
a la industria y al fomento de la producción española.
Jiménez Blanco, J. I. 2008– 2009. Capital español, beneficios británicos. Una gran
bodega jerezana del siglo XIX. Revista de Historia de Jerez 14–15: 133–156.
Lignon-Darmaillac, S. 2004. Les grandes maisons du vignoble de Jerez (1834–1992).
Madrid: Casa de Velázquez.
Maestre de León, B. 1993. La Cartuja de Sevilla: Fábrica de Cerámica. Seville:
Pickman S.A.
Maldonado Rosso, J. 1992. Consideraciones sobre la participación del vino en la
economía del Marco del Jerez y de la Bahía de Cádiz. In Solera: Exposición sobre los
Vinos de Nuestra Tierra. Catálogo, dir. J. Maldonado Rosso and A. Ramos Santana,
18–28. Seville: Consejería de Cultura de la Junta de Andalucía.
Maldonado Rosso, J. 1996. Génesis de las vinaterías jerezana y sanluqueña
contemporáneas. In El jerez-xérès-sherry en los tres últimos siglos, coord. A. Ramos
Santana and J. Maldonado Rosso, 11–28. Cádiz: Ayuntamiento de El Puerto de
Santa María.
Maldonado Rosso, J. 1999. La formación del capitalismo en el marco del Jerez: de la
vitivinicultura tradicional a la agroindustria vinatera moderna (siglos XVIII y XIX).
Madrid: Huerga y Fierro Editores.
Maldonado Rosso, J. 2011. Pedro Domecq Loustau (1824–1894). In Cien empresarios
andaluces, dir. A. Parejo Barranco, 180–185. Madrid: LID Editorial.
Rahola, F. (dir.). 1910. Mercurio: Revista Comercial Iberoamericana, año X, nº 106.
Ramos Santana, A. 1987. La burguesía gaditana en la época Isabelina. Cádiz: Cátedra
Adolfo de Castro, Fundación Municipal de Cultura.
Ramos Santana, A. 1992. Historia de Cádiz, vol. III. Cádiz en el siglo XIX. De ciudad
soberana a capital de provincia. Madrid: Sílex Ediciones.
Ramos Santana, A. 1996. Los bodegueros del Marco de Jerez: actitudes y mentalidad.
In El jerez-xérès-sherry en los tres últimos siglos, coord. A. Ramos Santana and J.
Maldonado Rosso, 159–182. Cádiz: Ayuntamiento de El Puerto de Santa María.
Retegui y Bensusan, M. de. 1992. Cádiz en 1820. Estudio histórico y defensa de su
comercio marítimo. Cádiz: Cámara Oficial de Comercio, Industria y Navegación.
Ruiz Vélez-Frías, F. 1977. Los bancos de emisión de Cádiz en el siglo XIX. Córdoba:
Universidad de Córdoba, Instituto de Historia de Andalucía.
Sánchez Albornoz, N. 1970. Cádiz, capital revolucionaria en la encrucijada económica.
In La Revolución de 1868: Historia, Pensamiento, Literatura, selec. C. E. Lida and
I. M. Zavala, 80–108. New York: Las Américas Publishing Company.
Sánchez Casado, J. L. 2001. Mercados locales de capital y prácticas bancarias: el ámbito
mercantil y financiero de Cádiz-Sevilla, 1845–1890. Paper presented at the VII
Congreso de la Asociación de Historia Económica, Zaragoza, Spain.
Simpson, J. 1985. La producción de vinos en Jerez de la Frontera, 1850–1900. In
La nueva historia económica en España, ed. P. Martín Aceña and L. Prados de la
Escosura, 166–191. Madrid: Tecnos.
07

Solà Parera, A. 2012. Las mujeres como partícipes, usufructuarias y propietarias de
negocios en la Barcelona de los siglos XVIII y XIX según la documentación notarial.
Revista de Historia Contemporánea 44: 109–144.
Vázquez Fariñas, M. 2016. Las bodegas en Cádiz amparadas por el Marco del jerez.
In Actas del Congreso científico El vino de Jerez en los 80 años de la denominación
de origen 1935–2015, coord. C. Saldaña Sánchez, 303–314. Jerez de la Frontera
(Cádiz): Consejo Regulador de las Denominaciones de Origen “Jerez-Xérès-Sherry”,
“Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda” and “Vinagre de Jerez”.
Vázquez Fariñas, M. 2017. El negocio del vino en el Cádiz del siglo XIX: las Bodegas
Lacave. PhD diss., Univ. of Cádiz.
Vázquez Fariñas, M. 2018a. La industria vinícola en el Cádiz decimonónico. Lacave
y Echecopar: bodegueros y consignatarios marítimos. Revista de Historia TST.
Transportes, Servicios y Telecomunicaciones 37: 70–90.
Vázquez Fariñas, M. 2018b. Los vinos de la casa gaditana Lacave y Compañía hacia
finales del siglo XIX: ventas y áreas de mercado. In Tres siglos bebiendo Jerez.
Comercio y consumo (XVIII-XX), ed. A. Ramos Santana and L. Lozano Salado,
241–265. Cádiz: Ediciones Suroeste.
Vázquez Fariñas, M. 2020. El negocio del vino en la ciudad de Cádiz. Historia
empresarial de Lacave y Compañía, 1810–1927. Madrid: Marcial Pons.
Vázquez Fariñas, M. & J. Maldonado Rosso. 2017. Cádiz, ciudad vinatera entre
mediados de los siglos XIX y XX. Revista de Estudios Regionales 109: 95–119.
17
5
The Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana,
a Successful Company in Late
Nineteenth-Century Spain
Mercedes Fernández-Paradas and
Francisco José García Ariza
Introduction1
The presence of sugar cane in the Iberian Peninsula can be traced back to the
ninth century. The first attempts at beet cultivation in Spain date back to 1874
and took place in the region of Andalusia, specifically Vega de Granada and
Guadix in the province of Granada (Martín Rodríguez 1982, p.125; Marrón
Gaite 1992, pp. 20–27; Almansa 2005; Martín Rodríguez 2011). In 1882 and
1883, the first two sugar beet factories began operating in the provinces of
Córdoba and Granada (Martín Rodríguez 1982). At the end of the 1891–1892
season, the provinces of Almería and Málaga also became involved. In that
season, two companies were created, one of which was the Sociedad Azucarera
Antequerana —the focus of this research. In the decades around the turn of the
century, the sugar beet sector grew notably, to the point where there were 151
sugar factories in 1910 (Marrón Gaite 2011, p. 106).
The Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana was established on 18th November
1890 in Antequera, an Andalusian municipality in the north of the province
of Málaga. It was an important company: in the early twentieth century it
accounted for 5.8% of national production and 13.7% of Andalusian produc-
tion of beet sugar (Parejo Barranco 1997, p. 230).
This research, based on primary sources — in particular, the Sociedad
Azucarera Antequerana Archive —seeks to analyse the process of creating
the company and its early years, with a special focus on its promoters and
managers. It also examines the construction of the San José sugar factory in
Antequera. Furthermore, this study presents an overview of the company’s
trajectory, characterized in its early years —particularly the 1890s—by the
growth in sugar production, revenues, and profits.
Antequera, a Different Sort of Municipality

The Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana was created to respond to the fin-de-siècle
crisis, which we will address later. Antequera has long been a unique munici-
pality. Although it has always been one of Andalusia’s mid-sized cities, it has
not always participated in the productive features of other such cities, referred
to as agricultural cities. This was the case from the sixteenth century until the
27
72 Fernández-Paradas and García Ariza

1960s, when Antequera’s economy started to shift towards a predominance of
the service sector. Its distinctiveness lies in the coexistence between its agrarian
nature and its trade and manufacturing activities, which have capitalized on
its advantageous geographical location in the heart of the Andalusia region
in southern Spain. It has also benefited from its proximity to cities such as
Málaga and Seville, which have played a major role in distributing goods from
their respective ports.
At a time when the Spanish and Andalusian economies were becoming more
open, the municipality of Antequera was able to generate endogenous growth
models based on one or more productive activities; this was the case with the
textile industry for part of the nineteenth century (Gómez Moreno & Parejo
Barranco 2009).
At the turn of the nineteenth century, of all the mid-sized Andalusian
cities that had been involved in the textile business prior to industrializa-
tion, Antequera was the only one that managed to consolidate, eventually
becoming home to one of the nation’s most important woollen industries.
Over the course of that century, its textile industry went through two different
stages. The first lasted until around 1875 and was a phase of consolidation
and expansion. The second, up until the end of the century, was one of stag-
nation and crisis. The Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana was founded as a
response to the fin-de-siècle crisis in general, and the crisis afflicting the textile
industry in particular.
In 1861, Antequera was 15th in the ranking of Spain’s industrial cities. In
that year, approximately 2,000 people, or 20% of its working population,
worked in textile factories. This made it the most industrialized municipality
in the province of Málaga and one of the most in Andalusia as a whole (Parejo
Barranco 1998, p. 148).
In the 1870s, it began to experience an economic recession. In addition to
the demand drying up, it was technologically backward and faced domestic
and international competition in fabrics, whether wool or cotton. Another
underlying factor was that Antequera’s business owners had more interest in
agriculture, especially olive cultivation.
Between 1875 and 1900, more than 50% of the looms were shut down. At
the end of the nineteenth century, the textile industry attempted to modernize
by manufacturing blankets and introducing technological improvements.
From the turn of the twentieth century until 1914, blankets from Antequera
were sent as far as North Africa, South America, and Japan (Parejo Barranco
1987a, p. 335, 1987b). However, these initiatives were not enough. The main
cause of the decline was globalization, which led to new territories becoming
involved in the competition for markets, which in turn triggered a fall in prices
of agricultural products and land rent (Garrabou 1985; Jiménez Blanco 1986).
An additional contributing factor was the greater connectedness of the internal
market brought about by the expansion of the railway network, which meant
the Antequera textile industry faced more competition. By 1887, Antequera was
no longer among the group of industrialized Spanish cities (Gómez Moreno &
Parejo Barranco 2009, pp. 16–17).
37
The Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana 73

The Antequera economy achieved a recovery in the early twentieth century,
based on a different model grounded in the Second Industrial Revolution and
the development of other industrial activities, such as oil, electricity, metal-
lurgy, and sugar production. It also made progress in agriculture, with an
increase in productivity relying on crops or fruits for export, such as olive oil.
The agri-food sector was gradually assuming a greater role, with one of the
key activities being the production of beet sugar by the Sociedad Azucarera
Antequerana (Parejo Barranco 1987a, pp. 338–339).
The Founders
The Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana was founded in November 1890, by ten
men who agreed to contribute capital of 1,500,000 pesetas, with the aim of pro-
ducing and selling beet sugar. Most of these men were members of Antequera’s
high society, and some of them were related to each other. Some were heavily
involved in national politics, in the ranks of the conservative political parties,
and some were notable political leaders.
Of these, the most important was Francisco Romero Robledo (1838–1906),
who was the driving force behind the founding of the company, as well as its
president and largest shareholder until his death. At first, he subscribed to 250
shares for a total value of 125,000 pesetas, which in the following years he
increased to 315,000 pesetas. It is also worth mentioning his political career
and family ties, particularly his marriage to Josefa Zulueta Samá, daughter of
Julián Zuluela y Amondo. The latter was a wealthy landowner in Cuba and
owner of several sugar mills; Romero Robledo’s wife inherited a quarter part of
one of these mills2. He was therefore familiar with this business activity, which
in large part explains why he took the initiative to promote it in Antequera. In
addition, he had inside information thanks to his political responsibilities; he
was a large landowner and he knew how successful beet farming had become
in Vega de Granada. During his very active political life as a member of con-
servative parties, mainly during the last quarter of the nineteenth century and
early twentieth century, he held a number of important positions. For example,
he was Minister of Overseas Territories and Minister of the Interior on several
occasions, as well as President of the Congress of Deputies. He held total polit-
ical dominance over the municipality of Antequera and the province of Málaga
(Ayala Pérez 1974; Parejo Barranco 1987a, p. 373, 2006; Ramos Rovi 2013,
pp. 452–453).
The other founders were Luis Vasconi Cano, Lorenzo Borrego Gómez,
Fernando Moreno González del Pino, Francisco Bergamín García, Ramón
Checa Moreno, Antonio Luna Rodríguez, Juan Franquelo Díaz, José Casco
Romero, Ramón Checa Moreno, and José García Sarmiento.
When the Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana was formed, Lorenzo Borrego,
who was born not in Antequera but in the municipality of Montejaque, was
obliged to subscribe to 200 shares worth 100,000 pesetas3. He was on the
first Board of Directors and remained a member until July 1894, when he sub-
mitted his resignation on the basis that he did not live in Antequera and due to
47

his role as a Member of Congress as he was also a senator (Ramos Rovi 2013,
p. 111)4.
Francisco Bergamín García, born in the municipality of Campillos in Málaga,
was a Member of Congress and also on the first Board of Directors. Although
he pledged to subscribe to 150 shares with a capital of 75,000 pesetas, in the
end he bought 50 shares. He was appointed secretary at the first meeting of
the Board of Directors on 18th November 1890, a position he held until the
beginning of 1899. His contribution to the company also entailed drawing
up contracts for the expropriation of the properties through which the pipes
and aqueduct supplying water to the mill would run, as well as preparing the
plans for the corresponding construction works. In addition, he represented
the Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana in the lawsuit that it filed against the gov-
ernment, opposing the latter’s decision to terminate the contracts agreed upon
with the sugar producers on paying taxes equivalent to the consumption tax.
He excelled as a writer, lawyer, intellectual and politician. He was professor of
Political Economics, Commercial Law and Statistics, and also of International
Law, as well as being Dean of the Bar Associations of Madrid and Málaga. He
was Minister of the Interior, of Education and of Finance, a senator, and Vice
President of the Congress of Deputies (Ramos Rovi 2013, pp. 100–101).
Luis Vasconi Cano took 90 shares and was also appointed to lead the first
Board of Directors. His participation in the company was due to his being
a civil engineer and his experience in the construction of dams, as well as
his personal and professional ties with José María Bores Romero, nephew of
Francisco Romero. Vasconi Cano drew up the plan for the construction of the
Antequera sugar factory and, together with José María Bores, directed the con-
struction works. The two men were also, along with Bergamín, responsible for
the survey and implementation of the works on the aqueduct to supply water to
the factory. With José García Sarmiento, Luis Vasconi took care of the contract
signed with the Compañía de Ferrocarriles Andaluces (Andalusian Railway
Company) for the transport of coal to the factory. The collaboration between
Luis Vasconi and José María Bores went even further. For example, in the late
1890s they were involved in the expansion works of the Port of Málaga, and
in 1902 they formed the Sociedad de Aguas del Cerneja to produce hydroelec-
tricity, and the Sociedad Iberia Concesionaria (Heredia Flores 2014)5.
Fernando Moreno González del Pino, born in Antequera, committed to 50
shares, contributing a total capital of 25,000 pesetas. He was also a member
of the Board of Directors. His most important role in the company was that
of substitute chairman at the meetings of the Board of Directors and of the
General Shareholders’ Meetings, standing in for Romero Robledo, who was
often absent. Another of his contributions was his industrial experience, as
he was the son of José Moreno Burgos, who, along with his uncle, had been
among the largest textile manufacturers in the city. In 1851, Fernando Moreno
went to Belgium and France to close the deal on the purchase of machinery for
the cotton factory of his father and his uncle, and to gain technical and man-
agerial experience in a French textile factory in Reims. Fernando was not able
take over the family factory because the company was dissolved. He opted to
57

diversify his activities, with the purchase and development of land playing a
key role, to which end he created an agricultural colony. From his father, he
inherited the flour factory, La Concepción, which he gave a technological over-
haul. Together with his involvement in the Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana,
this shows his innovative spirit (Parejo Barranco 1987a, pp. 331–339, 1995).
José García Sarmiento was born in Antequera. When the company was
created, he had to subscribe to 100 shares for a value of 50,000 pesetas. He
was a member of the first Board of Directors and all successive boards until his
death in 1912. He led the company from his positions of manager and admin-
istrative director, which he held from January 1891. He gradually gained con-
trol, buying shares himself and through the sale of shares to several nephews
by marriage, while also placing relatives in key positions (Fernández-Paradas
& García Ariza 2019, pp. 165–166). For example, his nephew Luis Morales
was the technical director and accountant from the 1895–1896 season on.
Furthermore, after the death of Francisco Romero on 3rd March 1906, José
García Sarmiento —who at that time held 250 shares—was selected in the
General Shareholders’ Meeting to be “effective president” of the company.
Immediately afterwards, his son, José García Berdoy, was appointed deputy
director6. The García Berdoy family took over from Romero Robledo at the
head of the city’s conservative ranks. Garcia Berdoy controlled the Sociedad
Azucarera Antequerana from 1912 until his death in 1953. His role as a busi-
nessman went even further: he founded Antequera Cinema in 1932, as well as
a woollen fabrics company and a fertilizer company. In addition, he was one
of the promoters of the Caja de Ahorros y Préstamos de Antequera (Antequera
Savings and Loans Bank) (1903), of which he was president, while also being
on the board of the Banco de España in Antequera (Campos Rodríguez 2003).
Ramón Checa Moreno, a native of Antequera, took 30 shares for 15,000
pesetas. Unlike the abovementioned founders, he was not on the Board of
Directors. His surname Checa links him to the family of Francisco Romero’s
mother, Teresa Robledo Checa. It is worth noting that he was one of the few
textile manufacturers who attempted to modernize his factory, introducing
Jacquard machines and specializing in the production of blankets.
José Casco Romero, also from Antequera, was an agricultural landowner.
He was not a member of the Board of Directors. We do not know if he took all
the shares he had committed to buy —a total of 40 for 20,000 pesetas—since
he died shortly after the founding of the company; in early 1892, his heirs
held 30 shares. His second surname, Romero, suggests that he may have been
related to Francisco Romero.
Antonio Luna Rodríguez was not from Antequera. He was an alternate
director on the first Board of Directors. He bought 30 shares for 15,000
pesetas. A lawyer by trade, he was Dean of the Antequera Bar Association.
When Francisco Bergamín was away, Luna Rodríguez stood in as secretary of
the Board of Directors, and when the former gave up his position as secretary, he
was replaced by the latter. After the death of Francisco Romero, he held the
presidency of the Conservative Party of Antequera. His family was related to
the García Sarmiento family: his son, José de Luna Pérez, married Carmen
67

García Berdoy, daughter of José García Berdoy (Postigo Durán 2011, pp. 63
and 76)7.
Lastly, there was the property registrar, Juan Franquelo Díaz. He bought
30 shares for 15,000 pesetas. He was appointed alternate director on the first
Board of Directors. His involvement in the company may have come about due
to the fact that he was a property registrar, which would facilitate the task of
registering company properties.
The Other Managers

A number of other people also participated in the management of the Sociedad
Azucarera Antequerana. We focus here on the most relevant: José María Bores
Romero, Diego Wladimir Guerrero de Smirnoff, Ezequiel Ordóñez y González,
Luis Morales Bordoy, and Manuel Morales Ruiz.
Diego Wladimir Guerrero de Smirnoff held 100 shares. Shortly after the foun-
dation of the Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana, he was hired as an agricultural
engineer. Having qualified abroad, he is considered one of the foremost experts
in the cultivation and processing of beet sugar of the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. His father was a French engineer, who established a sugar
factory in the municipality of Atarfe in the province of Granada, which his son
managed. Guerrero stood out for his technological contributions: he applied
for the patent for what is known as “triple carbonation”. He also wrote several
works; it is worth mentioning some of those published in 1893 and 1894 were
considered reference works at the time: La remolacha y la Hacienda. Episodio
Nacional; La remolacha y la Hacienda. Episodio Nacional: segunda parte,
Cultivo de la remolacha pobre y cultivo de la remolacha rica, ¡No más fraude
en los abonos! ¡Notas prácticas sobre el empleo económico de los abonos
químicos y la adquisición de los materiales fertilizantes, y Cómo se obtiene
y se cultiva la remolacha azucarera. La remolacha y la Hacienda. Episodio
Nacional. He also translated the renowned book by George Dureau (1891),
Tratado del cultivo de la remolacha azucarera (A Treatise on the Cultivation
of Sugar Beet).
Although José María Bores Romero was not a founding partner of Sociedad
Azucarera Antequera, he acquired 50 shares for a capital of 25,000 pesetas
shortly after its formation. He was Francisco Romero’s nephew. In addition
to his family ties to the latter, his involvement in the company can also be
explained by his qualifications as a lawyer and a civil engineer. As mentioned
above, he drew up the plans for the construction of the factory along with
Vasconi, as well as the planning and implementation of the works for the fac-
tory aqueduct. Like his uncle and father, he was also engaged in politics. In the
1890s, he was twice elected a member of parliament. From 1898 on, he opted
to devote himself exclusively to his professional activity as an engineer and
to managing and promoting companies. In addition to the abovementioned
companies he promoted with Vasconi, he had a stake in Hidroeléctrica
Ibérica, founded in 1901. He also participated in the founding of the Sociedad
Electrohidráulica Industrial, which made use of waterfalls in the province of
7

Granada, he installed electric lighting in Baza, and he set up an esparto fibre
factory for paper. His most important project was for the metro in Madrid, but
it did not come to fruition. Another project that was implemented was his plan
to improve the supply of drinking water to the city of Málaga. With regard to
his activity in the electricity sector, it is worth highlighting his writings on the
so-called hydroelectric issue. Towards the end of his life he returned to politics;
in November 1929, he was elected as a member of the National Assembly in
the Primo de Rivera dictatorship and he stood as a candidate in the constitu-
tional elections of June 1931, although he did not win a seat (Pinto Tortosa
2009; Ramos Rovi 2013, p. 110; Heredia Flores 2014).
Ezequiel Ordonez y González was a lawyer and politician in the conser-
vative party. His son, Mariano Ordóñez García, married Francisca Romero
Robledo y Zulueta, one of the daughters of Francisco Romero. He subscribed
to 50 shares in the Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana for an amount of 25,000
pesetas. His main contribution to the company was as a creditor. After Romero
Robledo’s death, the Board of Directors appointed him honorary president8.
Luis Morales Berdoy was the son of Isabel Berdoy, the sister-in-law of José
García Sarmiento and Manuel Morales Ruiz (Talavera Quirós 2014, p.181), a
worker in the factory. He was technical director of the factory. In late 1895, he
travelled to France to improve his professional skills; in particular, he worked
with new beet milling machines and in a laboratory. He returned to Antequera
in 1896, before going back to France to finish his training. From 1898, he was
also in charge of the accounting. In 1902, he travelled to Germany, Austria,
Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden to find out about implementing
the Steffen system, concluding that it was not appropriate as it was suitable for
places with abundant water and low temperatures, conditions that were not
met in Antequera9.
The Construction of the Sugar Factory

Romero Robledo provided the land for the construction of the factory, trans-
ferring it from his Antequera country estate, Casarón de Casablanca, as well as
the water, an essential element in sugar manufacturing, in exchange for shares.
As commented above, Luis Vasconi and José María Bores were in charge of
the planning and construction of the factory. Antonio María Luna Quartin was
responsible for carrying out the building works, and the pipes for the water
supply were entrusted to José Morales Cosso, both of whom were shareholders.
The French company Fives- Lille was commissioned to provide the
machinery for the factory, as was common practice among this type of com-
pany in Andalusia at that time (Piñar Samos & Giménez Yanguas 2013, p. 60).
It had the capacity to process 250 tonnes of beets per day, placing it among
the largest in the country. Responsibility for assembling the machinery was
assigned to Felix Gardin, a French engineer appointed by Fives-Lille, who was
also in charge of the sugar production until the end of 1891. Materials for
building the factory also had to be bought, including iron girders from Málaga,
fire bricks from Glasgow, roof tiles from Marseille, and electrical equipment
87

from Paris. Up to the beginning of 1892, the Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana
spent more than 1,230,000 pesetas on equipment. The factory began operating
on 4th October 189110.
In addition, the company needed a railway siding alongside the tracks from
where it would receive coal and machinery and from where the sugar would be
sent out. To that end, it signed a contract with the Compañía de Ferrocarriles
Andaluces, which was responsible for constructing it11.
A Growing Company
In the 1891– 1892 season, the Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana produced
387,308.50 kilograms (kg) of sugar, which represented 2.7% of national pro-
duction and 3.7% of Andalusian production. Relative to this first season, pro-
duction was 1.7 times higher in the 1892–1893 season, reaching 678,585.50 kg,
which went up to 1,642,327.40 kg in 1894–1895, that is, it multiplied by
2.4. In 1895–1896, it dropped to 839,199.50 kg. In 1896–1897, it increased
to 1,398,630 kg, in 1897–1898 it was 1,594,140 kg and in 1898–1899 it
reached 1,883,710 kg, the highest figure of the decade. The last increase can be
attributed to Spain’s loss of Cuba, a territory where sugar was also produced.
In other words, Cuban sugar no longer reached Spain, which boosted pro-
duction in the factories on the Spanish mainland in order to meet domestic
demand12. In all but a few seasons, sugar production at the San José factory
accounted for the majority of the sugar coming from the province of Málaga
(Casado Bellagarza 2015, p.490).
The sale price of sugar per kilogram in 1891–1892 was 0.71 pesetas. In the
following years —except in 1897–1898—the price was above 0.80, and in
1899–1900 it was 1.11 pesetas, with this increase being due to the lack of sugar
from Cuba. The rise in sugar production and its sale price also had a positive
impact on sugar revenues. In 1891–1892, the company generated revenues of
273,976.50 pesetas; five years later, in 1896–1897, the corresponding figure
was 1,202,893.80 pesetas, with this amount continuing to rise to 3,403,281.40
in 1899–1900.
These revenues were generated thanks to the company’s successful sales
strategy, based on hiring representatives to sell their sugar, which enabled it
to create a distribution network. In this way, it managed to send its sugar to a
large part of the country. In the first campaign of 1891–1892, Antequera sugar
was mainly sold in Andalusia; specifically, in Antequera, the Córdoban munici-
palities of Lucena and Montilla, Cádiz and Málaga. Outside of Andalusia, their
product reached Barcelona, Madrid, Murcia and Valencia. In later seasons,
more places were able to enjoy the sugar, including La Coruña, Almería,
Granada, Huelva, Santander, Seville, Tarragona and Vigo.
As expenses were substantially lower than revenues —in some seasons more
than 34% lower—the growth in sugar sales was accompanied by a remarkable
rise in the company’s profits. In 1891–1892 they totalled 99,196.80 pesetas;
two seasons later they had more than doubled, totalling 218,178.20 pesetas.
97

Compared to the first season, this total was quadrupled in 1896-1894 and in
1899–1900 it was 13.5 times higher13.
Conclusions
The Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana was founded in Antequera in late 1890,
in response to the fin-de-siècle crisis that was afflicting the municipality. This
crisis was caused by the greater competition stemming from globalization
and the progress of the railway in Spain, which especially affected its textile
industry. Promoted by the Antequera politician Francisco Romero Robledo, it
became an important company in Andalusia and in Spain.
The group that founded it consisted of ten men, most of whom had family
ties with others in the group, and some of whom excelled in various facets
of national life, especially politics. Romero Robledo also chose them because
their professional profile allowed them to contribute in some way. The same
was true of the other managers who were not founders. The infrastructure
that enabled the production of the sugar was built quickly, in less than a year.
French technology was used, which at the time was considered cutting-edge.
The company’s successful trajectory is reflected in the data on sugar produc-
tion, revenues, and profits from the 1890s.
Notes
1 This study is part of the INGEURSUR, Thematic Network, financed by the
University of Malaga.
2 Municipal Historical Archive of Antequera (MHAA), Company Archives (CA),
Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana Archive (SAAA), file 226, Division of assets upon
the death of Josefa Zulueta, 26th February 1897.
3 To identify the share capital contributed by the partners, we have relied on MHAA,
CA, SAAA, file 339, folder 2.
4 MHAA, CA, SAAA, file 336, Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana Annual Report
1893-1894.
5 MHAA, CA, SAAA, Minutes of the Board of Directors, 12th January 1895.
6 MHAA, CA, SAAA, ledger 140.
7 MHAA, CA, SAAA, file 140.
8 MHAA, CA, SAAA, ledger 141, Minutes of the Board of Directors, 30th April
1906.
9 MHAA, CA, SAAA, ledger 141, Minutes of the Board of Directors, 18th November
1890, and file 337, Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana Annual Report 1902–1903.
10 MHAA, CA, SAAA, files 309–310 and 337.
11 MHAA, CA, SAAA, file 253, folder 3.
12 MHAA, CA, SAAA, files 336–338.
13 MHAA, CA, SAAA, files 336–338.
08

References
Almansa, R. Mª. 2005. Familia, tierra y poder en la Córdoba de la Restauración. Bases
económicas, poder político y actuación social de algunos miembros de la élite.
Córdoba: Universidad de Córdoba.
Ayala Pérez, J. 1974. Un político de la Restauración Romero Robledo. Antequera:
Publicaciones de la Biblioteca Antequerana de la Caja de Ahorros de Antequera.
Campos Rodríguez, J. 2003. José García Berdoy. In 20 Antequeranos del siglo XX, dir.,
J. M. González Córdoba, 30–32. Antequera: Escuela de Artes Gráficas.
Casado Bellagarza, J. L. (2015). La Colonia Agrícola de San Pedro Alcántara 1857–
1910. PhD diss. Universidad de Málaga.
Fernández-Paradas, M., & García Ariza, F. J. 2019. La Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana:
una respuesta a la crisis finisecular (1890–1906). In Empresas y empresarios en
España. De mercaderes a industriales, coord., J. M. Matés Barco, 153–179. Madrid:
Pirámide.
Garrabou, R. 1985. La crisis agraria española de finales del siglo XIX: una etapa
de desarrollo al capitalismo. In Historia agraria de la España Contemporánea.
2. Expansión y crisis (1850–1900), eds., R. Garrabou, and J. Sanz Fernández, 477–
542. Barcelona: Crítica.
Gómez Moreno, Mª. L. & Parejo Barranco, A. 2009. La economía en transformación:
Antequera entre los siglos XX y XXI. El Ejido: Fundación Cajamar.
Guerrero de Smirnoff, D. W. 1893a, Cómo se obtiene y se cultiva la remolacha azucarera.
Granada: Tipografía Hospital de Santa Ana.
Guerrero de Smirnoff, D. W. 1893b. Cultivo de la remolacha pobre y cultivo de la
remolacha rica. Granada: Tipografía Hospital de Santa Ana.
Guerrero de Smirnoff, D. W. 1894a. La remolacha y la hacienda. Granada: Imprenta de
D. José López Guevara.
Guerrero de Smirnoff, D. W. 1894b. La remolacha y la hacienda. Episodio Nacional.
Granada: Imprenta de D. José López Guevara.
Guerrero de Smirnoff, D. W. 1894c. ¡No más fraude en los abonos!¡Notas prácticas
sobre el empleo económico de los abonos químicos y la adquisición de los materiales
fertilizantes. Granada: Establecimiento tipográfico de F. Gómez de la Cruz.
Heredia Flores, V. M. 2014. José Bores Romero, un ingeniero en la España de la
Restauración. In Pensar con la Historia desde el siglo XXI, Actas del XII Congreso
de la Asociación de Historia Contemporánea, eds., Folguera, P. et al. Madrid:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Ediciones.
Jiménez Blanco, J. I. 1986. La producción agraria de Andalucía Oriental, 1874–1914.
Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
Marrón Gaite, Mª. J. 1992. La adopción y expansión de la remolacha azucarera en
España (de los orígenes al momento actual). Madrid: Ministerio de Agricultura,
Pesca y Alimentación.
Marrón Gaite, Mª. J. 2011. La adopción de una innovación agraria en España: los
orígenes del cultivo de la remolacha azucarera. Experiencias pioneras y su repercusión
económica y territorial. Estudios Geográficos 270: 103–134.
Martín Rodríguez, M. 1982. Azúcar y descolonización. Origen y desenlace de una crisis
agraria en la Vega de Granada. El “Ingenio de San Juan, 1882–1904”. Granada:
Universidad de Granada.
Martín Rodríguez, M. 2011. Juan López- Rubio Pérez (1829– 1913). In Grandes
empresarios andaluces, coord. A. Parejo Barranco, 214– 221. Madrid: Lid
Editorial.
18

Parejo Barranco, A. 1987a. Historia de Antequera. Antequera: Publicaciones de la
Biblioteca Antequerana de la Caja de Ahorros de Antequera.
Parejo Barranco, A. 1987b. Industria dispersa e industrialización en Andalucía: el
ejemplo del textil antequerano (1750–1900). Málaga: Universidad de Málaga.
Parejo Barranco, A. 1995. Los viajes europeos de un burgués antequerano: José Moreno
Burgos en Bélgica e Inglaterra (1842 y 1851). Revista de Estudios Antequeranos 1:
209–250.
Parejo Barranco, A. 1997. La producción industrial en Andalucía (1830–1935). Sevilla:
Instituto de Desarrollo Regional.
Parejo Barranco, A. 1998. Revolución liberal y élites locales. Dos ejemplos antequeranos
de la segunda mitad del siglo XIX. In De economía e historia: estudios en homenaje
a José Antonio Muñoz Rojas, coords., A. Gómez Mendoza, and A. Parejo Barranco,
139–184. Málaga: Diputación Provincial de Málaga.
Parejo Barranco, A. 2006. Francisco Romero Robledo. Último político romántico.
Ingenio de la Restauración (Antequera, 1838- Madrid, 1906). Antequera:
Ayuntamiento de Antequera.
Pinto Tortosa, A. J. 2009. El medio agrario andaluz ante la llegada del liberalismo: las
revoluciones de 1835 y 1836 en Antequera. Antequera: Ayuntamiento de Antequera.
Postigo Durán, I. 2011. Origen de la industria del azúcar de remolacha en Antequera:
las primeras campañas del Ingenio de San José, 1890–1910. Revista de Estudios
Antequeranos 15, 53–78.
Piñar Samos, J. & Giménez Yanguas, M. 2013. Motril y el azúcar: paisaje, historia,
patrimonio. Granada: Fundación El Legado Andalusí.
Ramos Rovi, M.J. 2013. Diccionario biográfico de parlamentarios andaluces (1876-
1923), Sevilla.
Talavera Quirós, R. 2014. Familias Antequeranas. Antequera.
28
6
Small, Medium and Large
Companies in the Supply of
Water in Spain (1840–1940)
Juan Manuel Matés-Barco
Introduction
The study of water supply companies confirms the importance that private
enterprise has had in the development of public utilities. It also provides infor-
mation on the types of companies that have emerged to provide these activities
and the long-term evolution of the management model. In Spain there is no
clear preponderance of the private or public sector in the management of local
public utilities (Fernández 2009). For this reason, it is useful to learn about the
emergence in the nineteenth century of those companies that would become
major players in a sector that has expanded greatly both nationally and inter-
nationally (Larrinaga 2008).
In the same vein, several reasons bolster the importance of studying the
history of drinking water supply companies in Spain. Firstly, there is the con-
centration of investment, both national and foreign, that these companies
monopolised in order to commence their business activity (Matés-Barco 2002;
Castro-Valdivia & Fernández-Paradas 2019, 2020; Martínez 2020). Secondly,
the unique typology generated by this business phenomenon allows us to
obtain knowledge of matters related to the History of the Company. Finally,
there is the fact that these firms burst onto the scene throughout the nineteenth
century and became highly prominent, while at the same time pursuing sig-
nificant advances from a technological point of view. On the other hand, they
moved within a legislative framework characterised by the appearance of man-
agement techniques such as natural monopoly and administrative concession,
which have played a predominant role in the development of public utilities
and in the improvement of public health (Núñez 2000; Matés-Barco, 2004 ;
Ruiz-Villaverde 2013).
The historical perspective allows us to glimpse a changing policy on the
management model of municipal services (Mirás 2006, p. 1). In the second
half of the nineteenth century, the transformation that took place in public
utilities had significant impacts that affected the economy and technological
development. The study of the regulation of administrative concessions and the
confluence of public and private interests are issues that illustrate the search
for solutions to the problems caused by urban growth (Ferreira da Silva &
Cardoso de Matos 2004, p. 3; Matés-Barco 2018b).
38
Companies in the Supply of Water in Spain 83

However, despite the importance of the sector, it has been one of the most
forgotten by historiography. Within the analysis of public utilities, much
attention has been paid to other sectors –especially electricity, gas, and trams –
but interest in the business development of the supply of household drinking
water has been side-lined. The reasons may be related to the linkage of those
other sectors with banking –which has been much studied –and the large
investments required for power plants and railways. In countries such as Great
Britain, France, and Italy, there are abundant studies on the management of
water supply services, both from the perspective of companies and municipal-
ities, as well as with respect to the evolution of the sector itself.
Between 1840 and 1939, one can observe the creation of a significant
number of private companies dedicated to the supply of water. After this period
of expansion, a new stage (1940–1980) saw their progressive disappearance
from the business panorama. Only a few companies resisted the interventionist
policies of the successive governments of the time. More recently (1981–2012),
there has been a resurgence of private management in the water supply sector,
marked by an essentially integrative dynamic both vertically and horizontally.
There are various reasons for municipalities to adopt this trend. Firstly, there
is the existence of a dynamic that wishes to take advantage of the managerial
and financial capacity of large private groups. Secondly, there is the strategy
of breaking free from the power of the unions in public companies. Finally,
there is the manifest desire to reduce local government and generate income
for municipal treasuries (Bel 2006, p. 43; González-Gómez 2006, p. 142).
However, in recent years, the call to establish legal norms that permit the “re-
municipalisation” of these services has been heard once again in certain muni-
cipal spheres. As can be seen, the trend with respect to the management of this
public service is cyclical and shifting. Some authors have called it a “to-and-fro
process”.
In order to highlight the importance that private companies have had in the
development of the sector in Spain, it may be useful to make a brief reference
to the situation in other countries. In Western Europe, public management of
the drinking water supply service predominates, and in some countries such
as Austria, Denmark, Greece, Holland, and Luxembourg it is absolutely dom-
inant. In others such as Portugal, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, Finland, and Germany,
the management by private companies is negligible and almost irrelevant. This
pattern is broken by France and Great Britain, where the presence of private
water supply companies has a long tradition, to the point that in the first years
of the twenty-first century the figures were 75% and 88% of the municipal-
ities, respectively. On the other hand, in the United States, private ownership
of this sector dropped throughout the nineteenth century. While at the begin-
ning of the eighteenth century the predominance of private ownership was
overwhelming, by 1915 only 31.4% of water supply services were in private
hands, and by 2002, after decades of dithering, only 10% of U.S. municipal-
ities had a privately-run water supply. (Bel 2006, pp. 78, 119 and 121; Matés-
Barco 2013, 2019b ).
48
84 Juan Manuel Matés-Barco

This research has been based on abundant source documents that provide
fairly complete information on these companies. Among these are the Revista
de Obras Públicas, Memorias y Estadísticas Diversas (Journal of Public
Works, Reports and Miscellaneous Statistics), the financial yearbooks, and
the abundant documentation in the municipal and state archives. Likewise,
the Catálogo de Sociedades de abastecimiento de agua potable (Catalogue
of Drinking Water Supply Companies) presents an exhaustive study of the
existing bibliography and detailed information on each of the 273 companies
that appeared in Spain between 1840 and 1990 (Matés-Barco 1997, 2014).
In this chapter, after this brief introduction, the next section deals with the
context of water supply companies in relation to other public utilities such as
electricity. The third and fourth sections analyse the different types of com-
panies according to the size of their investments. In the fifth section, a brief
overview is made with respect to the notions of risk and uncertainty that existed
in this business at the beginning of its establishment in the cities. Finally, some
brief conclusions are drawn, and the sources and bibliography are included.
Public Utilities in Spain

In the second half of the nineteenth century, many of these companies emerged
thanks to the investment of foreign capital, especially British, French, and
Belgian (Castro-Valdivia & Matés-Barco, 2020). These investors contributed
their knowledge, technology, and industrial material to the development of this
business sector. As Fernández-Paradas (2009, p. 110) indicates, this phenom-
enon was not limited to water supply companies, but was the result of a trend
that was occurring in some public utilities, most notably the railways and the
first gas, tram, and electricity companies (Bartolomé 2007, p. 31).
To compare the size of the water supply companies with other sectors, the
choice was made on the basis of the size of the investment (railways), their nov-
elty and connection to urban services (electricity), and similarity in investment
parameters (textiles). It is clear that the railway companies were at a very high
level, which does not allow for any kind of meaningful comparison with water
companies.
Electricity companies, despite being above the investment capacity of the
water companies and being much more numerous, operated at a relatively
similar level. Isabel Bartolomé (2007, pp. 30–35 and 103–107), has highlighted
the continued existence of a significant number of small companies, most of
which had equity of less than five million pesetas around 1925. She notes the
existence of large companies along with other very small ones. In 1935, the
basic resources of the standard electricity company did not exceed ten million
pesetas. In any case, the upward trend of the electricity companies can be
observed, thanks to the process of consolidation they were undergoing, while
the water companies remained almost static during this decade.
The situation of textile companies was the same; although they enjoyed
a slightly higher investment than water companies, their profile was almost
parallel to them. For gas companies, Mercedes Fernández- Paradas (2009,
58

pp. 121–122) describes that there were more small companies and that their
basic resources did not exceed five million pesetas. Among the large gas com-
panies, which were in the minority, the differences in the volume of their
resources were very noticeable and could range from 10 to 390 million pesetas.
This brief comparison shows that the water companies operated at a similar
level to other industrial sectors and were fairly well established in the 1920s
and 1930s, with very stable development in the medium term. In essence, it had
become a sector that was not experiencing major shocks, where investments
were coming in that were perhaps not very large –in comparison with other
areas –but which ensured a certain subsistence.
The Large Companies

Were these water supply businesses large companies or were they more in line
with the hesitant beginnings of small, family-run businesses? In order to under-
stand the size of the water companies in context, and to glimpse the degree of
integration that existed with the development of the company in Spain, the
work carried out by Carreras and Tafunell (1994) has been used as a model.
While the special attention that these authors dedicate to large industrial com-
panies, banks, and insurance companies means that they do not include the
performance of any water company, it does serve as a reference for this com-
parative analysis. In order to establish a basic classification, a division has been
made in order to ascertain the size of the companies: (a) small, with a capital
of less than 0.2 million pesetas; (b) medium-sized, between 0.2 and 1.9 million
pesetas; and (c) large, with an investment of more than two million pesetas.
This segmentation was made on the basis of various criteria. The first is
due to the fact that the data available for the first decades of the twentieth
century have been taken as a reference, since it is the period in which the
greatest number of water supply businesses were set up and can be considered
the expansion years of the sector. The second refers to a better understanding
of the business behaviour of other sectors, and therefore it is possible to estab-
lish the level at which the water companies operated. Finally, during this period
there are better statistical inputs, allowing us to know the trends and progress
of each company. These data make it possible to ascertain the average capital
of a water company for a series of years; between 1922 and 1934, invest-
ment moved between 1.64 and 1.78 million pesetas, with a peak in 1930 that
reached 1.93 million pesetas. For this reason, a company with more than two
million pesetas in capital could be considered one of the largest in the sector.
In general, these water companies did not particularly stand out for their
large size. The very structure of the supplies determined the existence of a
wide variety of situations. Before 1880, it was common for small companies to
emerge, even in the larger cities, as the practice of monopolies was not yet very
well established; however, between 1881 and 1900, the appearance of com-
panies of considerable size began (Villar-Chamorro et al., 2019).
The data on total assets refer for the most part to the most profitable and
longest-lasting companies. Most companies had total assets of between four
68

and eight million pesetas at their peak in the 1920s. Of course, the two biggest
companies in the sector, Aguas de Barcelona and Aguas Potables y Mejoras de
Valencia, were much larger than this.
Between 1860 and 1899, a small number of large companies was established
in the water market, but this occurrence took place very slowly. It is evident
that the size of the town determined to a great extent the size of the company,
and in Spain large cities were not very abundant. It is not easy to specify the
level of investment per capita in the different towns since it did not meet uni-
form criteria. However, what is clear is that the growing demand, not only in
terms of quantity but also in the quality of the service provided, encouraged
the establishment of these companies. They were trying to reach an optimum
demand point that would guarantee their viability over the medium and long
term. Barcelona stood out because of the rapid and massive incorporation of
private companies into the management of the water supply, but in Madrid
the same effect did not occur; there it was the state that initially undertook the
management of the service (Matés-Barco 2018a, 2019a). Until the twentieth
century, the capital of the kingdom was an administrative city with little pri-
vate enterprise. This situation explains to some extent the absence of private
companies in the water sector. Private water supply companies emerged in
Valencia and Alicante somewhat later than Barcelona.
The source documents show two companies at the beginning of the sector,
Aguas de Morón y Carmona (1853) and Aguas de Jerez (1868), which were
set up with 1.1 and 8.7 million pesetas of nominal capital, respectively. This
meant an investment of 37 and 166 pesetas per inhabitant which, despite the
differences between the two, were significant amounts. Comparing the nom-
inal capital with the classification of the main public limited companies made
by Carreras and Tafunell (1994, p. 92) for 1866–1867, the Jerez company
would be approximately at number 33, on par with a solid group of insur-
ance, finance, and gas lighting companies. It should be remembered that, of the
fifteen largest companies, thirteen were railway companies, and water supply
was a sector that was just beginning to emerge at this time.
In the last decades of the nineteenth century, 1870–1899, the existence of
seven companies of this type is observed, which established themselves in the
business thanks to the expansion and strong growth of the sector. In 1871,
Aguas Subterráneas del Río Llobregat was created and in 1882 Aguas de
Barcelona emerged. The latter company, which was backed by foreign cap-
ital, took advantage of a large number of small companies that had paved
the way in the city and gradually absorbed them over the following years.
Sevilla Water Works (1881) dates from this period and also made a significant
investment: 8.7 million pesetas, making it the third largest company in the
sector at that time. Somewhat later were Aguas Potables y Mejoras de Valencia
(1890) and Aguas de Alicante (1898), with 7.5 and five million pesetas in cap-
ital, respectively. From these years, we must highlight the appearance of La
Hondura (1898) in Puerto de la Cruz on the island of Tenerife, and Fomento
Agrícola Castellonense (1888), which despite its name had among its object-
ives the supply of drinking water. Both companies stand out, the first for the
78

size of its investment, five million pesetas, large for a small island town; the
second, with an investment of 1.1 million, is notable for its early combination
of supplying water for domestic consumption and for irrigation.
There is a very significant peculiarity; the largest companies were
concentrated in towns with more than 30,000 inhabitants and there seems to
be a certain relationship with the rate of population growth. Except for Jerez
and Seville, which had annual rates of less than 1%, the rest of the cities were
growing faster than this, even at double that rate. The reason for this trend
seems obvious; large companies were interested first in those cities with the
greatest customer potential in order to take advantage of economies of scale. As
can be seen in Table 6.1, the date of the establishment of companies in capitals
such as Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Alicante, Valladolid, and Santander are
tangible examples (Matés-Barco 2006 and 2008d).
Obviously, the small and medium-sized cities were an interesting market in
the second phase, once the best prospects had been developed. These towns,
because of their size, did not require such a big investment as the previous
ones. Furthermore, in the medium-sized urban centres, small entrepreneurs
often emerged, interested in developing local businesses that did not require
too great an investment. On the other hand, there was no tendency for these
Table 6.1 Large Water Supply Companies (1933)
Company Year Municipality Nominal capital

founded (ptas.)
Aguas de Barcelona 1882 Barcelona 40,000,000

Aguas Subterráneas del Río 1871 Barcelona 10,000,000
Llobregat
Sevilla Water Works 1881 Sevilla 8,750,000
Aguas de Jerez 1868 Jerez de la Frontera 7,500,000
Aguas Potables y Mejoras de 1890 Valencia 7,500,000
Valencia
Aguas de Alicante 1898 Alicante 5,000,000
La Hondura 1898 Puerto de la Cruz 5,000,000
Aguas de Ceuta 1911 Ceuta 4,000,000
Empresas Hidráulicas 1933 Las Palmas 3,765,000
de Canarias
Omnium Ibérico 1902 Alcira 3,200,000
City of Las Palmas Water & 1913 Las Palmas 3,125,000
Power
Arandina de Aguas Potables 1933 Aranda de Duero 2,562,500
Aguas de La Coruña 1903 Coruña 2,500,000
Aguas de León 1923 León 1,500,000
Hidráulica Santillana 1905 Madrid 2,000,000
Canal de la Huerta de Alicante 1907 Alicante 2,000,000
Suministro de Aguas Potables 1924 Tarrasa 2,000,000
Source: prepared by author with data from: Estadística de la Contribución de utilidades de la

Riqueza Mobiliaria (1905, 1910, and 1915); Anuario Técnico e Industrial de España (1913),
Anuario Financiero y de Sociedades Anónimas de España (1922–1970); Anuario Financiero de
Bilbao (1930–1934)
8

firms to merge; urban supply was a very compartmentalised market with a
clear predilection for each town to have its own company.
The balance sheet for the period 1840–1940 shows that it was not usual to
find large companies involved in the water sector. In the total calculation they
represent 18.08%. The period that saw the greatest appearance of this type of
company was between 1868 and 1900, but from then on much of this trend
faded away. In the first decades of the twentieth century, some companies were
set up that can be included in this group, but their individual importance was
relatively low compared to companies in other sectors.
Small and Medium-Sized Companies

In the large group of medium-sized companies, 46.8% of the total, it is diffi-
cult to establish criteria that mark the profile of this type of company. They
were established in both large and medium-sized cities, and even in some small
ones. The population growth rates were very diverse, but it can be seen that
these municipalities became very dynamic nuclei. We can mention the cases of
Linares, Motril, Cartagena, Reus, Córdoba, and Manzanares, among others.
Despite the chronological differences, there was a tendency to set up these
companies in the first decades of the twentieth century, once the potential of
the sector had been identified.
Large companies were not interested in markets that lacked potential,
and sometimes there were no local entrepreneurs with sufficient financial or
technical capacity to devote themselves to water management. Nevertheless,
companies emerged that came about through the contribution of a group of
local people, as was the case of Aguas de Arteta in Pamplona. The low nom-
inal value of the shares –100, 75, 50 pesetas, and sometimes even up to 25
pesetas per share –and the company names they adopted such as “Popular
Ovetense”, “Hijos de…”, “Viuda de…” show the local and family nature of
these initiatives.
Most of these companies managed the service for many years. This data
allows us to assume that the business had to provide a certain return or at
least break even. Some of these companies, equipped with financial resources,
managed to establish themselves and grow in the sector (Matés-Barco 2009).
That would include Aguas del Canto (1923), which supplied Elda, and Aguas
Potables de Barbastro (1905), which, despite having very limited initial cap-
ital, managed to keep their business operating for over fifty years. Table 6.2
includes the companies that can be considered medium-sized, according to the
capital invested. At the beginning of the sector it was not a very numerous
group, but it began to grow in the first decades of the twentieth century and
became practically the most represented.
As for small companies, 35.1% of the total, their significance cannot be
overlooked. Firstly, they have enormous aggregate importance as they form
a considerable group in terms of the total number of companies established.
Individually they did not contribute very much investment, but all together
they were a force to be reckoned with. Secondly, these companies had the
98

Table 6.2 Medium-Sized Water Supply Companies (1933)
Company Year Municipality Nominal

founded capital (ptas.)
Aguas de Reus 1913 Reus 1,600,000

Aguas Potables de la Murtra 1927 Barcelona 1,600,000
Aguas y alcantarillado de Manzanares 1918 Manzanares 1,500,000
Servicios Públicos 1926 Madrid 1,500,000
Hidráulica de Villarrobledo 1926 Villarrobledo 1,500,000
Aguas y Fuerzas del Brugent 1927 Barcelona 1,500,000
Aguas de Almendralejo 1927 Almendralejo 1,500,000
Fomento Agrícola Castellonense 1888 Castellón de la Plana 1,400,000
Aguas de Morón y Carmona 1853 Morón de la Frontera 1,125,000
Acueducto Príncipe Alfonso 1912 Villanueva y Geltrú 1,113,500
Abastecimiento de Sabadell 1903 Sabadell 1,000,000
Aguas Potables de Valdepeñas 1923 Valdepeñas 1,000,000
Aguas de Huelva 1925 Huelva 1,000,000
Cartagena Mining & Water C. Ltd. 1889 Cartagena 750,000
Aguas de Ciudad Real 1919 Ciudad Real 750,000
Aguas Potables de Córdoba 1891 Córdoba 725,000
Aguas de Linares 1908 Linares 620,000
Aguas del Gévora 1878 Badajoz 618,000
Aguas Potables de Alcázar de 1908 Alcázar de San Juan 600,000
San Juan
Acueducto Vilanovés 1912 Villanueva y Geltrú 600,000
Aguas Potables de Barcelona 1924 Barcelona 600,000
Aguas de Cataluña 1927 Barcelona 600,000
Aguas de Argentona a Mataró 1922 Mataró 552,000
Aguas de Motril 1902 Motril 535,000
Aguas Potables de San Felíu 1923 San Felíu de Guixols 510,000
de Guixols
Aguas de Santa Bárbara 1887 Cartagena 500,000
Aguas del Tibidabo 1928 Barcelona 500,000
Aguas Yerem Tomás 1929 Masnou 500,000
Empresa Hidrofórica 1848 Reus 473,500
Andalusia Water C. Ltd. 1912 Algeciras 437,500
Aguas de Lugo 1905 Lugo 350,000
Aguas Potables de Barbastro 1905 Barbastro 300,000
Aguas de Tafalla 1914 Tafalla 300,000
Aguas Potables y Riegos 1923 Valencia 300,000
La Salud 1910 Castro del Río 282,275
Aguas Potables de Cádiz 1885 Cádiz 250,000
Urbanizaciones 1925 San Cugat del Vallés 250,000
Aguas y Mejoras de Alcácer 1928 Alcácer 250,000
La Estrella 1918 Villa del Río 234,250
Aguas del Canto 1923 Elda 225,000
Aguas de Denia 1870 Denia 200,000
La Fraternidad 1900 Martos 200,000
La Alameda 1909 Bujalance 200,000
La Constancia 1923 Espejo 200,000

Bilbao (1930–1934).
09

capacity to adapt to markets that were not very expansive, possessed little
economic dynamism, and were unattractive to large companies, but which
demanded the provision of the service: small rural towns, isolated enclaves,
etc. These companies played a significant role, since they facilitated the instal-
lation of a residential water supply in locations that would otherwise have
taken many years to adopt this public service.
Small-sized companies began to spring up in small and medium-sized towns,
thanks to the gap left by the large companies, which were more interested in
focusing on larger markets with greater growth potential. These small com-
panies emerged essentially at two times: in the early stages of the sector,
between 1860 and 1890, especially in large towns but linked to the supply
of a neighbourhood or a small area of the city; and in the early years of the
twentieth century, once the potential of the business had been recognised and
it had been observed that the large companies were not very interested in the
small markets far removed from their radius of activity. In Table 6.3, com-
panies with low levels of capital have been included. Their low investment
capacity soon forced them to transfer their concession rights to other firms that
could afford the costs of the first installations. These small businessmen were
of little importance, and disappeared quickly, but the significance they had as
precursors and forerunners of the water business should be emphasised. While
their attempts were mostly in vain due to the high investments required for the
supplies, they were pioneers who marked a clear path forward in the imple-
mentation of the service.
Before 1890, the best examples were the companies that appeared in
Barcelona; numerous companies were registered in the Registro Mercantil,
some with a capital of just 5,000 pesetas (Matés-Barco 2019a). These initiatives
were a faithful reflection of the attempts by many small entrepreneurs to enter
the water business, but also of their limited reach. Of course, this situation
was repeated in other places in Spain with similar characteristics; companies
with limited capital emerged in small communities, with few pretensions from
local investors and a minuscule and shaky profile. Frustrated actions such as
La Aurora (1846) in Madrid, which could not even come up with the guar-
antee bond, led to state intervention with the creation of the Canal de Isabel II.
A similar situation can be seen in Valencia with the creation of Aguas de Bufilla
(1848), and in La Coruña, with initiatives such as those of Jean Bouchard
(1860) and Luis Petit (1863). The absence of large companies in this first stage
can be attributed to the poverty of the Spanish economy, which was not able
to take on the necessary investments for the acquisition of new technologies.
Everything seems to indicate that the economic backwardness meant that the
markets were very small, and that, since there were no large urban and indus-
trial concentrations with sufficient demand to attract this type of service, it
became very challenging to set up these companies (González- Ruiz 2013;
Garrido-González 2015).
The cooperation and merging of many of these small and medium-sized com-
panies would have provided a smoother entry into the water business, but the
transaction costs involved in these agreements made that solution difficult to
19

Table 6.3 Small Water Supply Companies (1933)
Company Year Municipality Nominal

founded capital (ptas.)
Aguas de Aldaya 1909 Aldaya 190,000

Aguas Potables de 1917 Barcelona 180,000
Ripollet-Sardañola
Aguas Potables de Palamós 1903 Palamós 157,600
Aguas de los Molinos 1923 Los Molinos 150,000
Aguas de Villafranca 1924 Villafranca del 150,000
Penedés
La Crevillentina 1903 Crevillente 100,000
La Esperanza 1913 Segorbe 100,000
Hidráulica San Pascual 1914 Yecla 100,000
Agua Potable de Seo de Urgel 1918 Seo de Urgel 100,000
Aguas de San Pedro de Ribas 1924 San Pedro de Ribas 100,000
Citi, Aguas Subterráneas 1927 Valencia 100,000
Aguas de San Vicente de Castellet 1914 San Vicente de 90,000
Castellet
Hidráulica Carpense 1923 El Carpio 90,000
Aguas de las Hortichuelas 1925 Berja 90,000
La Abastecedora 1927 Angulo 90,000
Aguas de Valmaseda 1898 Valmaseda 75,000
Aguas de Cangas de Onís 1913 Cangas de Onís 75,000
Aguas de Urduliz 1926 Urduliz 75,000
El Llano 1926 San Sebastián de 75,000
Gomera
San Juan 1917 Lobosillo 50,000
Riegos de Moró 1926 Villafamés 50,000
Aguas Potables de Caudé 1927 Zaragoza 50,000
Sondeos y Explotaciones 1904 Las Palmas 47,500
Aguas Potables de Zamora 1868 Mazarrón 45,000
Los Cartageneros 1896 Cartagena 40,000
Aguas Potables de Santa Catalina 1887 Murcia 30,000
del Monte
La Antisequía 1894 Elche 30,000
Aguas Potables de Callús 1925 Callús 30,000
Aguas Potables de Aspe 1927 Aspe 25,000
Aguas Potables de Guisona 1910 Guisona 20,500
Aguas Potables de Cáceres 1899 Cáceres 20,000
El Progreso de Cieza 1914 Cieza 2,000
El Carranchalet 1894 San Vicente de 1,000
Raspeig

Bilbao (1930–1934).
achieve. In addition, the inexperience of the entrepreneurs was compounded by

the uncertainty inherent in the lack of knowledge of the business and the primi-
tivism of the cooperative spirit. Large foreign investors or entrepreneurs more
willing to invest ended up with many of these concessions. This process, which
29

was repeated in several cities –Barcelona, Cádiz, Seville, Jerez, La Coruña, and
Alicante –is a significant example of the trend that prevailed in the early stages
of the sector (Mirás 2004). When entrepreneurs discovered that it was actually
possible to set up a profitable and stable business –during the final decades of
the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century –and that
the organisational technique of the administrative concession respected private
management, nothing prevented Spanish developers from entering the sector
to the full extent of their abilities. In any case, the dynamism of large cities like
Barcelona continued to exert a very powerful draw on all types of companies,
and it was common for the number of companies to continue to grow despite
the presence of the largest company in the sector. The two small companies
that emerged well into the twentieth century –Aguas Potables de Barcelona
(1924) and Aigües de Catalunya (1927) –are clear examples.
In the large cities, and especially in the late nineteenth century, small com-
panies did not have great potential for the future. These markets were very
much in demand by the large companies, which quickly asserted themselves.
Moreover, the pace of demand was growing very rapidly in these cities and
small companies could not cope with the large investments that were needed
in a very short time period. It was logical, therefore, that their role was merely
anecdotal, as they were simply trailblazers without sufficient capacity to satisfy
the market.
From 1900 onwards, however, the tables seem to have turned and there
was a new flowering of small businesses, especially in smaller towns, which
were unappetising markets for large firms. In these places, once the business
was established, it does not seem that the future was particularly dark for
small companies. During this period, companies emerged that settled in
second-and third-tier towns: Aguas Potables de Cieza, Aguas Potables de
Tobarra in Hellín, Augusto Burgos in Moguer, Ramón Gorasabel in Toro,
Aguas Potables de Talavera de la Reina, etc. Even in the Anuario of 1930, for
example, there were companies of this size that had been managing the water
business for many years: La Crevillentina (1903), Aguas de Denia (1870),
La Antisequía (1894), Aguas de San Vicente de Castellet (1914), Aguas de
Villafranca (1914), Aguas Potables de Barbastro (1905), La Fraternidad
(1900), Aguas de Lugo (1905), etc. In the end, these companies survived
if there was no competition, otherwise they were doomed to vanish or be
absorbed by a larger company.
In short, faced with the continuous failed attempts of other initiatives or of
the municipal authorities themselves, in the late nineteenth century new com-
panies began to emerge to deal with the problem of water supply. These were
small companies promoted by some local leaders, which issued shares at a very
low nominal value (25 or 50 pesetas), in order to attract small savers, and which
included terms such as “cooperative” or “popular” in their company name as
an expression of their local and family nature. In general, the small size of the
companies was combined with a limited capacity for medium-term growth as
they supplied small population bases. The progressive interventionism that was
exercised on the sector limited its potential even more, to the point that the
39

only alternative that remained was to accept municipalisation, although in this
respect they were not too different from other larger companies.
Risk and Uncertainty in the Water Business

Water utilities can be considered a low-risk, stable business and when well-
managed they attracted the investment of the small saver. But if the differences
between short-, medium-, and long-term risks are analysed in detail, it can
be seen that the establishment of this type of company was not easy. The
case studies show that these companies faced the type of risk existing in any
business, which was generally related to the unforeseen events that occurred
during the installation of the service (Knight 1921).
On the other hand, companies were often faced with low demand and ser-
ious difficulties in attracting new subscribers. The plight that the pioneering com-
panies in the sector encountered when establishing themselves in a city was not
uncommon. Theirs was a completely new service that the public was not used to
paying for, and there was clear resistance from the neighbours to paying a fee. The
introduction of new hygiene practices facilitated the extension of the water supply
service, but the public was very slow to adopt them. Technical obstacles also
generated uncertainty in this business; for example, there were often problems in
finding sufficient water flows and the large capital investment required for the ini-
tial installation was challenging. However, once the business had been established
in a city for some time, demand tended to increase, which ensured medium-and
long-term profits. In other words, once consolidated, companies were usually able
to survive and found no major impediments to managing the water supply over a
long period of time (González & Núñez 2008, p. 300).
To limit the effects of possible risks, companies employed a variety of
techniques. In the 1870s and 1880s, small companies often coped by limiting
their initial investments as much as possible and practising a very slow growth
policy. On many occasions this strategy was a failure because other more
dynamic companies with deeper pockets ended up absorbing them and dom-
inating the market. For their part, the larger firms, in addition to the strong
economic backing they enjoyed, tended to make large bond issues in order to
obtain resources and attract investors seeking a secure income and as a means
of reducing risk (Núñez & Segreto 1994).
Once these problems had been solved, the operating risks over the medium-
term were small, except for the so-called “institutional risk”, i.e. a change of
attitude on the part of the public authorities which could make it very challen-
ging for companies to operate, and which in the end proved to be insurmount-
able. A good example is the interventionist policies practiced from about 1924,
which regulated the water supply service with tariff controls and the obligation
to extend the supply to the entire population (Fernández 2007, p. 299; Mirás
2003, p. 41; Núñez 2004, p. 210).
On the other hand, there was a group of companies that lagged behind or
had difficulties in offering a certain level of profitability in the short term. Slow
growth in demand in some areas, supply difficulties, and the lack of knowledge
49

of the sector may have been the causes of their weak performance. In turn, the
rise in industrial wages would help explain why the profit margins were low
and the level of investment fell until the start of the twentieth century. Making
these companies profitable involved a medium-to long-term approach since it
was difficult for demand to grow immediately and automatically. It was neces-
sary to break old habits and outdated supply models and to overcome the
inertia and resistance among the population, goals that could not be achieved
in months or even a few years.
The data available from some companies in their early stages –even if they
are from the first years of the twentieth century –show slow but positive growth;
only after several years –a decade or more –do the advantages of economies
of scale begin to appear. A detailed analysis reveals an interesting fact: once
the initial years had passed –with the attraction generated by a completely
new product and the reactivation of the demand that came about starting in
1917–1918 –water supply was seen as a fairly profitable business from 1920
onwards. The enormous number of companies that were founded during these
years is another good example of what has been said. The shallowness of the
crisis of the early 1930s must be mentioned. Profits did not collapse during
the Republic (Tafunell 1996, p. 40), as might be assumed. In fact, the supply
of water was a very stable business once it had been consolidated, due to the
inelasticity of demand and the existing monopoly on supply. An example of
this is Aguas de Arteta (1893), which despite its rocky start, was earning profits
in 1930 and paying a dividend of 9.5%.
In this context, one can understand why some companies diversified their
business activities and attempted to make the supply of drinking water com-
patible with other undertakings. This strategy was prompted by the uncertainty
that existed in the early stages of the sector, when it was not clear whether
selling water to households would be profitable. For this reason, the interest
in the production and distribution of electrical energy was combined with the
digging of wells for irrigation.
To sum up, there was an initial period, 1900–1917, in which water supply
companies established and stabilised themselves. Then came the years of max-
imum expansion and the highest levels of profit, between 1918 and 1936.
From a more general perspective, Tafunell (1996) speaks of another major
disruption that occurred during the years of the First World War. From 1915
to 1918, there was an explosion in profits, which to a large extent was to be
rolled back by inflation.
The growth of the sector in the 1920s shows that there was no lag between
investment and profits. Moreover, the rise in investment was significantly
stronger than the rise in profits. A hypothetical explanation for such a peculiar
phenomenon may be that the sensational investment boom of those years was
financed in part by profits accumulated during the First World War (Tafunell
1996, pp. 46–47). After the hiatus of the Spanish Civil War, between 1940 and
1955, almost all companies experienced a downward trend in profitability,
which led to the municipalisation of many of them. From that moment on,
the surviving companies experienced a clear recovery in their performance,
59

thanks to Spain’s economic development and increased demand. This sparked
a strategy of business takeovers led mainly by Aigües de Barcelona, which over
these forty years had become the representative figure of the private sector:
“He who resists, wins”.
Conclusions
Private water supply companies played an important role in the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries. Their establishment in the different regions
coincided with the urban and industrial map existing in those years in Spain.
The relationship between regions with strong urban or industrial growth and
the establishment of drinking water supply companies is evident.
Catalonia, Andalusia, Valencia, and Murcia were the regions with the
highest concentration of companies, both in terms of the number of companies
and the amount of capital invested. The majority of their employees were
located in three areas: Barcelona, Alicante, and Valencia, which accounted for
the largest number of companies, while in Andalusia they were more spread
out due to the region’s urban structure. The most industrialised areas, such
as Catalonia, which experienced strong demographic growth, received a large
proportion of the investment initiative. A similar story played out in Basque
Country, although to a lesser extent, given that the scale of the investment in
Barcelona frustrates any attempt at comparison.
Andalusia represented a region with strong urban roots and a great need
for water, and this was one of the important areas where a significant number
of companies took root. Above all, they were seeking the demographic market
offered by the agro- towns and the mining areas, both very important in
this zone. This region did not cling to a model in which private enterprise
predominated and by 1950 the existence of municipalised services was already
detected. The localities that still had private water companies at that time were
small and rather inconsequential. On other occasions, the municipalised ser-
vice and the concession to a private company coexisted in the same city, which
over time ended up being absorbed by the municipality.
Overall, the capital invested in Catalonia and Andalusia stands out from
that disbursed in other areas of the country. The Valencia region benefitted
from its dual nature, on the one hand as an enclave of important agricultural
cities, and on the other, for being the third most industrialised region of the
country. In addition, the coordination of the domestic water supply with the
search for water for irrigation played an important role in the development of
this sector in this area of the Mediterranean.
In the rest of the regions –Aragon, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Extremadura,
and La Rioja –the entrepreneurial initiatives were characterized by being small
entities that emerged between 1870 and 1900, that is, in the early stages of the
sector. All of them began with minimal capital, had the attraction of belonging
to a virtually uncharted sector, and were the result of the dynamism of small
entrepreneurs willing to embark on projects that were novel in the late nine-
teenth century.
69

The business of supplying drinking water had its own characteristics that
distinguished it from other economic activities: a regulated sector, a natural
monopoly, and the establishment of tariffs by the town councils. These particu-
larities determined the way in which the private water companies operated in
the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For example, the companies
were faced with excessive market control and displayed a certain diffidence
in the face of competition. As time went by, the predominance of large com-
panies was the rule. At the same time, small companies gradually disappeared,
sometimes because of the successive takeover processes they underwent and,
on other occasions, because of the municipalisation policies of local councils.
Small-, medium-, and large-sized companies were the result of the invest-
ment actions of foreign companies in Spain, but we cannot ignore the role
played by a good number of entrepreneurs, developers, and local community
leaders who saw the water business as an important market niche. Despite the
economic crises and political ups and downs, some of these companies have
endured over time, a fact that shows that they had relatively secure profit-
ability and stability.
Sources
Anuario de Sociedades Anónimas (GARCEB) 1918–1923. Estudio económico
financiero de las existentes en España. Madrid: Ed. de José García Ceballos,
Suc. de Rivadeneyra.
Anuario Financiero de Bilbao which includes the Historial de los Valores
Públicos y de Sociedades Anónimas de España [AFB]. (1915–1972). Aguas.
Bilbao: Banco de Vizcaya.
Anuario Financiero de Valores Mobiliarios (AFVM) 1916–1918. Sociedades
de aguas. Madrid.
Anuario Financiero y de Sociedades Anónimas de España [AFSAE]. 1916–
1977. Sociedades de Aguas Potables y de Riegos. Madrid.
Anuario Técnico e Industrial de España [ATIE]. 1913. Empresas y sociedades
de abastecimiento de aguas. Madrid.
Dirección General de Contribuciones. 1901– 1933. Estadística de la
Contribución de Utilidades de la Riqueza Mobiliaria. Madrid.
Estadística de Obras Públicas. 1895–1900. Compañías concesionarias de
abastecimientos de aguas. Madrid: Ministerio de Fomento.
Reseña Geográfica y Estadística de España1888. Obras de abastecimiento.
Madrid.
Revista de Obras Públicas. 1851–1990. Madrid: Colegio de Ingenieros de
Caminos, Canales, y Puertos.
References
Bartolomé, I. 2007. La industria eléctrica en España (1890–1936). Madrid: Banco de
España.
Bel, G. 2006. Economía y política de la privatización local, Madrid, Marcial Pons.
79

Carreras, A. & X. Tafunell. 1994: Notas sobre la evolución de la gran empresa en
España. In Introducción a la Historia de la Empresa en España, eds. G. Núñez & L.
Segretto, 89–114. Madrid: Abacus.
Castro-Valdivia, M., M. Fernández-Paradas, & J. M. Matés-Barco. 2019. Las empresas
extranjeras de agua y gas en España (circa 1900–1921). In Los servicios públicos
en España y México, coord. J. M. Matés-Barco & A. Torres-Rodríguez, 51–74.
Madrid: Sílex.
Castro-Valdivia, M. & J. M. Matés-Barco. 2020. Los servicios públicos y la inversión
extranjera en España (1850–1936): Las empresas de agua y gas. História Unisinos
24 (2): 221– 239. Unisinos –doi: 10.413/ hist.2020.242.05 revistas.unisinos.br/
index.php/historia/article/view/hist.2020.242.05
Fernández, A. 2007. Compagnies privées et municipalités. Enjeux de pouvoir autour de
l’installation des réseaux téchniques dans les villes espagnoles. In Réseaux téchniques
et conflits de pouvoir. Les dynamiques historiques des villes contemporaines,
D. Bocquet & S. Fettah, 291–309. Rome : École Française de Rome.
Fernández, A. 2009. Un progessisme urbain en Espagne. Eau, gaz, électricité à Bilbao
et dans les villes cantanbriques, 1840–1930. Bordeaux: Presses Universitaries de
Bordeaux.
Fernández- Paradas, M. 2009. Empresas y servicio de alumbrado público por gas
en España (1842– 1935). TST. Transportes, Servicios y Telecomunicaciones 16:
108–131.
Ferreira da Silva, Á. & A. Cardoso de Matos. 2004. The Networked City: Managing
Power and Water Utilities in Portugal, 1850s-1920s. Business and Economic History
On-line, 2.
Garrido-González, L. 2015. El desarrollo en España desde finales del siglo XIX hasta
mediados del siglo XX. In Cambio y crecimiento económico, ed. L. Caruana, 269–
316. Madrid: Pirámide.
González, L. & G. Núñez. 2008. Crecimiento urbano y desarrollo empresarial: notas
sobre los servicios urbanos y la actividad financiera en Andalucía a principios del
siglo XX. In La modernización económica de los Ayuntamientos: servicios públicos,
finanzas y gobiernos municipales, eds. L. González-Ruiz & J. M. Matés-Barco, 299–
312. Jaén: Universidad de Jaén.
González-Gómez, F. 2006. ¿Está justificada la privatización de la gestión del agua en las
ciudades? Teoría y evidencia a partir del criterio de eficiencia. Ciudad y Territorio /
Estudios Territoriales 38(147): 139–157
González- Ruiz, L. (2013): La economía en la crisis finisecular (1880– 1913). In
Historia Económica de España, eds. A. González-Enciso & J. M. Matés, 463–484.
Barcelona: Ariel.
Knight, F. H. 1921. Risk, Uncertainty and Profit. Boston: Schaffner & Houghton.
Larrinaga, C. 2008. Modernización y servicios urbanos en San Sebastián en el primer
tercio del siglo XX. In La modernización económica de los Ayuntamientos: servicios
públicos, finanzas y gobiernos municipales, eds. L. González-Ruiz & J. M. Matés-
Barco, 81–116. Jaén: Universidad de Jaén.
Martínez, A. 2020. Inversión extranjera y abastecimiento de agua: Algeciras, 1895–
1952. Història Unisinos 24-2: 209–220.
Matés-Barco, J. M. 1997. Las empresas de abastecimiento de agua en España (1840–
1970). Catálogo Sociedades, 2 vols. PhD diss. University of Granada.
Matés-Barco, J. M. 2002. Strategies of foreign firms in the sector of water supply in
Spain (1850– 1990). In Transnational Companies, 19th- 20th Centuries, coord.
H. Bonin, 301–316. Paris: Pláge.
89

Matés-Barco, J. M. 2004. The development of water Supplies in Spain: 19th and 20th
Centuries. In Urban Growth on Two Continents in the 19th and 20th Centuries:
Technology, Networks, Finance and Public Regulation, eds. A. Giuntini, P. Hertner,
G. Núñez, 165–177. Granada: Comares.
Matés-Barco, J. M. 2009. Las sociedades anónimas de abastecimiento de agua potable
en España (1840–1960). Revista de la Historia de la Economía y de la Empresa 3:
177–218.
Matés-Barco, J. M. 2013. La conquista del agua en Europa: los modelos de gestión
(siglos XIX y XX). Agua y Territorio 1: 21–29. revistaselectronicas.ujaen.es/index.
php/atma/article/view/1030/868
Matés-Barco, J. M. 2014. Las empresas concesionarias de servicios de abastecimiento de
aguas potables en España (1840–1940). Transportes, Servicios y Telecomunicaciones
26: 58–89. www.tstrevista.com/sumarios/sum26/sumario_26_002_es.asp
Matés-Barco, J. M. 2018a. La distribution de l’eau dans les villes d’Espagne (1840–1936):
Le rôle des compagnies privées. Histoire, Économie & Société 3: 14–29. www.revues.
armand-colin.com/histoire/histoire-economie-societe/histoire-economie-societe-
32018/distribution-leau-villes-despagne-1840-1936-role-compagnies-privees
Matés-Barco, J. M. 2018b. De la Regulación a la Privatización y viceversa: la gestión del
agua en España y Gran Bretaña. In Agua y Servicios Públicos en España y México,
coord. J. M. Matés-Barco & José Juan Pablo Rojas-Ramírez, 29–68. Jaén: University
of Jaén and University of Guadalajara.
Matés-Barco, J. M. 2019a. El abastecimiento de agua a Barcelona (1850–1939): Origen
y desarrollo de las compañías privadas. Historia Contemporánea 59-1: 165–194.
doi.org/10.1387/hc.19434 www.ehu.eus/ojs/index.php/HC/article/view/19434
Matés-Barco, J. M. 2019b. Estrategia empresarial y control del mercado: la gestión
del abastecimiento de agua potable. In Empresas y empresarios en España: de
mercaderes a industriales, coord. J. M. Matés-Barco, 223–240. Madrid: Pirámide.
Mirás, J. 2003. Intervención y regulación del abastecimiento de agua en el franquismo.
Revista de História Económica e Social 5: 35–62.
Mirás, J. 2004. Shifts in the economic structure of a medium-sized Spanish town during
the post-war period: La Coruña, 1939–1960. Urban History 31–3: 357–354.
Mirás, J. 2006. Evoluzione del settore terciario in una cittá spagnola: La Coruña, 1914–
1935. Storia Urbana 110: 47–67.
Núñez, G. 2000. Le infrastrutture urbane nella storia. Note per un’analisi. Richerche
Storiche 30–3: 439–447.
Núñez, G. 2004. La municipalisation des services locaux et les entreprises municipales
en Espagne dans la première moitié du XXe siècle. In L’entreprise publique en France
et en Espagne, eds. Ch. Bouneau & A. Fernández, 209–223. Pessac Cedex: Centre
Aquitain d’Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine, Maison des Sciences de L’homme
d’Aquitaine.
Núñez, G. & L. Segreto. (eds.) 1994. Introducción a la Historia de la Empresa en
España. Madrid: Abacus.
Ruiz-Villaverde, A. 2013. Reflexiones sobre la gestión de los servicios urbanos del
agua: un recorrido histórico del caso español. Agua y Territorio 1: 31–39. doi.org/
10.17561/at.v1i1.1031
Tafunell, X. 1996. Los beneficios empresariales en España (1880–1981): Elaboración
de una serie anual. Madrid: Fundación Empresa Pública, DT 9601.
Villar-Chamorro, F., M. Castro-Valdivia, & J. M. Matés-Barco. 2019. Crecimiento
urbano y abastecimiento de agua potable en España: el protagonismo de las empresas
privadas (1840–1950). Posición 1: 1–21. 716132a6-9cf5-45de-baee-6a15e46210f7.
filesusr.com/ugd/df634b_947ca999aea740a9b61a2f4fd04be233.pdf
9
7
Credit Companies, Merchant-Bankers
and Large National Banks. The Case
of Andalusia (1800–1936)
María José Vargas-Machuca
Introduction
Over the years, covering the financial needs of the population has suffered a
special development. Although loaning and savings funds have existed since
ancient times, it can be said that its systematisation started as a result of
the expansion experienced in the Modern Age. Beyond the lending activity
between individuals that has always been a common activity, beginning in that
era agents began to emerge that were formally dedicated to granting loans and
accepting deposits.
During the nineteenth century, private banking activity in Spain was carried
out by other two types of agents. On the one hand, those constituted as stock
companies, such is the case with banks of issue and credit companies, and on
the other hand, bankers and private banking houses. In the latter group, some
merchants, parallel to their commercial operations, began to start lending
money to customers in the same way traditional money-lenders did. As time
went by, the development of many of these small merchant-bankers became
common. Commercial activity started to give ground to financial activity, and
eventually they turned into companies and, in the twentieth century, the next
generation turned the business into a limited company that, in many cases,
ended up being sold to a large bank that used it as an expansion strategy. (Titos
Martínez 2003, p. 109). Together with them, the first savings banks started to
operate, in many cases linked to pawnshops that had already been working in
some Spanish towns for a long time.
The aim of this chapter is to study how this banking private sector structure
was articulated in Andalusia in the nineteenth century and in the first third
of the twentieth century. This analysis distinguishes two chronological phases:
the nineteenth century and the years prior to the Spanish Civil War. For each
of them, the activity considered as private banking will be discussed, that is
to say, the activity carried out by agents that had such consideration, but that,
over time, has had different legal forms: from banks of issue and credit com-
panies, including bankers and private banking houses, to modern banks that
were a characteristic of the Spanish financial system until the end of the twen-
tieth century.
01
100 María José Vargas-Machuca
Private Banking in the Nineteenth Century: Banks of Issue, Credit

Companies and Merchant-Bankers
The nineteenth century was a time period of intense transformation in the
Spanish financial system due to the appearance of successive regulations that
affected banking activity essentially through the regulation of the entities that
could carry it out. Activities that, until then, did not have any regulations and
depended on –sometimes arbitrary –concessions of the administration, began
to be regulated.
To this effect, in 1829, the first Commerce Code of Spain appeared, and
in 1931 the Stock Market was founded as the essential element to develop a
new way of corporate organisation: public limited companies (Titos Martínez
2003, p. 96). These companies were originally regulated by the Commerce
Code together with partnerships and limited partnerships. These last two could
be constituted by simple registration, whereas the public limited companies
needed approval from the Provincial Court of Commerce and, in case of any
privilege, as it happened with banks, royal approval. Nevertheless, public
limited companies suffered subsequent modifications by the Law of Stock
Corporations of 1848, which was very demanding as it established the need
of a Law or Royal Decree to create those entities. The Law of 1870 was more
liberalising and it repealed the previous one.
The Banks of Issue and Credit Companies Laws (Spanish law) of 1856 were
of high importance, and, thanks to them, there was a certain specialisation in
the Spanish financial system. On the one hand, some “banks of issue” were
created, closely linked to the government and which, in addition to issuing
money, worked by granting credits and discounts. On the other hand, there are
the so-called “credit companies” that started to develop a wide range of activ-
ities, mainly oriented to the industrial promotion linked to the railway sector,
but with no investment privileges (Pons 1999, p. 84). Then began a phase of
strong bank expansion linked to two circumstances: a permissive legislation
and a favourable economic situation, which was driven by the State and which
was tightly linked to the construction of the railway network. Nevertheless,
between 1864 and 1868, some railway companies went into receivership, so
many credit institutions saw their investments compromised, which led to
bankruptcy and disappearance.
After the credit companies, difficulties reached the banks of issue. The Law
of 1874 (known as the Echegaray Decree) gave the Banco de España (Bank of
Spain) the unique right of investment and obliged the rest of the banks of issue
to annex their branches or to modify their statutes to turn into loan and dis-
count banks. For several of those banks, the opportunity to join together with
the Banco de España (Bank of Spain) was a great opportunity, providing the
difficulties that they have had since the crisis of 1866 (Titos Martínez 2003,
p. 97).
Therefore, the crisis of 1866 and the Law of 1874 were important for
restructuring the Spanish financial system, bringing about a reduction in the
1
0
The Case of Andalusia (1800–1936) 101

total number of private banks and setting up an investment monopoly from
the Banco de España (Bank of Spain).
On the other hand, in the financial system, aside from these unions, the indi-
vidual bankers kept providing their services (Tedde de Lorca 1974, p. 254).
Most likely the absence of banks and credit companies in a lot of provinces
and their disappearance between 1864 and 1866 contributed to the creation of
a vacuum that was filled with private bankers, savings banks, and other minor
money-lenders.
The Commerce Code of 1829, for the first time in nineteenth- century
Spain, regulated the bankers’ performance, including that of merchants. To be
allowed to practice banking activity, they were required to register an enrol-
ment as merchants to carry out the so called “trade activity”. Additionally, the
enrolment in the merchants registry forced them into a certain type of taxation
(business subsidy, industrial and business subsidy, or industrial property tax,
depending on the era) (Titos Martínez 1999, p. 108).
The regulation of private bankers was kept stable during the nineteenth
century, in particular, until the banking changes of 1921 were approved. They
were not involved in the successive regulating rules that appeared during these
years about public limited companies, banks of issue, and credit companies.
However, they were involved in the successive tax changes that modified the
formula and amount of fiscal contributions that these bankers needed to make.
The activity of these bankers has been categorised for the first years of
the nineteenth century: they acted as money- lenders, discounted, acted as
guarantors, transferred short-terms drafts, and traded with currency from sev-
eral countries, and, at the same time, a lot of them sold lingerie merchandise
or imported goods (Tedde de Lorca 1983, p. 303). In such way, a lot of them
could actually be considered “merchant-bankers”, that is to say, agents that
started their activity as retail traders, then started to carry out, on a small scale,
the main banking operations (transfers, negotiations, loans, etc.) first to fulfil
their own needs and, gradually, for a higher number of clients, until ending up
specialising in this activity and even leaving their original business occupations
(García-López 1989, p. 115). Such transformation was generally a slow pro-
cess and, in some occasions, imperceptible. Probably, the only recognisable
fact in such process was the registration of the tax enrolment, which was the
exterior official appreciation.
In some way or another, in the first half of the nineteenth century and,
to a large extent later, private bankers were the capitalist substitutes of the
larger public limited companies dedicated to credits, which were almost non-
existent during the first half of the century and were very limited after that
(Titos Martínez 1999, p. 115).
However, in their future development, many of these individual bankers
ended up turning into companies. The history of each of them is similar: they
started their banking activity linked to any commercial profession and they
practised it strictly personally. Later on, in a second generation, they turned
into partnerships and the banking activity displaced the other commercial
2
0
1

activities. Successive generations, in the second third of the twentieth century,
turned the company into a limited company and ended up selling the banking
business to any large national bank that, before difficulties of expansion and
access to the banking activity, made the most of the situation to get established
in the locality over the prestige basis of the local banks and strengthened
customers (Titos Martínez 2003, p. 109).
In summary, in the nineteenth century, the private banking activity in Spain
was carried out by three types of agents: banks of issue, credit companies and
private bankers. That is why the study of the financial activity of these agents
in Andalusia will be done separately.
Credit Companies in Andalusia (Nineteenth Century)

The 1856 ordinance established the differences between banks of issue and
credit companies, reserving investment privilege for the former. Credit com-
panies, and also public limited companies, were originally oriented to direct
industrial promotion and performed the ordinary duties of commercial banks.
They lacked the fiduciary issue power, although they could issue short-term
bonds that, in practice, worked as bank notes (Sánchez-Albornoz 1975, p.26).
In these central years of the nineteenth century, Andalusia is involved in
the movement creating financial institutions that the whole country utilised.
Since the final constitution of the Banco de Málaga (Bank of Málaga) took
place in 1856, a proliferation of credit institutions was noted in the region,
becoming one of the areas in Spain with the most business activity. In this case,
the banking peak was accompanied by, and in many cases preceded by, an
industrial and miner movement and infrastructure development at a level that
has not happened again in the region (Titos Martínez 1976, p. 195).
In Spain, in addition to the three large credit companies of foreign capital
and national scope, a series of little local companies proliferated, of which
Andalusia saw the birth of five of them (Titos Martínez 2003, pp. 105–107):
a) The Crédito Comercial de Cádiz (Trading Credits of Cadiz) (1860–

1866). It has its origin in the limited partnership of Conte y Cia (Conte
and Company), which had been working in the Cadiz capital for many
years and that, in 1860, under the protection of the 1856 legislation,
requested to be constituted as a credit limited company with the involve-
ment of some traders from Cadiz. Probably, it is the most important
Andalusian credit company from a quantitative point of view. The com-
pany, deeply affected by the crisis of 1866, became bankrupt by the end
of that year.
b) The Compañía Gaditana de Crédito (Credit Company of Cádiz) (1861–
1867) This company was constituted some months after the previous one.
Among its founders, there were people that had participated in the consti-
tution of the Banco de Cádiz (Bank of Cadiz) and other companies. Like
the previous one, it was gravely affected by the crisis of 1866 and became
bankrupt at the end of 1867.
3
0
1

c) The Crédito Comercial de Jerez (Trading Credits of Jerez) (1862–1866).
Authorised in September 1862, this company was not able to face the
problems derived from the 1866’s crisis either, and the stockholders
decided to liquidate the company in December of the same year.
d) The Crédito Comercial de Sevilla (Trading Credits of Seville) (1862–
1868). This company was founded in May 1862 on the basis of the old Le-
Roy y Cia (Le-Roy and Company) limited partnership. Five of the seven
founding partners had also founded the Banco de Sevilla (Bank of Seville).
Regarding its financial activity, it is worth mentioning the close relations
with the Banco de Sevilla (Bank of Seville) to which it asked for many
loans. The 1866 crisis left the company practically out of activity, although
it was able to continue in this precarious situation until 1868.
e) The Crédito Comercial y Agrícola de Córdoba (Trading and Agricultural
Credits of Cordoba) (1864–1867). This was the last Andalusian credit
company. Its history comes from a limited partnership founded in 1863
named Lopez y Cia (Lopez and Company), but it was commercially called
“Crédito Comercial y Agrícola de Córdoba (Trading and Agricultural
Credits of Cordoba)”. It was constituted with capital that came from Cadiz
and Seville, where all the possibilities of new constitutions had disappeared.
This company, authorised in November 1864, worked more as a deposits
and discounting bank than as a trading or agricultural investment or pro-
motion bank, which was the original aspiration. Nevertheless, during its
existence it did always get profits from its operations, and it was able to
open a branch office in Granada. The 1866 problems specially affected the
Trading Credits of Cadiz, with whom they had partners in common. The
bankruptcy of the company in Cadiz alarmed the clients in Cordoba, and
their distrust caused a decrease in the demand of banking services. In this
situation, the partners, to avoid more serious events, decided to liquidate
the company at the beginning of 1867.
It is worth referencing a foreign company, the Sociedad General Española

de Descuentos (Spanish General Discounts Society) (1859– 1866), because
of the high interest in opening branch offices in Andalusia. The entity was
founded in March 1859 as an initiative of the Compañía General de Crédito
en España (General Credit Company in Spain) and the founders decided to
create Discount Banks in many other provinces. Actually, according to the gen-
eral plans of its mother company, the aim was to direct to Madrid the money
of those areas and invest it from there. They were able to create three branch
offices in Andalusia: Granada (1859), Málaga (1859), and Seville (1861). Due
to the payment problems that they had had since 1864, it ended up being
liquidated in 1866 (Titos Martínez 1980, pp. 90–94).
Banks of Issue in Andalusia

In Andalusia, among the financial institutions constituted as societies, there are
four banks of issue (Titos Martínez 2003, pp. 97–105).
4
0
1

The Banco de Cádiz (Bank of Cadiz) was created in December 1846. In
this city, since some months earlier, a branch office of the Banco de Isabel II
(Bank of Isabella II) has been working with the name Banco Español de Cádiz
(Spanish Bank of Cadiz). Almost a year later, in November of 1847, a merger
of the two was agreed upon in order to create a new entity that would keep
working under the name of the first. The crisis of this bank began in 1860
with the decrease of current accounts and the important volume of their own
notes in till and this was emphasised in the next several years. At the end of
the 1860s, the situation was critical. Almost all the loans, advances, and cash
having disappeared, it took the Ministry (of Spain) to introduce a Bill in 1870
to the Congress (of Spain) for its dissolution and liquidation.
The rest of the banks of issue arose under the Banks of Issue Law of 1856
(Spanish Law), although the one in Jerez was slightly delayed. Their existence
ended as a result of the (Spanish) Echegaray Decree of 1874, which merged
them with the Banco de España (Bank of Spain) as its branch offices, their
autonomous entities disappearing. Nevertheless, the circumstances of this mer-
ging were different. Although the banks of Málaga (1856–1874) and Jerez
de la Frontera (1859–1874) were kept active, mainly the first one, the one in
Seville (1857–1874) only existed documentarily as its activity was completely
paralysed several years earlier due to the serious difficulties derived from its
management and the crisis (Titos Martínez 2003, p. 196).
In the other provinces of Andalusia, either there was no bank of issue
founded or there were some attempts that were not successful. There is no
evidence that there was any project presented to constitute any banks of issue
in Huelva, Cordoba, or Jaen during the nineteenth century, although there
is of other types of credit institutions. In Granada, there are three registered
attempts, all of them failed, due to the fact that, basically, local banking ser-
vices were successfully covered by the Banca Rodriguez-Acosta (Rodriguez-
Acosta Bank). In Almería, in the middle of the 1866 crisis, a group of traders
requested the government and authorisation to find a bank of issue, which did
not work due to the difficulties that affected the banking system those years.
Regardless, the size of the banks of issue was reduced for what was expected.
It is worth mentioning that the functioning problems that they had (especially
the one in Seville), the short time period that they were working, and the fact
that, only in the Banco de Jerez (Bank of Jerez), the capital was completely
paid. In general, these banks did not fully use their investment capacity nor the
local savings creation, showing, in most cases, a limited capacity of resources
raised from third parties. Regarding the investment orientation, loans were not
that important. Thus, the role as direct industrial promoter was non-existent,
the preferential orientation was commercial, and they only supported the
downstream industry through discounts that were the most representative part
of their assets (Titos Martínez 2003, p. 108).
In conclusion, the disappearance of credit companies as a consequence of
the 1866 crisis and of banks of issue as a result of the Echegaray Decree (in
Spain) (1874) practically entailed the disappearance of the banking system in
this region of the Spanish financial map. This emptiness of native entities would
5
0
1

be long. Until in 1900, when the Banco de Andalucía (Bank of Andalusia) was
created, this territory did not have its own banking company and even this one
did not last long. There were no companies like that in Andalusia until a long
time after the Spanish Civil War. Instead, the role was filled by private bankers.
Private Bankers in Andalusia in the Nineteenth Century

In general, the banking institutions constituted as companies in the nineteenth
century in Spain were scarce, and in many cases, they were of small size and
irregularly distributed in the territory. It makes you think that, since the business
activity in the country was increasing, the money mediation business had to be
carried out by other agents. These agents were private bankers, whose activity
was relatively important during this century (García López 1989, p. 114).
In the case of Andalusia, the banks and credit companies’ absence in many
provinces and their disappearance in the rest between 1866 and 1874 increased
the banking companies emptiness that was replenished mainly by these private
bankers. The scale of individuals who mainly operated with their own capital
or credit extends from the local lender to the great banker of the court.
The Spanish legislation provided a wide freedom of action for private
bankers from the promulgation of the Commerce Code of 1829 to the Banking
Organisation Law of 1921 (both in Spain). This provided those intermediaries
a ruling stability that contrasted with the continuous regulating reforms that
affected banking companies.
The data available for the end of the nineteenth century (1985–1986) shows
a total of 30 merchant-bankers enrolled in the Industry Contribution. The
distribution per provinces is: 13 in Cadiz; 6 in Jaen; 3 in Granada and 2 in
Cordoba, Huelva, Malaga, and Seville, respectively. This data exposes, first,
that Andalusia was reasonably represented in regards to bankers enrolled in
the Industry Contribution in relation to the total of Spain –16 percent, an
amount that exceeds the demographic weight that the region had back then
(Titos Martínez 2003, p. 118).
However, the number of bankers registered in the Bailly-Baillière Annual
Directory1 in 1897 amounts to 132, with the following distribution per prov-
ince: 24 in Almeria; 21 in Cadiz; 20 in Malaga 2; 19 in Huelva; 15 in Jaen; 14
in Cordoba; 13 in Seville, and 6 in Granada (García-López 1989, pp. 122–123).
The figures provided by the Industrial Contribution and the Bailly-Baillière
Annual Directory were remarkably different. This difference was probably
derived from the fact that many small merchant- bankers, especially those
established in small towns, opposed registering in the tax enrolment as bankers
as it meant a payment of an additional contribution to what they already paid.
This new requirement was excessively onerous for them compared to the
profits generated by many banking operations. Probably, the more important
houses actually were enrolled, as due to their business volume, it was not pos-
sible for them to hide from the Spanish Tax Office and the rest of the sector.
In the case of Granada, such difference was not very significant. This could
be due to the presence of the Banca Rodriguez-Acosta (Rodriguez-Acosta
6
0
1

Banking), as it achieved enough dimensions to cover a great part of the finan-
cial needs of the area. Hence, the limited number of bankers in the province.
This house started its activity in 1831 and kept it until 1946, the date when it
was absorbed by the Banco Central2 (Central Bank).
In most cases, the business consisted of a sole office, probably because of
the direct management of the activity by the owners. Nevertheless, the case of
the banker from Cordoba, Pedro Lopez, is an exception, as he kept a branch
office in Granada between 1868 and 1870. Just as with the banks that were
constituted as public limited companies, the size was not large enough to firmly
support the industrial development in the region. In most cases, the investment
in local values or direct industrial business was practically absent, except in
the case of the Banca Rodriguez-Acosta (Rodriguez-Acosta Banking), which
offered a different investing model, especially during the twentieth century.
Additionally, even though they did not have investment privileges, they started
to work with promissory notes and bearer responsibilities that worked prac-
tically the same as the bank notes, at least until 1874 (Titos Martínez 2003,
p. 119).
This was the model instituted by private banking in Andalusia in this first
phase, which would be prolonged until the third decade of the twentieth
century.
The Private Banking (1900–1936): Local Bankers and Large

National Banks
The most important legal regulation related to the banking system during the
Spanish Restoration period was the Banking Organisation Law (Spanish law)
of the 19th of December of 1921, known as the Cambo Law. This law affected
the Banco de España (Bank of Spain) as well as private banking. Regarding the
former, it regulated basic aspects such as its abilities and its organisa-
tion. Regarding the latter, it established the regulation basis for its activity
and created the Camaras de Compensacion (Clearing Houses), the Consejo
Superior Bancario (Banking Control Council), and the Comisaria de la Banca
(Banking Commission). New banks were obliged to register in this last one
if they wanted to have the privileges and benefits provided by the law, that is
to say, the recognition of bonus for the operations with the Banco de España
(Bank of Spain), the ability to create with the State a special regime for certain
operations, and the formalisation of agreements regarding some taxes.
Even though after the passing of this law the intervention on the banking
system was strengthened, these entities continued initially enjoying a high
freedom of action, which was slightly limited in 1926 with the reform of some
articles of this regulation.
Some years later, the republican regime proclaimed on the 25th of November
of 1931 that the provisional government had approved the text of a new
Banking Organisation Law (for Spain), more focused on monetary aspects
than on the organisation or the credit. Even though the scope of this new law
does not allow space to talk about reform, it is this law that begins the process
7
0
1

of the reduction of the Banco de España’s (Bank of Spain) autonomy with
regard to the government that culminated with its nationalisation.
Regarding private banking, the scene outlined by the Cambo Law in 1921,
with all the expansion limitations, was kept in force during the whole of the
1920s and was strengthened in the following decades (Titos Martínez 2003,
p. 123).
The Territorial Expansion of the National Banking in

Andalusia in the First Third of the Twentieth Century
The first years of the twentieth century represent the start of a period of strong
expansion of banking at a national level characterised by two aspects. On the
one hand, the creation of new entities, some of them transforming the old
banking houses or credit companies. On the other hand, a strong expansion of
the activity of those entities through the establishment of new branch offices
beyond their initial operational areas.
In Andalusia, as it has been mentioned, the 1866 crisis and the Echegaray
Decree of 1874 caused the native bank’s presence during the last quarter of the
century to be nonexistent. In fact, there is no company registered in the region
until 1900 and the presence of branch offices or agencies of foreign banks was
still very weak. Other than the branch offices of the Banco de España (Bank
of Spain) and the Mortgage Bank, in 1884 only the Banco de Castilla (Bank
of Castile) had an agency in Cadiz and a foreign bank, The Union Bank of
Spain and England, had opened a branch office in Seville (Titos Martínez 2003,
p. 120). While all of this was happening, as it was mentioned, a wide range
of private bankers rose up to cover the financial needs of the region during
this time.
Under the protection of the expansion phase of the banking institutions in
Spain, Andalusia, which, at that time, did not have its own banking system,
the initiatives were not lacking, the most esteemed one being the Banco de
Andalucía (Bank of Andalusia) (Martín-Aceña 2011, p. 121). Created in 1900
in Seville, under the protection of the interest of people in Asturias, it had few
impacts, and a short life that finished with its liquidation in 1907 when it was
absorbed by the Banco de Cartagena (Bank of Cartagena), which was in the
process of expanding throughout the region of Andalusia.
During this time, foreign entities found favourable conditions for the expan-
sion of their activities in Andalusia due to the lack of an organised regional
banking under the limited company system, especially during the second and
third decades of the century. Large banking companies with goals of expan-
sion gradually occupied the Andalusia region, evolving from two entities in
1907 to six in 1928. The increase in the branch office network in this territory
was equally significant, with 121 offices open by 1928 (Titos Martínez 2003,
p. 167).
The great protagonist of the office-opening process in this region is the
Banco Español de Crédito (Spanish Credit Bank). Although in 1913 it had
branch offices in five squares (Cordoba, Linares, Almería, Ubeda, and La
8
0
1

Carolina), since that date it had started becoming established, step-by-step, in
new localities until in 1920 its network was made up of 20 offices3. The process
continued, growing more accelerated at the end of the decade, until reaching a
total of 70 offices in 1928.
The Banco Hispano Americano (American Hispanic Bank) was born in
1901 from the investment initiative of some Spanish business owners located in
America with capital that they had repatriated (Martín-Aceña 2011, p. 120). It
started its expansion in Andalusia between 1910 and 1913, opening the three
first branch offices in Granada, Malaga, and Seville. In 1922, this number had
increased to 11, including those of Antequera, Cabra, Cadiz, Cordoba, Huelva,
Jaen, Jerez, and Linares. Subsequently, more would be added until the 19 that
were created by 1928.
The Banco de Cartagena (Bank of Cartagena) was an entity that, shortly
after being founded, had set in motion an important expansion plan. In 1907-
1908, it took over the Banco de Andalucía (Bank of Andalusia) that had been
created in 1900 in Seville. Since that moment, the Banco de Cartagena (Bank
of Cartagena) began to leave its original territory towards close markets such
as the one in Valencia, La Mancha and the rest of Andalusia. In the latter, it
opened three branch offices in Seville, Cadiz and Huelva, where it maintained
delegations in Ayamonte and Isla Cristina. For this bank, the possibilities of
good businesses that the West of Andalusia offered compensated the closeness
advantage of the East zone of this region (Titos Martínez 1980, p. 113). In
1924, it became the Banco Internacional de Industria y Comercio (Industry
and Trade International Bank), increasing its three branch offices in Andalusia
to seven.
In 1921, the Banco Central (Central Bank) absorbed the Banco de Albacete
(Bank of Albacete) that already had two branch offices in Andalusia: Cordoba
and Andujar. Shortly, these were joined by offices in Lucena and Malaga, and,
just a few years later, three more, bringing the total number of offices in 1928
to seven.
The Banco de Bilbao (Bank of Bilbao) started its course in Andalusia in
1921, opening the first branch office in Seville, which, in 1926, was joined by
one in Cordoba.
In 1926, the Banco Urquijo (Urquijo Bank) opened the first office in
Andalusia, specifically in Seville, adding one in Granada the next year, as it
absorbed the local bank Hijos de Enrique Santos (Enrique Santos’ Children).
Besides the already mentioned banks, there is evidence that other banks
worked in Andalusia under branch offices or correspondent’s offices. Titos
Martínez (2003, p. 167) includes a global synopsis of “other banks”, not spe-
cifying their names. It is likely that these are some of the banks that were open
in 1922 alongside the ones already mentioned: Banco Rural (Rural Bank),
Banco Peninsular Hipotecario (Peninsular Mortgage Bank), Banco Vasco
(Basque Bank), El Hogar Español (The Spanish Home), Banco Español del
Río de la Plata (Rio de la Plata Spanish Bank), Anglo South American Bank,
Crédit Lyonnais, Bank of British West Africa and Comptoir Foncier d´Algerie
et Tunnisie (Arroyo Martin 2000, p. 18). According to the information by
9
0
1

this author, all the banks back then would have an office in Andalusia except
for the Banco Rural (Rural Bank), which had two. To these should be added
some brief local projects, such as the Banco Hispano Comercial (Hispanic
Commercial Bank), which had the corporate headquarters in Seville.
The Banco Matritense (Bank of Madrid) has to be mentioned separately,
founded in Madrid in 1911 and which, when it was liquidated in 1922, worked
in 26 squares of Andalusia. However, the fact that those branch offices are
not included in most of the consulted sources, may mean that the bank actu-
ally worked through other agents that behaved as correspondents. The case is
similar with the Banco Popular de los Previsores del Porvenir (Popular Bank
of the Future Fore Sighting), which had offices in Cadiz, Jerez de la Frontera,
Seville, and Jaen (Titos Martínez 2003, o. 121).
In 1930, the presence of national banking had become widespread in
Andalusia, where it had spread to 147 localities. Very few bankers of Andalusia
opened branch offices outside of the capitals, so it was the large banks who
reached those destinations. The Banco Español de Crédito (Spanish Credit
Bank) was still in the lead, with predilection for the Cordoba, Jaen, and
Seville provinces. Some national banks that progressed more slowly in their
expansion in Andalusia completed it at the beginning of the 1930s: the Banco
de Bilbao (Bank of Bilbao) opened another 4 branch offices between 1930
and 1935 and the Banco de Vizcaya (Bank of Vizcaya) opened an office in
Cordoba in 1931.
If we keep in mind the provincial distribution of these offices, we can see an
obvious disparity within the region: Cordoba was by far the most attractive
province to establish branch offices. This banking power will later be confirmed
by the abundant presence of local bankers. Cordoba is followed by Seville and
Jaen. This last one, with a traditionally low financial level, is similar to Cordoba
regarding the agricultural and mining wealth, which was an attractive factor
for national banks.
Local Bankers’ Behaviour until 1936

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the number of private bankers
working in Andalusia was very imprecise. On the one hand, we have the infor-
mation of the bankers registered in the Industry Contribution which, as it was
already mentioned, probably only included a part of the agents working on
this activity because of the reticence of some of them to get registered in order
to avoid paying an additional contribution, which was excessively expensive
for their businesses. On the other hand, we can also count on the information
gathered in the economic annual directories and the financial press of the era.
However, the data disparity is great in this case as well.
Table 7.1 shows the number of bankers operating in Andalusia around 1922
according to two different sources. The first column reflects the data obtained
by Arroyo Martin from the Banking Directory, and the second, the information
that Patxot and Giménez Arnau (2001) deduced from other annual directories
and the economic press of the era.
0
1

Table 7.1 Number of Bankers in Andalusia (1922)
Province Banking Directory Other annual directories
Almeria 42 46
Cadiz 33 41
Cordoba 40 52
Granada 33 33
Huelva 22 20
Jaen 62 65
Malaga 37 44
Seville 51 53
TOTAL 320 354
Source: author, based on Arroyo Martín (2000, p. 15) and Patxot and Giménez-Arnau (2001,
pp. 293–342).
From that information, two matters stand out. In the first place, the fig-
ures disparity, which can make us think that, whereas the information of the
Banking Directory may be a little more tight, the information presented by the
economic banking annual directories probably included agents with different
activities aside from strictly banking (Titos Martínez 2003, p. 124). In the
second place, it is worth mentioning that, having in mind both sources of infor-
mation, the Jaen province, with a traditionally low financial level but with
important agricultural and mining activity, is the one with a higher volume of
agents working in the banking. For the rest of Andalusia, we can say that the
merchant-bankers were a little bit more uniformly distributed than the branch
offices of the large national banks (Arroyo Martin 2000, p. 16).
Either way, before 1922, the data availability regarding the activity of
these bankers was very limited. For some specific bankers, the whole series of
their activities can be reconstructed –such is the case of Rodriguez-Acosta in
Granada, or partially the case of Pedro Lopez in Cordoba (Titos Martínez 2003,
p. 123). However, for most of the bankers, the information gathered is limited
to what has been obtained from annual directories and business agencies, and
is not entirely precise. Thus, when the Spanish Banking Organisation Law
(Cambo Law), which had been approved the previous year, came into force in
1922, the number of private bankers working in Andalusia was as extensive as
it was imprecise.
Thenceforward, the voluntary registration procedure in the banks and
bankers registry of the Private Banking Ordering Commission (Spanish
Organisation), established by the new law, and the privileges derived from such
registration, would contribute to regulate the situation and ensure the profes-
sional activity of those who were actually considered bankers.
The number of bankers considered as such by the Consejo Superior
Bancario (Banking Control Council) and the Comisaria de la Banca (Banking
Commission) with headquarters in Andalusia, increased after the creation of
those bodies in 1932, when it reached its highest number with a total of 19
1

banks. Among them, the highest number appeared in the Cordoba province,
which had 8 banks in 1931 and 1932.
Since then and through a slow process of liquidations, moving of the cor-
porate headquarters to areas outside of Andalusia, mergers and absorptions,
the number of Andalusian banks was reduced, not only until the years prior to
the Spanish Civil War, but also in the years after. This continued until, when the
twentieth century ended, there were no more banking groups with headquar-
ters in this autonomous community.
Between 1922 and 1936, 22 banking houses from Andalusia were registered
or provided information about their activity to the Consejo Superior Bancario
(CSB) (Banking Control Council). All of them grouped together are shown in
Table 7.2.
Finally, as some of them later abandoned the activity, in 1936 there was a
total of 14 Andalusian banks and bankers registered in the CSB. Only half of
them were still active (Titos Martínez 2003, pp. 124–126).
Table 7.2 Bankers and Banking Houses with Activity in Andalusia (1922–1936)
Province Banker or banking house Locality
Almeria Antonio Gonzalez Egea Almeria

Cadiz Aramburu Hermanos (Aramburu Brothers) Cadiz
Diez Vergara y Cia (Diez Vergara and Company) Jerez de la Frontera
Herederos de Antonio Ridruejo (Antonio Sanlucar de
Ridruejo’s Inheritors) Barrameda
Cordoba Pedro Lopez e Hijos (Pedro Lopez and Children). Cordoba
Carbonell y Cia (Carbonell and Company) Cordoba
Banco de Andalucía, S.A. (Bank of Andalusia) Cordoba
Leopoldo Villen Cruz Rute
Valeriano Perez Gimenez Rute
Jose Maria Naranjo Montilla
Miguel Garcia Juan La Rambla
Gimenez y Cia (Gimenez and Company) Fernan Nuñez
Protectora Montoreña (The Montoro Protector) Montoro
Emiliano Redondo Fernandez Pueblo Nuevo del
Terrible
Granada Hijos de Rodriguez-Acosta (Rodriguez-Acosta’s Granada
Children)
Enrique Santos Guillen Granada
Hilario Rodriguez Baza
Jaen Hijo de Dionisio Puche (Dionisio Puche’s Son) Baeza
Miñon Hermanos (Miñon Brothers) Andujar
Malaga Francisco Lopez Malaga
Seville Mariano Borrero Blanco Seville
Viuda de Matias Valdecantos (Matias Valdecantos’ Constantina
Widow)
Source: author, based on Titos Martínez (2003, pp. 124–126).

2
1

Regarding the dimensions of these banks and bankers, the figures of their
total actives show the total supremacy that, during that time, had Rodriguez-
Acosta from Granada, followed by Pedro Lopez from Cordoba, and, a little bit
after, Mariano Borrero Blanco in Seville.
Conclusions
In the nineteenth century, the banking activity, in the private aspect, was
developed in Spain by two types of agents. On the one hand, the banks constituted
individually, in some occasions, as partnerships or limited partnerships, as was
the case of the bankers, merchant-bankers, and banking houses. On the other
hand, were those organised as public limited companies, as banks and credit
companies.
During the central years of the nineteenth century, Andalusia was involved
in creating the movement of financial institutions that the whole country
experienced, sponsored by the approval of the Banks of Issue and Credit
Companies Laws of 1856.
Nevertheless, the crisis of 1866 led to the disappearance of the credit societies
and the Echegaray Decree of 1874 involved the liquidation of the issuing banks.
In this way, the network of Andalusian banking entities disappeared. This situ-
ation lasted until 1900 when the Bank of Andalusia was established in Seville.
However, this bank had a really short-lived life. Consequently, until long after
the Spanish Civil War, entities of this type did not appear again in Andalusia.
This role was filled by the private bankers that covered the financial needs
of the population in the absence of the banking companies. During the nine-
teenth century, the number of these agents working in Andalusia was as exten-
sive as it is imprecise. And some of them actually were merchant-bankers.
Given that the recognition of their double-activity meant a higher payment to
the contribution, it is not surprising that a lot of them (especially the littlest
ones) decided not to register their financial activity, and that they kept working
illegally tax-wise.
As time goes by, the business delimitation became specific and bankers
needed to regularise their activity by registering in official registries. At that
point, in 1922, there was a total of 320 Andalusian bankers registered in the
Banking Directory. Between that year and 1936, 22 banking houses from
Andalusia were registered or provided information about their activity to the
Consejo Superior Bancario (CSB) (Banking Control Council). And after several
adjustments, in 1936 there was a total of 14 Andalusian banks and bankers
registered in the CSB, of which half of them were active, there not being any
evidence of the activity of the other ones.
At the same time, in the second and third decades of the new century, an
important consolidation process of the large Spanish banks implemented a
great expansion over the whole national territory. In Andalusia, a total of 6
foreign banks came to develop a network of 121 branch offices in 1928.
In this way, in the mid-thirties, the private banking sector, with official
acknowledgement in Andalusia, was composed by 14 local firms (half of them
3
1

registered in the Consejo Superior Bancario (Banking Control Council) but
without apparent activity) and a great number of offices belonging to 8 foreign
banks located in 147 municipalities in the region. Several years later, well into
the 20th century, the local banking houses ended up disappearing from the
regional banking outlook because of their dissolution or their absorption by
the large national banks.
Notes
1 The Annual Directory and Almanac of Commerce, Industry, Magistrature, and
Administration (Bailly-Baillière Annual Directory) was first published in 1879. It
was a guide that included hundreds of thousands of pieces of information about the
people forming the state and provincial institutions in every sector (political, edu-
cational, military, religious, judicial, etc.) besides the professionals and professions,
shops, businesses, factories, and industries in Spain as well as in the overseas coun-
tries and Latin America (and since 1881, also in Portugal).
2 In Titos-Martínez (1978) can be seen a detailed study of the history of this banking
house.
3 Besides the three initial ones, it opened offices in: Jaen and Puente Genil (1916); Berja
(1917); Malaga and Ronda (1918); Granada, Guadix, Algeciras, La Linea, Seville,
and Jerez (1919) and Huelva, Ecija, Moron, and Carmona (1920).
References
Arroyo Martín, J. V. 2000. La banca privada en Andalucía entre 1920 y 1935. Bilbao:
Archivo Histórico del Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria.
García López, J. R. 1989. El sistema bancario español del siglo XIX. ¿Una estructura
dual? Nuevos planteamientos y nuevas propuestas. Revista de Historia Económica
VII (1): 116–119.
Martín Aceña, P. 2011. La banca en España entre 1900 y 1975. In Un siglo de historia
del sistema financiero español, ed. J.L. Malo de Molina and P. Martín Aceña, 117–
161. Madrid: Alianza.
Patxot, V. & E. Giménez-Arnau. 2001. Banqueros y bancos durante la vigencia de la
Ley Cambó (1922–1946). Madrid: Banco de España.
Pons, M. Á. 1999. Las grandes sociedades anónimas bancarias 1860– 1960. In El
sistema financiero en España. Una síntesis histórica, ed. P. Martín Aceña and M.
Titos Martínez, 83–103. Granada: Universidad de Granada.
Sánchez- Albornoz, N. 1975. Jalones de la modernización de España. Barcelona:
Ariel.
Tedde de Lorca, P. 1974. La banca privada española durante la Restauración 1874–
1914. In La banca española en la Restauración. Tomo I Política y Finanzas, ed.
Servicio de Estudios del Banco de España, 217–455. Madrid: Banco de España.
Tedde de Lorca, P. 1983. Comerciantes y banqueros madrileños al final del Antiguo
Régimen. In Historia económica y pensamiento social, ed. G. Anes, L.A. Rojo and P.
Tedde de Lorca, 301–334. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.
Titos Martínez, M. 1976. Panorama general de la banca en Andalucía en el siglo XIX.
In Actas del I Congreso de Historia de Andalucía. Andalucía contemporánea (s. XIX
y XX), 195–208. Córdoba: Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Córdoba.
4
1

Titos Martínez, M. 1978. La banca Rodríguez-Acosta (1831–1904), un estudio modelo
sobre la actuación de los banqueros del XIX. In Crédito y ahorro en Granada en el
siglo XIX, ed. M. Titos Martínez, 377–582. Granada: Banco de Granada.
Titos Martínez, M. 1980. Bancos y banqueros en la historiagrafía andaluza. Granada:
Universidad de Granada e Instituto de Desarrollo Regional.
Titos Martínez, M. 1999. Banca y banqueros privados. In El sistema financiero en
España. Una síntesis histórica, ed. P. Martín Aceña and M. Titos Martínez, 105–133.
Granada: Universidad de Granada.
Titos Martínez, M. 2003. El sistema financiero en Andalucía: tres siglos de historia
(1740–2000). Seville: Instituto de Estadística de Andalucía.
5
1
8
The Private Period of Spanish
Railways 1848–1941
A Liberal Project to Modernise Spain
Miguel Muñoz Rubio and
Pedro Pablo Ortúñez Goicolea
The Early Steps of the Spanish Railway System: The National Way
and the Foreign Way
Once the reign of Fernando VII had come to an end, Spanish liberals, whether
moderates, progressivists, or revolutionaries, applied an economic policy whose
main objective was to achieve industrialisation. Between 1840 and 1914, the
secondary sector did indeed make significant progress, as evidenced by its rela-
tive weight in GDP which, between 1850 and 1914, rose from 17.19% to
30.01%. Nevertheless, this growth came to a halt before it increased on a scale
large enough to bring about the structural change through which the process
could be culminated (Carreras & Tafunell 2003). Yet there was indeed sub-
stantial modernisation, with one major accomplishment being the widespread
construction of a railway network (Comín et al. 1998).
In 1840, conventional existing transport, which had been making significant
strides since the eighteenth century thanks to the reforms of the enlightened
Bourbons, was more than capable of catering to the mobility needs of an agri-
cultural sector which, in turn, had been undergoing substantial growth since
1815 thanks to the increased amount of available cropland, and which at the
same time enabled considerable demographic and, in particular, urban expan-
sion (Madrazo 1984).
Although productivity understandably remained unchanged, the commer-
cialisation of agricultural products did increase, which was why José Díez
Imbrechts, a winemaker from Cádiz, received government authorisation in
1830 to look into the possibility of constructing a railway line between Jerez
and El Portal. This early initiative was followed by others until the State decided
to take a hand in the matter, since each concession was being granted under
different conditions. The liberal government of Narváez requested a report
from the Highways, Canals, and Ports Office as to how to manage this new
phenomenon. In turn, this office commissioned the engineers Juan Subercase,
his son José, and Calixto Santa Cruz to undertake the task. These engineers
drew up the so-called “Subercase Report” which, signed on 2 November 1844,
came to provide the basis for the first Spanish legislative measures taken on the
matter of railways: the Royal Order of 31 December 1844.
6
1
116 Muñoz Rubio and Ortúñez Goicolea

This Royal Order merely served to set out a series of general conditions
through which individuals were granted the right to build railway lines, taking
into account the fact that the new transport system was of public interest,
given the enormous influence it would have on the economy. There was there-
fore no doubt that construction and exploitation should be undertaken by pri-
vate entrepreneurs. Yet due to the enormous mistrust which the latter sparked
amongst the authorities, and in particular the tremendous fear that private
entrepreneurs might create a monopoly, it was also made abundantly clear
that responsibility for funding rested solely on their shoulders. As a result,
a series of conditions were laid out to safeguard public interest. However, it
was also left to the discretion of ad hoc negotiation between concessionaires
and the State to establish certain concessions or privileges. This led to specu-
lation rather than the search for any real business and the construction of the
lines. All of this turned the primarii lapidis of Spanish railway legislation into
a straightjacket that in practice made it impossible to develop the new means
of transport1.
As a legislative measure, the Royal Order pushed forward the institutional
framework which was to govern this period, as well as its principal technical
characteristics. Prominent amongst the latter was the decision to opt for a
different gauge to the one being introduced in the rest of Europe given that,
based on the report issued by the Royal Commission on Railway Gauges, this
was felt to be the best. This decision may have been open to question, but it
was one of many that had to be taken at the time. No credit whatsoever should
be given to speculation that the decision was designed to prevent a possible
French invasion (Moreno Fernández 1996).
Many have been insisted upon the fact that the railways came to Spain late,
yet in 1844 there were barely ten countries that could boast a railway system.
One of these had been in operation since 19 November 1837, in Cuba –La
Habana-Bejucal –which at the time was under Spanish rule. The problem
was rather that the first institutional framework set up to channel its devel-
opment only made it possible to install 7.4% of the 6,000 kilometres that
had been applied for between 1844 and 1855: Barcelona-Mataró (28.1 km.),
Barcelona-Granollers (28.7), Barcelona-Molins de Rey (17.7), Játiva-Grao de
Valencia (60.7), Madrid-Albacete (279.7), Jerez-Puerto de Santa María (14.7),
and Sabadell-Montcada (13.7) (Muñoz Rubio & Ortúñez 2013a).
There is therefore no question that this first initiative of the moderate
governments proved to be a failure, although those who did manage to achieve
their goal, most of whom were local entrepreneurs, did have a hand in creating
a “national way” in railways.
This situation reached a turning point in 1854 when the progressive liberals
came to power since they removed all the obstacles that, during the “moderate
decade”, had prevented economic modernisation from taking a decisive step
forward. On 3 June 1855 Francisco de Luxán, Infrastructure Minister, signed
the first General Law on Railways. Its main contributions were, first, that the
State would assume the power to set up a national network, second, in con-
trast to the many limits imposed under previous legislation concerning private
7
1
The Private Period of Spanish Railways 117

capital, it established a universal condition to allow the entry of private capital
through concessionaires that was backed up by public funding; and third, the
“national safeguard” established to protect any foreign capital that might be
invested in the business.
Aided by the various financing laws that helped channel capital towards
the sector, these changes soon had a decided effect. In fact, between 1855 and
1865, some 4,756 km of track, 68.7% of the total granted, went into oper-
ation. This period not only witnessed the fastest growth ever but also allowed
the Spanish railway network to reduce the gap with other European networks,
since total track length between 1850 and 1870 went from being 209.1 times
less to 3.6 times less than that of Germany’s, 349.8 to 4.1 times less than that
of Great Britain’s, 104.1 to 2.9 times less than that of France’s, and 22.1 to 1.2
times less than that of Italy’s.
The law also pursued another goal: to allow the French companies Pereire
and Rothschild to gain a stake in Spanish railways. To do this, progressive
governments set up a solid institutional apparatus which they placed at the ser-
vice of these financing houses so as to favour them through the direct influx of
capital and subsidies from a significant part of public debt. This opened up the
path to a “foreign way” in railways, which led to the setting up of two major
Spanish companies –Norte and Madrid Zaragoza Alicante (MZA) (Tedde de
Lorca 1978). Driven by a desire to gain control of the main line of commu-
nication with France, these companies established their main axes during the
second stage on the original concessions awarded –Madrid-Irun in the former
case; and Madrid-Alicante, Madrid-Cordoba, and Madrid-Zaragoza in the
latter.
The Test of the Financial Crisis for the Companies

When the crisis hit in 1866, the business scene for Spanish railways displayed
a two-fold appearance since there was an “apparent” climate of peaceful coex-
istence between regional companies, funded through local capital, and Norte
and MZA, which were financed equally between French and Spanish capital –
although it was really the former that was in control. Yet once these early
lines had been built, the concessionaires found that the volume of traffic was
not enough to meet their debt payments. The situation became even worse
with the crisis the Spanish economy went through during the 1860s, given
that demand stemmed mainly from the primary sector. Financial years were
closing at an operating loss, which meant that Norte and MZA were unable to
respond by securing further capital since they had reached the legally allowed
maximum debt limit. Nor could the State help them out as it was immersed
in its own treasury crisis. Moreover, the Paris and London stock exchanges
closed the door on the Spanish economy, given the latter’s renowned failure to
pay, added to which there were the effects of the international crisis (Tortella
Casares 1973).
Railway share prices and bond values immediately began to tumble and,
as a result, dragged much of the Spanish financial system down with them.
8
1

While local projects were barely able to survive, Norte and MZA, thanks to
the financial support provided by their parent companies, were in a position to
weather the storm –yet not without getting Spain to foot the bill. As a result,
after the frustration of the failed government loan in July 1867, Norte and
MZA came to the conclusion that the approaching revolution would provide
the effective solution to their financial problems. They therefore had no qualms
about playing an active role in the conspiracy. Their leader, Francisco Serrano,
went from being president of Norte to being president of the first revolutionary
government. Yet he was not the only one. Other leaders of courtesan politics,
such as Sagasta, Rivero, Cánovas, and Montero Ríos, amongst others, were
linked to the railway concessionaires.
It therefore comes as no surprise that one of the very first measures taken
by the revolutionary government was to set up a fund to rescue the railways.
Nor did the government waste any time in amending the institutional frame-
work that regulated the public works to support their objective since Manuel
Ruiz Zorrilla, Infrastructure Minister, signed the “Decree Bases for Legislating
Public Works”2 on 14 November 1868.
Eventually, the crisis of 1866 put paid to the savings of the local bour-
geoisie and, as these formed the basis of the so-called “national way”, this led
to the Spanish railway system becoming a duopoly of the Rothschilds and the
Pereires. Even so, this was the result of a violent process, because MZA and
Norte were forced to collude in order to achieve it. It was also gradual, not
concluding until 1900, and it was imperfect because two regional companies
would survive: Andaluces and Oeste. In any event, at the turn of the twentieth
century, the Spanish railway network was complete, and the two leading com-
panies held 75% of the total.
The Modernising Impact of the Railway

Despite these ups and downs, the railway’s impact on the economy and on
society immediately became clear. The virtues of the new transport system
amazed contemporaries who saw how it cut journey times by 70% while
costing about half of the price. Given these advantages, it came as no sur-
prise to see demand grow consistently and spectacularly, since the number of
passengers carried by Norte and MZA multiplied by almost tenfold between
1864 and 1914, whilst the volume in tonnage of freight increased sevenfold.
The 30 million passengers and the 15.5 million tonnes amassed by these two
companies in 1914 confirmed, without any doubt, that the railway had become
a dominant and irreplaceable form of transport.
The mercantile traffic of the concessionaires covered almost all areas of pro-
duction. In MZA, the freight that represented the greatest percentage included
crops, wines, wools, cotton and leather, mineral coal, fabric and footwear, iron,
steel, and machinery, as well as lead and minerals. Although manufactured
products, machinery, and steel products gradually came to play a part, the
company continued to specialise in the agri-mining sector, since in the second
9
1

half of the nineteenth century, the economic structure of the southern part of
the peninsula barely changed.
Norte had laid track in areas –the Basque Country, Galicia, Catalonia,
Aragón, Castile, and Valencia –which specialised in a wide variety of economic
sectors. This enabled the company to diversify its traffic far more than MZA
was able to do, although it was agricultural products that made up the bulk
of its commercial portfolio. The Castilian plateau provided crops –mainly
wheat and flour –as a by-product. Together with wines, spirits, and coal, these
accounted for most of Norte’s revenue from freight transport. The continual
annexing of lines allowed the company to include new goods, such as mining
products, destined to supply Madrid and the industrial Basque Country, as
well as metal finishings.
This traffic clearly shows how the most decisive contribution made by the
railway was to act as the main driver that converted regional markets into a
single national market because, although this process had been occurring since
the mid-eighteenth century, it was only able to establish itself thanks to the
introduction of the railway. Empirical evidence shows how there was a gradual
convergence of prices between the different regions, which was to conclude
around 1880 when the railway network achieved national scale, triggering the
process of regional production specialisation.
The agricultural sector, in particular the wheat sector, remained a basic
subsistence product in nineteenth century Spain. Thanks to the institutional
reforms which accompanied the expansion of the railway, the sector organised
itself around the market. In other words, it submitted itself to the discipline
of competition between various peninsular regions and, therefore, witnessed
moderate progress in terms of its specialisation.
Livestock, both settled and transhumance, another backbone of the Spanish
economy, underwent a similar process of regional specialisation. This process
proved decisive in making urban expansion possible by being able to supply
live meat, which was becoming an increasingly important part of the Spanish
diet (Muñoz Rubio 2015). In fact, it was common for city abattoirs to be
supplied with live animals that had been shipped in railway carriages. This also
helped to offset the strangulation which certain regional agricultures had been
suffering since the second half of the nineteenth century due to the shortage of
draught animals by returning these animals to agricultural tasks as they were
no longer required to haul over land.
After the second half of the nineteenth century the railway also became
a key element for metal mining (iron, lead), exports of which to British fac-
tories provided many of the financial resources used to import the machinery
that helped to modernise Spanish industry. In the case of energy mining, coal
was also determinant since it was a sizeable good but of little unitary value,
yet essential for manufacturers. It was only thanks to the railway that it could
be shipped at a competitive price and, as a result, that the secondary sector
could cut its production costs and improve the distribution of products in
markets.
0
2
1

One example of the benefits to manufacturers can be found in the wool
industry in Catalonia which, having been replaced by cotton, managed to
recover and conquer new markets in the Spanish hinterland. It now proved
possible to obtain a regular supply of the raw material at a relatively low price
due to the cheaper transport costs in Extremadura or Castilla and to process it
in factories in Catalonia. Yet if there is one paradigmatic case, it is undoubtedly
Catalonian cotton. The railway opened the door to Spanish markets inland
and led to some Catalonian areas specialising in yarn whilst others did so in
weaving.
On the demand side, the railways also made a substantial contribution.
They boosted the construction of public works since the previously unknown
scale of railway infrastructure led to the emergence of new companies who
needed greater financial and management capacity than had hitherto existed.
These companies engaged in bigger deals, acquired greater business and tech-
nical skills, and expanded beyond the scope of the smaller works that were
typical of rural areas.
As pointed out, improvements in transport help to explain the growth of
urban nuclei after 1857. Urbanisation in the second half of the nineteenth cen-
tury received a boost since larger populations needed to expand the radius of
their supply markets, and railways helped to provide transport not only for
food but also for larger and heavier construction material.
The railways also obviously had a positive effect on employment. During
the construction phase, it offset the chronic underemployment of inland
Spanish agriculture and it improved, through the salaries offered, workers’
pay and as a result increased demand for consumption. During the exploit-
ation and consolidation period, the sector provided stable employment. It
should also be highlighted that the demand for technical jobs made the railway
concessionaires one of the favoured destinations for highways and industrial
engineers. At the turn of the century, many of these joined the management and
technical teams.
However, the possibilities of providing additional demand to the steel and
equipment sector were hampered by the approval of a tariff franchise. This
allowed the main production equipment –engines, carriages, and tracks –
required to build and operate the lines to be introduced freely into the
Spanish market. As a result, most of the materials the companies needed
were imported.
Although it is true that these sectors lacked the production capacity to meet
the needs of the railways, they began to acquire it towards the end of the nine-
teenth century. Spanish industry participation was ultimately reduced to assem-
bling equipment and parts, all of which were imported, and to constructing a
few low-added value and low-tech auxiliary parts. The most notable contribu-
tion was the partial construction of the first carriages by Herrería Barcelonesa
in 1860 and the finishings of the first steam engines by La Maquinista Terrestre
y Marítima in 1884. In any case, national production of more complex railway
material, the rolling stock, was purely anecdotal throughout the nineteenth
century: 21 steam engines, 242 coaches, 52 vans, and 1,976 carriages.
1
2

The railway emerges as a trigger or necessary factor in most of the progress
made during the first stage of Spanish capitalism.
Spanish Railway Companies at the Beginning of their Decline:

Circa 1900–1913
An economy like Spain’s which was unable to make that final transition
towards an industrialised economy, which lacked a productive agricultural
sector, and which had seen the demographic development of its urban popula-
tion, explains why not all privately-owned railway companies were profitable.
Fixed costs were high, which was a problem that affected both private as well
as national capital since the latter was still insufficiently organised from the
administrative and fiscal standpoint to be able to help or replace companies in
providing such a service.
The system of concessions approved under the 1855 law meant that com-
panies had limited scope for decision making, particularly when revenue proved
insufficient even to cover operating costs. The first to be hit by difficulties
were the smaller companies who had small-scale railway networks operating
in more economically depressed areas. Business concentration sought to offset
these limitations, yet these solutions could only delay the inevitable change in
the operating model. There were four railway companies sharing the Spanish
railway network, and they had little desire to compete with one another:
Norte, MZA, Andaluces, and Oeste. Once the difficult period at the end of
the century had concluded only the first two of these companies experienced a
situation of relative comfort until the First World War. Even so, any profits that
would allow for dividends to be paid to shareholders and for reserve funds to
be set up were few and far between. Moreover, the State’s limited capacity to
act was closely linked to the companies’ fragility since there were no efficient
mechanisms for acting or intervening.
The concentration of networks generated economies of scale, yet the money
invested in this whole business adventure, which had been particularly bold
on the part of Norte, was reflected in the balance sheets. Norte’s acquisitions
were mainly concentrated between 1878 and 1893, with the procedure in all
the cases being very similar: waiting until the targeted company was in diffi-
culty, which would reduce their bargaining power and their price, and then
subrogating payment of their bonds and converting the company’s shares into
Norte bonds. The tactic was similar to that used by MZA, where this process
was mainly carried out between 1875 and 1898.
For MZA, acquisition of the Tarragona to Barcelona and France Railway
Company (721 kilometres) in 1898 proved to be highly profitable: rev-
enue soared, and the deal provided them with a line to France in addition
to endowing their old network with a key complement by being able to
run traffic to Zaragoza. It also gave them a substantial slice of coastal traffic
in the Mediterranean. After 1906 and until 1916–1917, results were good
and allowed them to pay their shareholders dividends, something which the
shareholders were not very accustomed to.
21

The economic situation of the country and the policy of the company are
the key factors to be considered when evaluating railway companies’ financial
performance: the late nineteenth century crisis or the weight of the bonds lie
behind the bad results obtained until 1906. Between 1891 and 1914, GDP
per capita grew at an average interannual rate of 0.98%, whereas between
1851 and 1890 the figure had been 1.13%. This difference slowed down the
modernising push of the Spanish economy since the relative weight of the
secondary sector, which peaked in 1891 at 29 points, remained unchanged
until 1914 at a mean figure of 29.08. Industrial product went from an average
interannual rate of 0.71% between 1851 and 1890 to 0.85% between 1891
and 1914, which meant that while during the first stage it had grown by 28.4
points, in the second it did so by only 20.3 points.
Protectionism and public support for the national industrial sector became
the axes of the new economic policy, as it did in other more advanced econ-
omies, although protectionism was more radical in Spain. The outcome could
not have been worse, since Spanish GDP per capita fell by 19 points between
1891 and 1913 compared to the European average, and levels of well-being
among the population were lower (Maluquer de Motes 2002). In addition,
farming of marginal land grew and Spanish migration reached 3.4 million
people between 1881 and 1910, whereas between 1851 and 1880 it had only
stood at 0.2 million. Nevertheless, the arrival of capital resulting from the loss
of territories overseas, and equivalent to one quarter of annual national rent,
enabled the creation of large modern businesses, particularly in the banking
sector, as well as the spread of technologies linked to the second technological
revolution, such as electricity, and which allowed the burden of energy costs
to be overcome.
During the period leading up to the start of the Great War, the moderate
growth in the Spanish economy did not enable any headway to be made in
production convergence and modernisation as it had done during the pre-
vious period. Some progress was made, yet this was soon to evidence all its
weaknesses in the face of such a monumentally adverse event as the First
World War.
Yet it was precisely during some years of this pre-war period, after 1907,
when Norte and MZA were to have their finest hour, if we consider the sta-
bility they enjoyed and the dividends they paid out to their shareholders. It
proved to be a kind of swan song before the great crisis triggered by the war.
The leading companies were finally enjoying what they had set out to achieve:
sharing traffic in their areas of influence. Norte and MZA in fact represented
a duopoly, while Andaluces and Oeste, in serious difficulties because of their
poor results, controlled regional traffic in the south and west of the peninsula
(Cuéllar & Sánchez 2008).
Norte experienced greater difficulties than MZA during this pre-war period,
as is reflected by the number of years at which they ran at a loss (Norte was
making a loss between 1893– 1897 and again between 1904– 1906). This
meant fewer dividends being paid out to its shareholders. Specifically, in ten
of the twenty years between 1900 and 1920, Norte’s shareholders failed to
3
2
1

receive any dividend, while the average for the period as a whole only came to
7.78 pesetas after tax. In contrast, MZA shareholders received dividends every
year at an average of 14.28 pesetas per share. Only in 1912 and in 1913 did
the two companies manage to get the market value of their shares to rise above
the nominal value.
Norte enjoyed a good run in the early 1880s thanks to wine exports to
France, despite the agribusiness crisis which Spain was experiencing. However,
in the 1890s and early years of the twentieth century, losses once again appeared.
This was because there was no increase in revenue as a result of the reduc-
tion in traffic and the end of exports to France, and due to the higher costs –
particularly financial costs –resulting from the debt taken on when the com-
pany had expanded, coupled with a depreciation of the peseta vis-à-vis the franc,
the currency in which interest payments were indexed. These circumstances
led to heavy losses for Norte. After 1895, the company was forced to seek
agreements with its shareholders and bondholders in order to alleviate, in the
short term, the burden of its commitments. The reduction in operating costs,
a stronger peseta compared to the franc and the gradually paying off of the
bonds that were fixed in francs led to an improvement in performance until the
economic and social upheavals that triggered the First World War, which once
again gave rise to losses.
Amongst the larger companies, Andaluces was one of the last to be set
up. This meant they were able to avoid the financing costs which others had
incurred when forced to face the crisis of the late 1860s: the burden of bonds
was not as heavy for them as it proved to be for other companies. Yet this late
entry came at a price –its lines did not run to Madrid. Moreover, it was hit by
the crisis of the late nineteenth century after 1894, which forced it, as occurred
with Norte, to suspend regular payment of interest and amortisation of bonds.
During the first decades of the twentieth century it had pursued its policy of
annexing small companies, which led to a gradual increase in kilometres of
operating track from 1,261 in 1913 to the 1,646 it had when it was taken over
in 1936. More than annexations or take-overs, it was a “reunification of pro-
vincial or district lines into a regional size company” (Tedde de Lorca 1980).
This policy failed to have any positive effects for Andaluces’s operation since
it put paid to the founders’ initial idea which was based on limiting their own
investment and keeping down levels of debt, added to which it also reduced the
chance of making any profit. This was reflected in the results, with losses that
persisted over time as a result of the war. Moreover, between 1900 and 1920,
its shareholders received nothing in nine of the years and the average was a
mere 4.98 pesetas.
The Change of Model: From the System of Concessions to

Intervention, 1914–1931
In the major railway companies, financing through outside resources had
grown much more than through their own resources. Up until that point,
attempts to solve any problems which emerged had involved extending the
4
2
1

networks. Yet once the companies had expanded all they could, and with
few resources available and no other interesting companies left to take over,
where would the solutions to new problems come from now? Any possible
agreements between the companies who controlled the railway oligopoly
were bound to prove tricky, with each jealously guarding both the network it
ran as well as its own particular style of management.
Yet there were fresh difficulties to come. These were of an intensity and were
on a scale with such devastating repercussions that had been unimaginable up
until that point: the First World War. This had an impact on absolutely every-
thing, both in the countries that were actually fighting as well as in neutral
countries, and indeed right up until at least the crisis and depression of the
1930s. Spain was no stranger to all of these circumstances, and the war’s effect
on the railways, a sector regulated by the State, was enormous. The problems
of regulation through concessions became evident and indeed were aggravated
since these were about to expire. Economic difficulties increased, and com-
panies lacked the freedom to establish prices. Problems were exacerbated
by the inflation triggered as a result of the 1914–18 conflict. Companies lost
control over running costs. It should be remembered that between 1913 and
1920 these increased for Norte at an annual rate of 14.0%, whilst in the case
of MZA they did so at an annual rate of 17.7% and in Andaluces at 14.2%.
Meanwhile, revenue from freight and passenger traffic only grew by 8.7% in
Norte, by 8.9% in MZA and by 8.1% in Andaluces.
The lack of control over costs and inflation and with revenue being regulated,
the sector plunged into a crisis which the railways would not be able to over-
come, if we consider the issue from an economic perspective. With the excep-
tion of MZA, all of the other Spanish railway companies ran at a loss for at
least one year or were unable to overturn their losses.
This accumulation of circumstances forced the State, which up until that
point had taken a back seat, to intervene more directly in the sector. Its eco-
nomic importance and the labour conflict sparked by railway workers, in par-
ticular after the demonstrations of 1916 and 1917, coupled with social demand
for an inexpensive and efficient system of transport brought things to a head.
What had been a regulating State was now to become, because of the conflict,
an intervening State. There were calls for a change to the operating system.
Although there was still no talk of nationalisation, in the sense that the State
would exercise its right to rescue the concessions and directly run the railways
itself, the issue –the “railway problem” –was being discussed in any number
of forums: parliament, specialised press, and newspapers. The problem was
that although positions were not clear, the manifestations made both during
and after the war left no room for doubt: there were delays and disorder in
operating, the decapitalisation of assets, an impending reversion to the State
of the first concessions that had been granted, difficulties securing funding in
the market, and each company was incapable on their own to assume the
increased running costs and rising labour costs imposed by the need to match
salaries to inflation and to adapt the workforce to the legislation imposed by
the eight-hour day.
5
2
1

For the infrastructure ministers of the period, the issue of what was to be
done with the railways was at the top of their agenda. All other investments
were conditional upon the “railway problem” being solved. The solution pre-
ferred by the railway companies themselves involved the State authorising
them to increase the maximum charges as much as possible so as to guar-
antee financial independence: they would thus regain control over revenue and
would obtain the flexibility to adapt charges to business criteria. For its part,
the State was in doubt about what to do, fearing, as it did, a social backlash
to any hike in prices coupled with its limited scope for action given the insti-
tutional instability of the moment. There were ministers who barely had time
to gather together the necessary information given how little time they were
actually in office.
Minister Cambó agreed to an increase in prices in December 1918, although
not in the terms the companies wanted, since the percentage rise was lower than
requested and was applied to existing charges and not to the maximum prices,
which meant a difference of many millions. In 1920, one of his successors
instigated the system of refundable advance payments, an intermediate
solution which failed to satisfy almost anybody since, in sum, it recognised
the need to boost the companies’ revenue yet made them dependent upon the
resources which the State could acquire. Through these advance payments, the
companies were able to finance labour costs and to purchase material. This
measure heralded a decisive landmark in State–company relations, as from
that moment onwards intervention can be said to have begun. The State set
out that all of these amounts should be clearly distinguished in the companies’
accounts and, drawing on the need to ensure control over what was being done
with the funds provided, organised administrative intervention systems: the
Higher Railways Council.
Parliament discussed the issue of recouping the concessions through various
projects, yet in all the cases in question they were faced with what was an
insurmountable obstacle for the prevailing liberal mentality: the need to com-
pensate the companies in accordance with the stipulations laid down by law.
The problem was that the State lacked the necessary resources to do so. There
was also the problem of what to do later as regards running the railways once
they came under state control.
Most of the concessions were for 99 years, although some lines had been
granted on a perpetual basis. This meant that there were many different dates
on which lines would revert to the State. As the collateral of the bonds were
the operating results of the lines over a long period of time, the impending
expiry date of the concessions reduced the time to pay back the debt and made
debt issuance with shorter maturity harder. All of this meant that it was impos-
sible for the companies to self-finance and explains why, given the objective
need for financial resources, the State would resort to subsidising the railway
companies.
The declaration made by General Primo de Rivera in September 1923 came
when the intermediate solution had already been put into effect: advance
payments and the creation of the Higher Council. These measures enabled the
6
2
1

major companies, who would later be followed by Andaluces, to recover in
terms of financial performance and as regards volume of transport, and this
allowed them to almost reach pre-war levels. However, no progress had been
made vis-à-vis the underlying issue: what role the State was to play.
For public opinion, the solutions were slow in coming. This encouraged the
dictator to make the railway problem the star project among the issues which
the dictatorship would deal with and which the previous political system of
the “Restoration” had shown itself incapable of solving. The measures they
adopted in this matter were also doomed to failure because their project, which
was over ambitious and even unrealistic in some cases, was left unfinished
due to the lack of sufficient financial resources. Moreover, the problem was
inherited by the Second Republic, who were only able to worsen the situation.
This was the time of the Railway Statute, which, after 1926, was able to draw
on funding from the State Railway Fund. The Fund was fed by issuing public
debt and substantially increased the resources obtained through the advance
payment system. Without these financial resources, the companies would have
collapsed after 1926 under the weight of their debt. Specifically, between 1926
and 1935, companies’ property, plants, and equipment barley increased, while
the State’s did so in Norte by 18.6% and in MZA by 29.4% –that is to say,
it was the State that was keeping the companies afloat. During this period,
revenue went up but at a slower rate than during the war. Although financial
expenses were greater, operating costs rose less than they had during the pre-
vious cycle and profits were channelled to shareholders. In this regard, it was
Andaluces who came off worst, since although their revenue increased between
1921 and 1930, their operating costs did so even more. The company’s best
results were obtained in 1924, after which the firm went into decline and it
would eventually run at a loss after 1928.
The Railway Fund provided the companies with money which they would
never have been able to obtain through revenue from traffic. Thanks to
the funds made available, the companies were able to invest in purchasing
machinery and in renewing fixed material and stations, which had remained
greatly outdated as a result of the difficulties caused by the war. The differences
in results between one company and another are largely due to the favourable
treatment received by Norte and MZA. By way of an example, it should be
remembered that the support given to Norte in 1928 by the Railway Fund
was equivalent to 27.6% of its operating revenue. Not surprisingly, all of these
amounts came to swell the State’s property, plants, and equipment.
The aim of the Fund’s statute was to endow the companies with the
resources that would enable them to return to operating normally and place
their house in order. Nevertheless, the formula applied proved to be the wrong
one. Firstly, the investments failed to reach the whole of the network, which
would have been impossible in any case. Secondly, the pace of the investments
would have needed to have been maintained over time, which was also impos-
sible for the State, and thirdly because it left the companies unable to secure
resources through the financial markets or by raising prices. The resources
obtained by the Fund were also devoted to other investments, some of which
7
2
1

proved to be preposterous even before the works had concluded. The weight
of the works that had already been started but that were not finished coupled
with projects that were running at a loss from day one, was later to fall on
the shoulders of the republican governments, making their stability even more
difficult.
The End of the Concession System: 1931–1941

The final stage in chronological terms corresponds to the 1930s, when com-
panies were hit particularly hard by the international economic crisis, com-
petition from the roads, and republican legislation, which the companies felt
was hostile to their interests. MZA’s decline in terms of results preceded that
of Norte. The companies sought to adopt measures to cut costs, which they
managed to achieve between 1931 and 1932, but which they were subse-
quently unable to maintain. Between 1931 and 1935, revenue from traffic for
Norte and MZA fell. Not even the increase in prices approved in May 1934
was able to help the companies’ revenue recover. Once again, a deeper analysis,
through a study of how freight transport evolved, reflects a continued decline
after 1929 in MZA and after 1930 in Norte. The rise in prices did at least help
to contain the slump in revenue, even though the volume of traffic dropped.
In sum, the companies’ final crisis to a large extent reflected the more general
crisis which the Spanish economy was experiencing.
The amount of rail traffic during this period of the twentieth century can
be divided into four stages which very closely reflect the respective economic
situations: the first, between 1898 and 1914, when companies were affected by
the stagnation of the Spanish economy, at least until 1907; the second, between
1914 and 1920, when operating difficulties arose due to the greater relative
increase in costs resulting from the Great War; the third, between 1921 and
1930, which was heightened by the problems caused by the weight of debt and
financial costs; and finally, between 1931 and the onset of the Civil War, when
these already existing difficulties were further compounded by the situation
concerning the international economic cycle and the emerging competition.
As already pointed out, Andaluces began to incur losses after 1928, and
these were only to increase over the years. The company abandoned oper-
ation of its lines in May 1936, when it was taken control of by the State and
handed over to another company which had suffered the same fate in 1928,
the Nacional del Oeste de España. In both instances, the State seized the com-
panies because their concessionaires had ceased to operate the lines. As a result,
there was no nationalisation. This was to occur in 1941 for the whole of the
normal gauge network and would give rise to the Spanish National Railways
Networks (RENFE).
As a result, prior to the Civil War the Spanish railway system was on the
brink of collapse. Norte and MZA were running at a loss and investment had
once again come to a halt when the Fund suspended support in 1930 and the
other two companies had already been seized by the State, who assumed their
deficit.
8
2
1
Final Considerations
Railway companies contributed to the process of economic growth in Spain.
They helped towards a better distribution of production resources, to a reduc-
tion in the price of transport, to the integration of the domestic market, and to
the mobility of people as well as their goods and capital. In this undertaking,
private capital played a key role, yet so did the State –albeit within its limited
scope of action –by sparing no effort, in accordance with the prevailing liberal
mentality, when it came to encouraging such investments.
Throughout these almost one hundred years of railways operating in pri-
vate hands, the sector advanced towards modernisation and convergence. This
effort was especially intense in the final two decades of the period considered,
and all of the indicators point to this having been the case. The long-term per-
spective thus acquires particular interest in gauging an effort which, with its
ups and down, proved extraordinary: extending and improving the railway
system, making unquestionable progress in terms of the volume of goods and
passengers carried and, at the same time, including a substantial investment
from both public and private initiatives.
Notes
1 For historiographical debates concerning Spanish railways, see Muñoz Rubio 2018.
2 On the role played by the State, (Artola 1978).
References
Anes, R. 1978. Relaciones entre el ferrocarril y la economía española (1865–1935). In
Los ferrocarriles en España 1844–1943, vol. 2, ed M. Artola, 355–541. Madrid:
Banco de España.
Artola, M. 1978. La acción del Estado. In Los ferrocarriles en España 1844–1943, vol.
1, ed M. Artola, 339–453. Madrid: Banco de España.
Artola, M. 1978. Los ferrocarriles en España. 2 vols. Madrid: Banco de España.
Barquín, R. & P. P. Ortúñez. 2019. “El sector del transporte en la guerra civil española.”
In El impacto de la Guerra Civil española en el sector terciario, ed. M. Fernández-
Paradas and C. Larrinaga, 131–152. Granada: Comares.
Broder, A. 2012: Los ferrocarriles españoles (1845– 1913): el gran negocio de los
franceses. Madrid: Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles.
Carreras, A. & X. Tafunell. 2003. Historia económica de la España contemporánea.
Comín, F., P. Martín, M. Muñoz, & J. Vidal. 1998. 50 años de historia de los ferrocarriles
españoles. Madrid: Editorial Anaya y FFE.
Cuéllar, D. & A. Sánchez. 2008. 150 años de ferrocarril en Andalucía: un balance.
Sevilla: Consejería de Obras Públicas y Transportes de la Junta de Andalucía.
Madrazo, S. 1984. El sistema de transportes en España, 1750–1850. Madrid: Colegio
de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos-Ediciones Turner.
Maluquer de Motes, J. 2002. Crisis y recuperación económica en la Restauración
(1882–1913). In Historia Económica de España, siglos X-XX, ed. F. Comín, M.
Hernández and E. Llopis, 243–284. Barcelona: Crítica.
9
2
1

Moreno Fernández, J. 1996. El ancho de la vía en los ferrocarriles españoles: de
Espartero a Alfonso XIII. Madrid: Toral Technical Trade.
Muñoz Rubio, M. 2015. El transporte ferroviario de ganado y el mercado entre 1848 y
1913. Revista de Historia Agraria 67: 79–109.
Muñoz Rubio, M. 2018. Los «grandes debates» de la historiografía ferroviaria española
y su influencia en la historiografía general y económica. Revista de la historia de la
economía y de la empresa 12: 89–122.
Muñoz Rubio, M. & P. P. Ortúñez, 2013a. Los transportes y las comunicaciones: La
transición de modelos tradicionales a industriales. In Historia Económica de España,
ed. A. González and J. M. Matés 209–241. Barcelona: Ariel.
Muñoz Rubio, M. & P. P. Ortúñez, 2013b. Los transportes y las comunicaciones en
la España de la primera modernidad. In Historia Económica de España, ed. A.
González and J. M. Matés 551–591. Barcelona: Ariel.
Muñoz, M., J. Sanz & J. Vidal. 1999. Siglo y medio del ferrocarril en España, 1848–
1998. Economía, Industria y Sociedad. Madrid: FFE.
Ortúñez, P. P. 1999. El proceso de nacionalización de los Ferrocarriles en España.
Historia de las grandes compañías ferroviarias, 1913–1943. PhD diss., Univ of
Valladolid.
Tedde de Lorca, P. 1978. Las Compañías ferroviarias en España (1855–1935). In Los
ferrocarriles en España 1844–1943, vol. 2, ed M. Artola, 13–355. Madrid: Banco
de España.
Tedde de Lorca, P. 1980. La compañía de los Ferrocarriles Andaluces (1878–1920), una
empresa de transportes en la España de la Restauración. Investigaciones Económicas
12: 27–76.
Tortella Casares, G. 1973. Los orígenes del capitalismo en España. Banca, Industria y
Ferrocarriles en el siglo XIX. Madrid: Tecnos.
Vidal Olivares, J. 1999. La estructura de la propiedad, de la organización y la gestión de
una gran empresa ferroviaria: la Compañía de los Caminos de Hierro del Norte de
España, 1858–1936. Revista de Historia Económica 3: 623–662.
Vidal Olivares, J. & P. P. Ortúñez. 2002. The Internationalisation of Ownership of the
Spanish Railway Companies, 1858–1936. Business History 44: 29–54.
0
3
1
9
The Spanish Travel Agency
Business in the Early Years of the
Franco Regime
Carlos Larrinaga
Introduction1
Currently, there are around 9,000 travel agencies in Spain. This figure is far
removed from the maximum number recorded in 2008 when there were
more than 13,000 establishments. The severe economic crisis beginning in
this year caused this figure to fall to 8,000. The crisis led to the closure of
approximately 5,000 offices, including the large networks of the Marsans and
Orizonia groups, which went bankrupt in 2010 and 2013 respectively. This
reduction in the number of agencies gave rise to a traumatic, yet necessary,
restructuring of the sector. In Spain, the sector was too large for the size of
the market and compared to other European tourist issuers where there were
fewer but larger companies. After 2014, the sector began to experience growth
in terms of volume of production and the level of employment. A recovery
phase began, and the number of agencies increased to the current amount
of 9,000. However, this figure could fall again due to the impact that the
COVID-19 pandemic is having on the sector2.
In addition to the above-mentioned crisis, we should also remember the
impact that new technologies have been having on the sector in recent years,
particularly e-commerce in the travel industry. The ability to make direct
purchases through the websites of airlines or online agencies means that
many users opt for this formula and no longer visit traditional travel agencies.
On the other hand, there are also users who believe that planning their trips
through the Internet requires too much time. For example, 58% of Spanish
passengers believe that they invest more time than desired on purchasing a
plane ticket online. And 42% feel the same about making a hotel reservation3.
Factors such as these and the fact that there is still a segment of the population
that is unfamiliar with these purchasing techniques explain the existence of a
large number of travel agencies in Spain. These agencies have exhibited great
resilience in order to survive as a sector. This resilience has characterised the
industry throughout its history of over 150 years.
Although this study focuses exclusively on the early years of the Franco
regime, travel agencies have existed in Spain since the end of the nineteenth
century. In fact, the Compañía Internacional Wagons-Lits opened its first office
in Madrid as early as 1880 (Bayón & Fernández Fúster 2005, 31). Thomas
1
3
The Spanish Travel Agency Business 131

Cook opened its first agency in 1892, also in the Spanish capital (Vallejo &
Larrinaga 2020, 9). This was practically half a century after it had organised its
first trip between Leicester and Loughborough by train in 1841, transporting
a group of people to an anti-alcoholic congress. New travelling possibilities
offered by the railways had emerged and Cook knew how to identify them.
In fact, it was precisely within this new context of the development of the
different modes of transport that the travel agency was born as a new form
of business. In this respect, Thomas Cook was a visionary, and he became the
world’s first travel agent. He sought to organise pleasure trips for large groups
of people while also exercising an educational function. His first operation
involved transporting 500 people to Loughborough and after just a few years
this figure had multiplied. In 1851 he arranged for 150,000 people, all from
Yorkshire, to travel to the Great Exhibition in London. Four years later he did
the same but this time to the Exhibition in Paris. From then on, his name was
associated with international travel. By the time he opened his first office in
London in 1865, Cook was a national and international travel entrepreneur.
And in 1891, the year when he celebrated his golden wedding anniversary in
the Hotel Metropole in London, he had become a global agent (Brendon 1991;
Rae 1891).
Thomas Cook had laid the foundations of a business destined for success.
The age of industrialisation brought with it the transport revolution and a
revolution in travel. This increased mobility led to a transformation in the way
people travelled and the sector shifted towards the collective management of
travel, thus avoiding the need for each service provider to manage passengers
directly. From then on, travelling involved tickets, travel assistance, accommo-
dation, guides, or interpreters once the tourists had arrived in the destination,
etc. These functions would become those of a travel agency. This does not
mean that all trips, or even most of them, were mediated (Vallejo & Larrinaga
2020, p. 1). Cook laid the foundations of this business model which grad-
ually expanded not only throughout Great Britain (Pimlott 1977 (1947 1ª),
Chapter 11) but also across other European countries (Visentin 1995) and the
United States (Santis 1978). The first European travel agencies were: Bennett in
Norway (1850), Stangen in Germany (1863), Lubin in France (1873), Lissone
in the Netherlands (1876), and Massimiliano Chiari in Italy (1878) (Lanquar
1979, p. 5; Visentin 1995, p. 303). Therefore, we should consider these travel
broker companies as a fundamental part of the birth of modern tourism,
by then understood as an industry and therefore with commercial purposes
(Norval 1936).
With respect to Spain, we have already mentioned Cook’s first agency in
Madrid. From then, the sector developed slowly but gradually gained promin-
ence over the following decades (Vallejo & Larrinaga 2020) In fact, we should
look for the origins of travel agencies in the first third of the twentieth century
in light of the aforementioned tourism industry. During these years, the first
tourism system, with its regional varieties, was taking shape in Spain, incorp-
orating all of the participating agents (Vallejo, 2018). This system included
different types of companies and entrepreneurs (hotels, transport, etc.) and,
2
3
1
132 Carlos Larrinaga

of course, the travel agents. As well as the foreign operators established in
Spain, the first Spanish travel agencies were also constituted, such as Viajes
Marsansrof (1910) in Barcelona and, a few years later, Eusebio Cafranga in
San Sebastián which were among the most important, although there were
more. As would be expected, the business was affected somewhat by the Civil
War (1936–1939), although it did not disappear. Some agencies, such as Cook
and Cafranga, even benefitted thanks to the tourism activities implemented by
the Franco authorities in those areas of Spain under their control in the years
1938 and 1939 (Larrinaga 2019).
The Decree of 19 February 1942 Regarding Travel Agencies

Apart from the death toll and the large number of wounded and those who
had been displaced or who had fled, the war also had a strong impact on all
areas of the economy, including tourism. It is true that before the conflict Spain
was not exactly a leading force in tourism. However, the country did have a
tourism industry. The International Exhibitions of Barcelona and Seville of
1929 had led to an increase in the number of foreign tourists. Although it
only accounted for a small part of GDP, a tourism industry was starting to
take shape and in places such as San Sebastián, Santander, Barcelona, Madrid,
or Mallorca, it was becoming more prominent. The bombing during the war
damaged a good part of this industry and the tourist flows. In this sense, the
breakout of the Second World War shortly after the end of the Civil War did
not help at all. However, this did not prevent the new authorities of Franco’s
regime from showing an interest in a sector which, in the medium term, could
be an important source of wealth and bring in the sought-after foreign cur-
rency (Bolín 1967, p. 333).
Shortly after the end of the conflict, through the law of 8 August 1939,
the Central State Administration was reorganised so that the former national
ministries became known as Directorate Generals from this date. For the case
in hand, the National Tourism Service changed to the Directorate General of
Tourism (GDT). The same person remained at the head of this organisation,
namely the lawyer and journalist Luis Bolín, who had already held positions
of responsibility in tourism at the end of the 1920s. Bolín was a born propa-
gandist and an enthusiast of tourism and believed that Spain could become
a leader in tourism, which, in fact, it did. The GDT was created for the pur-
pose of coordinating all the tourist aspects related to the private sector. In
fact, through the Franco dictatorship’s desire to control the private sector, the
GDT carried out intense legislative activity that revealed the clearly interven-
tionist policy of the regime in tourism matters (Correyero 2005, pp. 62–63;
Moreno 2007, pp. 152 & 159–160). From the outset, the DGT collaborated in
the reconstruction of Spain, stimulating the country’s promotion and helping
to prepare it to welcome national and foreign tourists. It readily carried out
exceptional propaganda work, relying mainly on the private sector, specifically,
the Spanish Federation of Trade Unions of Initiatives and Tourism (FESIT in its
Spanish acronym) and travel agencies (Correyero & Cal 2008, p. 302).
31

According to Bolín, it was very important to have the support of travel
agencies as they knew the markets and had experience in managing tourism
and selling Spain to foreign tourists (Vallejo & Concejal 2018, p. 399). In fact,
the new functions of travel agencies in Spain were regulated in the Decree of
19 February 1942 (Boletín Oficial del Estado [Official State Gazette], 6-5-
1942), which aspired to taking full control of their activity to avoid competi-
tion with the state. Tourism as such was the exclusive competence of the state,
and, according to Article 2, travel agencies were reserved for the following
purposes and business: selling tickets and reserving seats in all kinds of regular
transport, booking hotel rooms and services, organising package tours, group
tours, excursions, and city visits.
The decree classified the agencies into two groups. Group A would be made
up of those agencies which, dedicated to the activities indicated in Article 2,
fulfilled the following requirements: 1) they had to be depository entities and
be able to issue tickets of the International Union or, failing that, of three
European nations; 2) they had to be concessionaires for the sale of combined
coupon tickets of the National Network of Spanish Railways; 3) they had to
be concessionaires for the sale of tickets of the Spanish Airline Companies;
4) they had to be authorised to sell tickets for the principal Spanish Navigation
Companies; and 5) they had to have civil liability insurance arranged to cover
the risks of both group and individual travel. Therefore, those agencies that
did not comply with these conditions would be included in Group B, acting as
intermediaries between the public and the agencies of Group A, only providing
the tickets and bonds issued by them.
Once the decree had been issued and published, the applications submitted
were studied so that, from the month of December onwards, the classifications
or licences granted to group A agencies appeared in the Boletín Oficial del Estado
(Official State Gazette). Between 1942 and 1944 the first twelve agencies of
group A were authorised, namely: Marsans, Internacional Expreso, Cafranga,
Iberia, Wagons-Lits Cook, Bakumar, Hispania, Meliá, Deutsche America Linie,
Agencia General de las Compañías Hamburguesas, Sommariva, and Vincit. Of
these twelve, four were of foreign origin: Wagons-Lits Cook, Deutsche America
Linie, Agencia General de las Compañías Hamburguesas, and Sommariva. Of
these, Wagons-Lits Cook and Sommariva had been working in Spain for many
years. Furthermore, during the war, the office of Wagons-Lits Cook in San
Sebastián had remained open. After the conflict, these agencies sought to pos-
ition themselves in the Spanish market, so that, once the Second World War
was over, they could restore the flow of foreign tourists to Spain. In fact, in
1942, apart from its head office in Madrid, Wagons-Lits Cook had another
12 agencies and 15 sub- agencies distributed throughout Spain, excluding
the Balearic and Canary Islands. It was the travel company with the greatest
presence in the country. Being one of the first travel agencies to establish itself
in Spain at the end of the nineteenth century had enabled it to gain an excellent
knowledge of the business and of the country’s tourism potential.
In terms of the number of agencies, it was followed by Bakumar, which
had its head office in Málaga. By 1943 this company had a further eight
4
3
1

agencies. This was followed by Cafranga and Marsans, with seven and five
establishments respectively. Of the remaining agencies, the case of Meliá is par-
ticularly noteworthy. José Meliá Sinisterra (Valencia, 1911) started his career
in the family business, which was a citrus fruit exporter and shipping agency.
Then in 1941 he created Meliá y Compañía. The end of the Second World War
gave rise to a large number of displacements: the diaspora of deserters, exiles,
prisoners, forced labourers, Jews, survivors, fugitive Nazis, people anxious to
return to their home countries, and people in search of a new country. Like
other agencies in southern Europe, Meliá transported Jews to America and
Palestine, which enabled it to gain considerable experience in the organisation
of trips, a know-how that would be developed further in his new company,
Viajes Meliá, S.A. (1947) (Fernández Fúster 1991, 488; Buades 2004, 94).
At the same time, the first classifications were also being awarded to Group
B agencies, that is, to those agencies acting as intermediaries between the
main Group A companies and their clients. Taking into account the infor-
mation in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (Official State Gazette), we can
observe a territorial expansion of these agencies and, therefore, an expansion
of the business. Moreover, we can see that the first three agencies of Group
A (Marsans, Internacional Expreso, and Cafranga) were those with the most
intermediaries, enabling them to strengthen their presence in certain areas of
the country. Furthermore, the changes occurring between them with respect
to the same Group B agency are also interesting, revealing a certain conflict
between the large agencies of the sector at a difficult moment in the recon-
struction of the tourism business after the Civil War and the Second World
War. Indeed, the fact that some of these agencies of Group B ceased trading is
clear proof of this.
In addition, the DGT created an Advisory Commission made up of the 12
largest agencies operating in Spain (Group A). This Commission had a merely
advisory function and Ricardo Jaspe, representing the DGT itself, occupied
the secretariat of an institution known as the Commission of Twelve, which
existed until 26 February 1963 (Correyero & Cal, p. 398). The Permanent
Commission of Travel Agencies, created on 10 December 1943, was more
decisive. This was made up of Group A travel agencies and agents from other
sectors interested in resolving certain problems that were affecting the tourism
activity in Spain (DGT, RENFE, merchant marine, airlines, or the Sindicato
Vertical de Hostelería, to name but a few)4.
Travel Agencies in Spain After the Second World War

At the end of the Second World War, the government and the different pri-
vate agents in the tourism sector placed their hopes in the recovery of the
flow of foreign visitors to Spain. However, these hopes took some time to be
fulfilled. After the surrender of the German authorities in May 1945, Spain
became isolated from the world due to its support of the dictatorships of the
Axis alliance during the conflict. In fact, Spain was not invited to the San
Francisco conference, opening on 25 April of the same year, and was subject to
5
3
1

international isolation as imposed by a resolution of the United Nations. The
withdrawal of ambassadors and the closure of the French border were direct
consequences of this repudiation. This, combined with the destruction of trans-
port infrastructures (roads, bridges, railway lines), buildings (tourist accom-
modation, for example) and the severe shortages (of food, fuel, etc.) suffered
by the country in the years immediately following the end of the Civil War
explain the difficult moment experienced by the receptive tourism sector in
Spain during these years. In 1945 Spain received 39.2 thousand tourists. This
figure more than doubled the following year to 83.6 thousand. From this year
the number of inbound tourists increased progressively, and by 1949 the figure
had surpassed that of 1930, the highest before the Civil War (Tena 2005, 641).
At this point, we should remember that immediately after the Second World
War, the political, economic, and social situation of the majority of western
European countries did not incite people to take pleasure trips: at least until
the reconstruction process began, thanks largely to the Marshall Plan. Only
from this moment did the tourist flows begin to recover gradually and the
interest in the Mediterranean as a holiday destination began to increase. This
would explain the high figure of 1949 and how it evolved in subsequent years.
That said, although it is true that the Mediterranean was becoming a tourist
destination before the Second World War (Pemble 1987), it was after the War
that this phenomenon spread and eventually consolidated. Improvements were
made to the Mediterranean beaches and there was a considerable increase in
tourist flow to these destinations. The key to such a flow was the increased eco-
nomic capacity of European and North American households, which had the
money and time needed to participate in tourist activities. There were several
factors which contributed to this, namely: the economic prosperity of North
America and a large part of Europe, the increase in personal income of increas-
ingly large sectors of the population, the improvement of means of transport
(especially aeroplanes), the widespread introduction of paid holidays, and the
increase in free time (Pellejero 2005, p. 92).
With respect to the travel agencies, as from the Decree of February 1942, the
number of sales points gradually increased. In 1941 there were 49 (Fernández
Fúster 1991, p. 481) and by 1951 there were 131 (Serra Williamson 1951,
pp. 63–65). This was a considerable increase. A good example is one of the
most important Spanish travel agencies of that time, Viajes Cafranga, which,
as we have seen, had seven establishments in 1942. In 1945, as well as its head
office in San Sebastián, it had eight branches, four offices and two Group B
agencies associated to it. After the conflagration, Viajes Cafranga expanded
the business considerably, seeking to position itself for when the Second World
War ended. In fact, the number of foreign tourists began to recover, although
very slowly due to the above-mentioned circumstances. Evidently, this recovery
was much slower than the Spanish tourism authorities would have liked.
Therefore, the travel agency entrepreneurs placed their hopes in the market of
Spanish tourists. They were very few in number, but domestic tourism never
disappeared completely. The destinations included San Sebastián, the Catalan
coast, or Mallorca. In this respect, we can talk about attempts to promote a
6
3
1

domestic tourism linked to the celebration of religious or popular events and
trade fairs, such as the Corpus of Toledo, the Pilar festival of Zaragoza, Holy
Week in Seville and other Spanish cities, the Fallas of Valencia, or bullfights in
different towns. The economic impact was small, but it enabled the promotion
of new tourism products, such as honeymoons in Mallorca, only affordable for
a privileged minority (Buades 2004, 106).
One of the entrepreneurs who identified Mallorca as a place to promote as
a tourist destination early on was José Meliá. However, he was not alone, as
Viajes Marsans and Viajes Iberia were also quick to see the possibilities of this
destination. In 1947, José Meliá, with a capital of three million pesetas lent to
him by his father, constituted Viajes Meliá, S.A. (Galindo 2000, p. 445). The
type of company he chose and the large amount of capital invested reveal a
determined commitment to travel at time that was not particularly easy. During
these years, his business, like the majority of agencies operating in Spain, was
focused mainly on the domestic customer. Apart from the sale of tickets or
hotel coupons, the activity of Viajes Meliá was focused on cruises to Mallorca,
tours, and excursions. The press advertisements between 1947 and 1949
reveal that trips were organised to Avila and the Piedra Monastery, Spanish
Morocco, Galicia, or Andalusia, and also to cities such as Valencia, Zaragoza,
San Sebastián, or Tarragona. And there were also European destinations such
as Andorra, Denmark, Italy, or France5. At the end of 1948, Meliá even began
to publish a tourism magazine called España (La Prensa (Granada) 1948
December 06, p. 4.), which addressed topics related to the sector.
In 1949, Viajes Meliá began its international expansion and created
Circuitos en Autocar por Europa (Coach Tours around Europe) (Galindo
2000, p. 445). Even in this stage of its internationalisation, branches were
opened in Paris, New York, and Mexico in the same year6. It was the first time
after the Civil War that a Spanish company had expanded overseas (Galindo
2000, p. 445). A good symptom that the business was starting to prosper was
the meeting held in Madrid in January 1950 of sixteen branch directors from
the different regional capitals in Spain and Mexico, who were even entertained
by the American airline Trans World Airlines (TWA) (Hoja Oficial del Lunes
1950 January 30, p. 3). Although this may seem like a mere anecdote, it was
actually much more than this if we take into account that TWA had been the
second airline to fly to Madrid after the World War. In fact, at the beginning
of 1946, the state company British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC)
began operating the first scheduled route to Franco’s Spain. Specifically, this
was a flight between London and Madrid that initially operated twice a week,
but this frequency soon increased to four times a week. TWA meanwhile,
began a stopover in Madrid on its New York–Cairo route. Similarly, KLM
flew three times a week from Amsterdam to Lisbon, passing through Madrid.
Still in 1946, Swissair and AB Aerotransport covered the Geneva-Madrid and
the Stockholm-Barcelona routes respectively. Bearing all of this in mind, it is
not surprising that in March 1947 Spain was admitted into the first inter-
national body, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) (Buades
2004, p. 102). Moreover, in August 1948, Viajes Marsans was inscribed in the
7
3
1

agency registry International Air Transport Association (IATA), which enabled
it to directly issue plane tickets of the different airlines belonging to this asso-
ciation. It is worth remembering that until then Marsans only issued purchase
orders which the corresponding airline subsequently exchanged for the defini-
tive ticket (Albert Piñole et al. 2005, p. 832).
This lunch with the directors of Viajes Meliá and representatives of TWA
should be contextualised within the tourism possibilities that Spain offered in
the early 1950s. At that time, Spain’s opening up to the rest of the world started
to consolidate. In fact, in January 1950, the Director General for Tourism,
Luis Bolín began a two-month tour of the United States, Mexico, and Cuba,
opening new Spanish Tourism Offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles,
and San Francisco with the objective of attracting a greater number of North
American tourists (Correyero & Cal 2008, p. 429).
Consequently, 1950 can be considered as a year of reference for the defini-
tive opening up of Spain to international tourism. This process had begun a few
years earlier when different countries started to lift restrictions and reach trade
agreements with Spain, including tourism agreements (Pack 2006, Chapter 2).
Moreover, in the United Nations General Assembly of November 1947, the
representative from the United States successfully opposed the reaffirmation of
the condemnation of the Franco regime and the imposition of new sanctions.
There is no doubt that the beginning of the Cold War favoured the interests
of the dictator. In fact, Franco attempted to accelerate the forming of ties with
Washington by offering logistical advantages and military bases on the Spanish
peninsula and islands throughout 1948, although without tangible results
(Correyero & Cal, pp. 420–421).
So, it is not surprising that in the aforementioned meeting of the directors
of Viajes Meliá, aspects related to the coordination of services and other issues
related to national and international tourism were addressed, as the tourism
potential of the country was by then very clear. In 1949, Spain received
283.9 thousand tourists. This figure increased to 457.0 thousand visitors in
the following year (Tena 2005, p. 641). Therefore, the fact that international
markets were interested in Spain from the end of the 1940s seems clear if we
take certain factors into account. First, the vice-president of the United Press,
Virgil M. Pinkley, also the head of this agency’s services in Europe, visited Spain
in mid-June 1947. In his statements to the press, Pinkley talked of his highly
favourable impressions of Spain. Furthermore, his visit coincided with that of
Eva Duarte de Perón, the first lady of the Argentine Republic who put Spain
in the spotlight during her stay. Second, at the end of 1947, Stanley Norman
Bliss, the director of important North American tourism services, arrived in
Spain. Not only did Bliss predict a brilliant future for Spanish tourism, but he
even affirmed that many tourists from Europe and America were anxious to
visit Spain (Correyero & Cal 2008, pp. 423–426). Third, the agent Eusebio
Cafranga travelled to the United States and London at the request of the most
important companies of the sector in these countries, interested in resuming
the tourism flow with Spain (La Voz de Galicia, 1948 November 11, p. 2).
Finally, between the 5th and 15th of October 1948, the 2nd International
8
3
1

Hotel Alliance Congress was held in Madrid, bringing together many hotel
companies from Europe and the United States (Correyero & Cal 2008, p. 427).
These expectations, and a slow improvement in the standard of living of
Spanish citizens, generated new opportunities for the local travel agencies.
Hence the increase in the number of travel sales offices that took place from
1951, as previously mentioned. In the specific case of Viajes Meliá, in 1943 it
only had the head office in Valencia, but in just seven years it had expanded
considerably with 16 agency directors meeting in Madrid in January 1950.
Therefore, the company’s initial social capital of 3 million pesetas had to be
extended to 300 million (Galindo 2000, p. 445). The case of Viajes Iberia was
similar. In 1942 its head office was in Palma de Mallorca, but the following
years were characterised by a gradual expansion of the firm’s activity, with the
opening of new offices (San Román 2017, 58).
Moreover, we should not forget that Spanish law stipulated that foreigners
had to travel under the care of the officially established travel agencies in
Spain, due to the fact that the government wished to conserve the authority
of directing these tourists towards the good hotels, comfortable transport,
and the approved itineraries. In this way, the risks of unsatisfied tourists and
the resulting negative propaganda were reduced as was the possible infil-
tration of anti-Franco activists. At the same time, these regulations sought
to protect the Spanish travel agencies from the competition of the large
international firms. There was even a law, passed in 1938, obliging travel
agencies to respect the official exchange rates and to inform the author-
ities of any infractions. Evidently, the Spanish government did not want
any surprises and wished to have everything under control. In fact, it was
not until December 1948 that a decisive step was taken to promote free
travel without the control of Spanish agencies. All visitors would begin to
enjoy a special tourism exchange rate of 25 pesetas per dollar and 100 per
sterling pound and the condition of a minimum daily amount of money of
200 pesetas per tourist was eliminated in May 1949. Finally, the relaxation
of the customs controls in the Pyrenees that year also contributed to the
increase in tourists (Pack 2006, pp. 47–49).
The 1950s: New Business Possibilities

In general terms, the 1940s had been weak from a tourism point of view, but
things changed significantly in the following years. The number of foreign
tourists grew considerably, not yet reaching the boom figures of the 1960s,
but definitely leaving behind the meagre numbers of the preceding decade. In
1950, the number of tourists visiting Spain was 457.0 thousand. This increased
to 1,560.9 thousand in 1956 and to 4,332.4 thousand in 1960 (Tena 2005,
pp. 641–642). This was one year after the approval of the Stabilisation Plan of
1959 which involved not only a greater economic opening up of the regime,
but also an accelerated removal of the autarchic policies. In fact, in the light
of the recovery of the international tourist flows, many things had begun to
change, from both a political and economic perspective.
9
3
1

From the political point of view, we must mention, first, a certain opening
of the Franco regime, which reduced the entry requirements of foreigners
(Pack 2006, Chapter 2). And, second, the political isolation to which Spain
had been subjected at the end of World War II was being lifted. This was fur-
ther accentuated after the renewal of the government in 1951. In 1950, the UN
removed the sanctions that it had imposed on Spain in 1946 and allowed the
return of the ambassadors. In addition, between 1949 and 1950, the US gov-
ernment approved the first financial aid items to Spain through three financial
entities, namely: the Chase Manhattan Bank, the National City Bank, and the
Export-Import Bank. To be more specific, within this opening framework, as
we have said before, in January 1950 the Director General of Tourism toured
the America for two months to promote tourism in Spain (Correyero & Cal
2008, p. 429). However, this process would culminate with two particularly
important events: the signing of the concordat with the Holy See in 1953 and
the Madrid Pacts of the same year with the United States, under which four
American military bases were to be installed on Spanish soil in exchange for
economic and military aid. In 1955, Spain became a full member of the UN
and from that year onwards, it was integrated into the various international
financial organisations. From an economic point of view, in addition to the
propaganda that was carried out from the Directorate General of Tourism,
the key to the success of the tourism sector can be seen in prices. The Spanish
tourism authorities resorted to the containment of prices to gain competition
from other countries. Under a dictatorial regime and with a managed economy,
government tourism officials imposed very low prices to make Spain a cheap
market (Fernández Fúster 1991, pp. 467–468).
At the same time, in the 1950s, the Spanish economy grew intensely and,
as a result, the Spanish population enjoyed a substantial improvement in its
level of economic well-being. Private domestic consumption grew by 4.9% per
year between 1950 and 1958. This increase was determined by the rise in both
nominal and real wages occurring from 1953. One consequence of this wage
increase was the growth in the demand for goods and services (Carreras &
Tafunell 2003, pp. 317–318). These included tourism services. In other words,
apart from the foreign tourists, there was an increasing number of Spaniards
partaking in tourism, some of whom opted for mediated trips. Therefore, it is
not surprising that the number of travel agencies increased considerably. In
1953 there were 48 travel agencies registered in group A (45 in operation) and
23 in group B (13 in operation), and a much higher number of sales offices. In
the same year, there were 329 authorised travel agencies in France (Arrillaga
1955, p. 304).
It is logical that the increase in the number of sales offices implied a greater
capitalisation of the existing travel agencies. We have already seen the case
of Meliá, although it is not the only one. For Viajes Iberia, the founding cap-
ital of 100,000 pesetas had increased to six million, in three capital increases:
the first in 1943, the second in 1952, and the last in 1955. The largest of the
three increases was carried out in 1955 due to the growth in tourist traffic
and in order to transfer and extend the Madrid office. In 1955 the company
0
4
1

had eight offices: four in the Balearic Islands and four in Barcelona, Madrid,
San Sebastián, and Valencia. Its activity was restricted to selling travel tickets,
organising excursions to and around Mallorca, and organising various
pilgrimages. However, the Banco of Crédito Balear, the owner of Viajes Iberia,
had been trying for years to focus its activity and avoid excessive diversifica-
tion. At that moment, the travel agency business and even the hotel business
did not form part of its plans. The Board of the bank therefore implemented an
asset liquidation policy that included the sale of Viajes Iberia. The buyer was
Lorenzo Fluxá Figuerola, a local footwear entrepreneur, who, at the beginning
of the 1950s, perceived the potential of tourism as the business of the future
in the Balearic Island. Turnover was fixed at nine million pesetas, which Fluxá
considered excessive. But in the end, he gave in and, in 1956, paid the price.
In order to close the purchase, Fluxá went into partnership with a group of
businessmen who were mainly from the farming sector. But after a short time,
Fluxá bought their shares and became the sole owner of Viajes Iberia.
The start of the business was not easy, because the financial situation of the
company was worse than he had imagined. Fluxá tried to sell Viajes Iberia to
Viajes Marsans, but the deal did not go ahead. So, if he wanted to relaunch
the company, he had to find the right people to help him. In a very short time
he added two important names to his business: Gabriel Escarrer Juliá and
José Linares Colom. The former was a young entrepreneur who had learned
his trade at Wagon-Lits as the manager of the foreign department in Palma.
Escarrer was responsible for making hotel bookings for visitors. With his
experience, he began his career in the hotel business by buying first the Hotel
Altair and then the Residencia Marbella and Hotel El Paso. Escarrer and
Fluxá met through a mutual friend, Jerónimo Salleras, who was a manager
at the Banco Español de Crédito and also worked as an adviser to Lorenzo
Fluxá. The alliance between Escarrer and Fluxá benefitted them both. Escarrer
would be responsible for management and strategy in both Viajes Iberia and
the hotels, and Fluxá would contribute his business experience and financial
support. As travel agents, Fluxá and Escarrer decided to change the focus
of Viajes Iberia and concentrate on the inbound tourist business because it
offered much greater possibilities than the outbound business. In order to
promote this inbound tourist business, Escarrer persuaded Fluxá to hire José
Linares Colom, who had worked at Wagon-Lits with him. Linares had exten-
sive experience in the sector, so his input could be highly beneficial for the
company. Therefore, Linares began to work in Viajes Iberia as Manager of
the Palma branch in May 1961. Also in the same year, the joint hotel activity
of Escarrer and Fluxá began when they set up a hotel management company
called Financiera Balear in which each had a share of 50 per cent (San Román
2017, pp. 66–69).
The possibilities offered by tourism were continuously growing and Lorenzo
Fluxá’s interest in both mediated trips and the hotel industry was no exception.
There were other travel agents who also began to work in the hotel business,
and even before Fluxá. The case of José Meliá, therefore, is paradigmatic. He
began his activities in the hotel business with the rental of the Hostal Cardenla
1
4

in Toledo in 1950. Five years later he opened the Hotel Bahía Palace, his first
luxury hotel in Mallorca, the tourist destination that he had been promoting
since the end of the 1940s. Known as Hotel Meliá Mallorca, it constituted the
first establishment of a hotel chain that over time became the largest in Spain
(Galindo 2000, p. 445).
But in spite of the new possibilities offered by tourism to the travel agencies,
there were also complaints and even failed operations. With respect to the
former, the Spanish travel agencies complained that the British operators hired
their services once and then, after acquiring experience, hired these services dir-
ectly from the hotels that the Spanish agencies had found and selected. In fact,
the British tourism companies established direct relationships with Catalan
and Mallorcan hotels in as early as 1950. There were even companies that
emerged after the war, such as Horizon Holidays and Sky Tours that opted to
sign contracts with more modest hotels so as to avoid bureaucracy and bring
down the prices. These companies even provided loans to the entrepreneurs
who wished to construct hotels in exchange for ensuring the reservation of
their rooms for the whole season at fixed prices (Pack 2006, pp. 59–60). With
respect to failed operations, it is worth mentioning that of Viajes Cafranga in
1952 with respect to the celebration in Barcelona of the 35th International
Eucharist Congress. The Ministry of Information and Tourism had granted
the exclusivity of this event to this company. However, the religious and social
success of the congress contrasted with a very poor tourism result, giving rise
to a significant setback for Viajes Cafranga, which almost led it to bankruptcy
(Bayón 2005, p. 337).
However, and to conclude, all of this indicates that the travel agency business,
despite the problems that we have mentioned, was a sub-sector of tourism that
became consolidated during these decades, particularly in the 1950s, when
both domestic and international tourist flows began to increase. This was the
case so much so that tourism not only served to compensate the trade deficit,
but also began to represent a greater share of Spain’s GDP, reaching 1.69% in
1959, the year when the aforementioned Stabilisation Plan was approved. This
movement of tourists led to a growing number of visitors opting to use the ser-
vices of travel agencies, giving rise to the expansion experienced by the sector
from the end of the 1940s.
Notes
1 This study forms part of the research project HAR2017-82679-C2-1-P, financed by
the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Government of Spain and
ERDF Funds.
2 www.hosteltur.com/125191_numero-agencias-se-estabiliza-9000-lejos-13000-2008.
html (accessed June 12, 2020).
3 www.hosteltur.com/ c omunidad/ n ota/ 0 21570_ l os- e spanoles- c onsideran- q ue-
planificar-viajes-por-internet-requiere-demasiado-tiempo.html (accessed June 12,
2020).
4 General Archive of the Administration, Culture (03)049.002TOP.22/ 44.203- 52.
704-box12.423.
2
4
1

5 prensahistorica.mcu.es/es/consulta/resultados_ocr.do (accessed June 17, 2020).
6 dbe.rah.es/biografias/26014/jose-melia-sinisterra (accessed June 18, 2020).
References
Albert Piñole, I., F. Bayón Mariné, & J. Cerra Culebras. 2005. Agencias de viajes. In
50 años del turismo español, ed. F. Bayón, 815–843. Madrid: Centro de Estudios
Ramón Areces.
Arrillaga, J. I. 1955. Sistema de política turística. Madrid: Aguilar.
Bayón, F. 2005. Política turística. In 50 años del turismo español, ed. F. Bayón, 331–380.
Madrid: Centro de Estudios Ramón Areces.
Bayón, F. & L. Ferández Fúster. 2005. Los orígenes. In 50 años del turismo español, ed.
F. Bayón, 25–43. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Ramón Areces.
Bolín, L. 1967. Spain. Los años vitales. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe.
Brendon, P. 1991. Thomas Cook. 150 years of popular tourism. London: Secker &
Warburg.
Buades, J. 2004. On brilla el sol. Turisme a Balears abans del boom. Eivissa: Res Publica.
Carreras, A. & X. Tafunell. 2003. Historia económica de la España contemporánea.
Correyero, B. 2005: La Administración turística española entre 1936 y 1951. Estudios
turísticos 163–164: 55–79.
Correyero, B. & R. Cal. 2008. Turismo: la mayor propaganda de Estado. Madrid:
Vision Net.
Fernández Fúster, L. 1991. Historia general del turismo de masas. Madrid: Alianza.
Galindo, P. 2000. José Meliá Sinisterra (1911–1999). In Cien empresarios españoles del
siglo XX, ed. E. Torres, 444–450. Madrid: Lid.
Lanquar, R. 1979. Agences et associations de voyages. Paris: PUF.
Larrinaga, C. 2019. El empresario Eusebio Cafranga y el negocio de las agencias de
viajes en España antes del turismo de masas. In Empresas y empresarios en España:
de mercaderes a industriales coord. J. M. Matés, 281–301. Madrid: Pirámide.
Moreno, A. 2007. Historia del turismo en España en el siglo XX. Madrid: Síntesis.
Norval, A. J. 1936. The Tourist Industry. London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons.
Pack, S. 2006. Tourism and Dictatorship. Gordonsville: Palgrave Macmillan.
Pellejero, C. 2005. Turismo y Economía en la Málaga del siglo XX. Revista de Historia
Industrial 29: 87–114.
Pemble, J. 1987. The Mediterranean Passion. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Pimlott, J. A. R. 1977, 1947 1a. The Englishman’s Holiday. A social history. Hassocks:
Harvester Press.
Rae, W. F. 1891. The Business of Travel: Fifty Years’ Record of Progress. London:
Thomas Cook & Son.
Santis, H. 1978. The democratization of travel: The travel agent in American history.
The Journal of American Culture 1(1), 1–17. doi.org/10.1111/j.1542-734X.
1978.0101_1.x
Serra Williamson, H. W. 1951. The Tourist Guide-book of Spain. Madrid: The Times
of Spain.
San Román, E. 2017. Building Stars. Madrid: Grupo Iberostar.
Tena, A. 2005. Sector exterior. In Estadísticas Históricas de España. Siglos XIX y XX
coord. A. Carreras, and X. Tafunell, 773-644. Bilbao: Fundación BBVA.
3
4
1

Vallejo, R. 2018. La formación de un sistema turístico nacional con diferentes desarrollos
regionales entre 1900 y 1939. In Los orígenes del turismo moderno en España. El
nacimiento de un país turístico, 1900–1939, ed. R. Vallejo, and C. Larrinaga, 67–
170. Madrid: Sílex.
Vallejo, R. & E. Concejal. 2018. La política y la Administración turística durante la
Guerra Civil. In Los orígenes del turismo moderno en España. El nacimiento de un
país turístico, 1900–1939, ed. R. Vallejo, and C. Larrinaga, 381–420. Madrid: Sílex.
Vallejo, R. & C. Larrinaga. 2020. Travel agencies in Spain during the first third of the
20th century. A tourism business in the making. Business History (ed. on line): 1–20.
doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2019.1685503.
Visentin, C. 1995. Nuovi viaggi e nuovi viaggiatori: la nascita delle agenzie turistiche in
Italia (1878–1914). Storia in Lombardia 1–2: 297–311.
41
10
The International Expansion of
the Spanish Insurance Company
MAPFRE
Leonardo Caruana de las Cagigas
Introduction
The Spanish insurance company MAPFRE, founded in 1933, developed an
expansion strategy from the 1980s onwards. The first step towards internation-
alisation was taken in the reinsurance sector in the mid-1980s with a view
to gaining knowledge about companies that could be subsequently acquired.
MAPFRE first broke into the Latin American market and then started oper-
ating in the United States, Europe, Turkey, and China. Expansion in the direct
insurance market followed, Latin America again being the initial target.
Internationalisation certainly enhanced MAPFRE’s reputation. In 25 years,
the company became one of the leaders in the Latin American market. In 2015,
70% of its business was conducted abroad. Its success is based on its high
levels of efficiency, networking, and cultural ties. In addition, its know-how
and its leading position in the car insurance market promoted global expan-
sion in nearly all types of insurance.
The present chapter focuses on MAPFRE’s global expansion. The first section
describes the strategic planning of the expansion. The next two sections ana-
lyse international expansion in the reinsurance market and in the direct insur-
ance market, respectively. The last section presents some concluding remarks.
Planning the International Expansion

The Spanish insurance company MAPFRE, founded in 1933, was initially
a mutual company that insured farmers in case of an accident. Thirty years
later, it moved to motor insurance. In the late 1960s, MAPFRE considered
expanding abroad like other Spanish insurance companies. For example, La
Estrella created Goya, a reinsurance firm that operated in Latin America, and
La Unión y el Fenix had entered the French market.
This type of expansion is defined as an active internationalisation process.
The internationalisation process can be developed in two directions (Martínez
Martínez 1987):
1) The entry of foreign companies in the domestic market is known as passive

internationalisation. In the early 1980s, foreign companies accounted for
5
4
1
The International Expansion of a Company 145

only 5% of the Spanish market as a result of the legal barriers imposed
by Franco’s dictatorship. Premiums from these foreign companies were
distributed into life insurance (26%) and non-life insurance (29%). In
other European countries, the distribution of the insurance market was:
13% for life insurance and 17% for non-life insurance in the UK, 12% in
both insurance branches in Germany, 13% and 15% respectively in Italy,
and finally, 3% and 6% respectively in France. Data provided by Sigma
show passive internationalisation in different continents in the 1980s: 5%
in the North American market, 40% in Asia. In Europe, the presence of for-
eign companies was as follows: 11% in Britain, 22% in Federal Germany,
24% in Italy, and 34% in France.
2) The expansion of domestic firms is referred to as active internationalisa-
tion. A report published by Sigma reveals the number of companies oper-
ating abroad in the 1980s: 608 from the UK, 579 from the United States,
166 from France, 138 from Switzerland, 122 from Federal Germany, 100
from Canada.
The first step towards MAPFRE’s foreign expansion was taken in late 1969
by Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi, MAPFRE’s CEO, who went to several
Latin America countries (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia,
and Venezuela) in order to explore possibilities of expanding there. At the
Board of Directors’ meeting held on July 29, 1969, Hernando de Larramendi
remarked that one of the objectives of the company in the next decade should
be internationalisation, Latin America being the most suitable area for initial
expansion (Tortella, Caruana, García 2009). Larramendi chose Latin America
on the basis of the cultural ties between Spain and this region (Hernando
de Larramendi 2000, pp. 322– 323). Nonetheless, expansion plans were
abandoned in the 1970s due to the 1973 oil crisis.
In the 1980s, insurance companies expanded. Thus, in 1985, direct insur-
ance premiums in foreign countries managed by Spanish companies were
worth 18,268 million pesetas (109.8 million euros), while foreign direct
insurance premiums managed in Spain by foreign companies were worth
148,533 million (892.7 million euros). In reinsurance, premiums taken out by
foreign clients and managed by Spanish companies were worth 6,000 million
pesetas (36 million euros), while premiums managed by foreign companies
in Spain were worth 100,000 million (601 million euros). In the case of UK
and Switzerland, their companies managed premiums in foreign countries
accounting for 65% of the life insurance and 75% of the non-life of their
business. The percentages in other European countries were the following:
55% in both branches in Italy; 15% and 27% respectively in France; in Federal
Germany, 6% and 18% respectively, clearly outstanding the first 3 countries
(Martínez Martínez 1987).
Within this context, in the mid- 1980s José Manuel Martínez, CEO of
MAPFRE RE and General Manager of Corporation MAPFRE, backed up the
company’s international expansion. He believed that it was crucial to provide
a wide range of quality services to meet clients’ demands. There were two
6
4
1
146 Leonardo Caruana de las Cagigas

strategies to expand abroad: opening offices or acquiring companies. Martinez
considered the latter option better. The acquisition of a company involves
gaining its clients and insurance experts that help to conduct business in a
foreign country. He argued that MAPFRE had more chances to succeed in the
Latin American insurance market, which was less competitive, though riskier,
since Latin American countries had an unstable exchange rate and fluctuating
currencies. In addition, MAPFRE enjoyed a good reputation in Latin America,
and Latin American countries were culturally close to Spain.
At the time, MAPFRE also considered expanding in Europe. In a report,
Domingo Sugranyes, member of the Board of Directors, highlighted the
importance of the European market and suggested expanding direct insur-
ance to Italy, where the number of premiums was three times the number of
premiums in the Spanish market. However, at the meeting held on September
12, 1984, the Board of Directors agreed that the company was still too small
to enter the European market.
At this point it is convenient to note that it was possible for MAPFRE to
expand in two ways. On the one hand, the company could expand in the
reinsurance market. On the other hand, it could break into foreign direct insur-
ance markets such as the car insurance market, where MAPFRE’s expertise
was a competitive advantage.
The management justified expansion in the reinsurance market on several
grounds. Firstly, they were certain that the market would grow in the next
decades, as it did. Secondly, reinsurance companies all around the world were
making losses. Big companies like Lloyd’s were going through financial diffi-
culties. Mercantile and General and SAFR were taken over. Despite the fact
that MAPFRE was a small company lacking financial ability, the Board of
directors thought that the insurance market was in need of more reinsurance
companies to solve financial difficulties. This was confirmed by a report from
the Insurance Services Office of the United States. Experts claimed that in
the late 1980s there was a niche for reinsurance premiums which accounted
for roughly 25% of the insurance market. Such demand for reinsurance
premiums resulted from the increasing occurrence of natural disasters in the
United States and Latin America (Chile, Mexico). This led to an increase in
reinsurance premium rates and a reduction in profits in technical results in
the long run. On the other hand, costs were cut thanks to improved trans-
port and communication. Therefore, the crisis in the reinsurance market
was an opportunity for MAPFRE. The start-up capital was provided by the
MAFPRE Group.
MAPFRE’s global expansion was mainly achieved through the acquisi-
tion of a stake in foreign insurance companies or the acquisition of the whole
company, as we shall see in the remaining sections of this chapter. Moreover,
both the MAPFRE Foundation and MAPFRE Assistance contributed to the
company’s expansion. MAPFRE Foundation is a non- profit organisation
founded in 1975 with a view towards working on specific areas: road safety
and prevention; research into insurance and social protection; research into the
history of Spain, Portugal, and other countries linked to Spain; and provision
7
4
1

of financial aid to underprivileged people. MAPRE Assistance, founded in
1989, provides assistance on the road and at home as well as travel assistance.
The success of MAPFRE’s international expansion in the last 40 years is
statistically proven. In 1985, MAPFRE developed 8% of its business abroad.
In 2006, half of the business was developed abroad and in 2015, 70%.
International Expansion of MAPFRE REINSURANCE

In its expansion process, MAPFRE followed the steps of big reinsurance com-
panies such as Swiss Re, Munich Re and SAFR (Hernando de Larramendi
2000, p. 323). In the 1970s, there was simply a reinsurance department headed
by José Manuel Martínez and Andrés Jiménez. In 1981, MAPFRE took over
Nervión, a small reinsurance company owned by the Aurora Group. Nervión
was renamed MAPFRE REASEGUROS in 1982. At that moment, the reinsur-
ance business of national companies was run by 11 reinsurance companies and
112 insurance companies. Reinsurance premiums were worth 28,500 million
pesetas (171 million euros in 1983). Reinsurance premiums accounted for 7%
of direct insurance premiums. The premiums of Munich Re, the world’s leader
in the reinsurance market, were worth 453,404 million pesetas (2,725 million
euros). Spain’s market leader was Nacional de Reaseguros, whose premiums
were worth 4,687 million pesetas (28.2 million euros). The main problem faced
by reinsurance companies was the lack of capital to cover the risk. In fact, the
Spanish reinsurance market was dominated by foreign reinsurance companies.
The Spanish firms retrocede 74% of the risk insured to foreign companies. This
meant that many of these companies were actually mere intermediaries rather
than reinsurance companies (Martínez Martínez 1986).
In 1984, MAPFRE REASEGUROS became the market leader in the
reinsurance market, with premiums worth 5,605 million pesetas. It was
followed by Nacional de Reaseguros with premiums worth 5,274, Albatros,
with premiums worth 2,117 million pesetas; CERSA, with premiums worth
1,710 million pesetas, and REUNISA (Reaseguradores Españoles Unidos, S.A),
with premiums worth 1,031 million pesetas. REUNISA was a joint venture of
Spanish insurance companies that wound up in 1992 (BOE-A-1992–25067).
MAPFRE REASEGUROS’s revenues from the Latin American market
exceeded those in the Spanish market. The estimated net income was over
700 million pesetas (4.2 million euros). In 1984, MAPFRE opened an office in
Mexico and provided a quality service after the earthquake that hit the country
in 1985. Damages were worth 650 million pesetas (3.9 million euros). In his
memoirs, Larramendi pointed out: “One of the reasons for the initial success of
MAPFRE REASEGUROS in Mexico was its prompt action during the earth-
quake in Mexico in 1985”. (Hernando de Larramendi 2000, p. 652).
As MAPFRE REASEGUROS lacked financial ability, it went under the con-
trol of MAPFRE Corporation in December 1985. And another reinsurance
company was set up December 31, 1986: MAPFRE XL Compañía Internacional
de Reaseguros S.A. XL means “excess of loss”. In non-proportional insurance
the basis of the premium is the claim rather than the risk, so that the premium
8
4
1

covers limited risk. Also, in 1986, further offices were opened in seven coun-
tries: Brazil, United States, Philippines, Italy, Panama, Portugal, and Tunisia.
Two years later, new offices were opened in Venezuela and Luxembourg.
In 1988, the reinsurance business was managed by MAPFRE XL. The com-
pany became part of MAPFRE RE, Compañía Internacional de Reaseguros,
S.A. MAPFRE RE continued to operate as a captive company for the Group.
MAPFRE RE purchased 5% share of Compagnie Internacional D’Assurance
et de Reasurance (C.I.A.R.) from Belgium. The next year, 1989, MAPFRE
acquired 30% share of Reaseguradora of Chile. Founded in 1927, it had over a
50% share of the Chilean market, with a revenue of 65 million dollars in 1987.
It was the leader in the reinsurance market of Latin America.
MAPFRE opened another office in Argentina in 1990, and an office in
London in 1991. In 1992, MAPFRE bought an 88% stake in Reaseguradora
Hemisphere in Colombia, with an investment of 550 million pesetas (3.3 million
euros). Another office was opened in Peru in 1996. Thus, MAPFRE expanded
across the Latin American market, although it could not break into the
Brazilian market, where the reinsurance business was controlled by the state.
However, an office was opened in Brazil to deal with prevention issues and this
office was in charge of the publication of books on technical issues related to
the insurance world.
The devastating effects of hurricanes in America posed a big problem. In
September 1998, Hurricane Georges struck the Caribbean, and a month later,
Hurricane Mitch killed thousands of people. As a result, MAPFRE RE ran
technical deficits that year. The company raised reinsurance rates and selected
new risks more carefully. Despite its financial difficulties and so many natural
disasters, MAPFRE was performing well in the late twentieth century.
In 1999, MAPFRE entered the American reinsurance market through the
acquisition of Chatham Re, owned by Shelter Re –a subsidiary of Shelter –
and Ecclesiastical, a company related to the Anglican Church. MAPFRE
invested 35 million dollars. Chatham Re was renamed MAPFRE Reinsurance
Corporation of the United States. Chatham Re had both reinsurance and
direct insurance licenses in more than 30 states in the United States. There
was an increase of capital of 13,750 million pesetas. MAPFRE invested
10,540 million pesetas (63.3 million euros), while Ecclesiastical and Shelter
invested 3,135 million pesetas each.
The company grew significantly under CEO Andrés Jimenez. MAPFRE RE
in its revenue increased from 23,583 million pesetas in 1990 (141.7 million
euros) to 104,478 million pesetas in 2000 (627.9 million euros). In 2000,
MAPFRE’s reinsurance business was conducted in Europe (Spain, 32%; other
European countries, 21%) and America (Latin America, 34%, United States,
9%) (World MAPFRE 2001, p. 32).
MAPFRE RE was in financial trouble at the turn of the century. The final
years of the twentieth century had yielded poor results, and when recovery
started, the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11,
2001 caused about 2982 deaths, and damages amounted to 21,379 million
dollars, the third most costly disaster in recent history, after Hurricane
9
4
1

Katrina in 2005 (1,836 deaths and 66,311 million- dollar damages), and
Hurricane Andrew in 1992 (22,987 million-dollar damages). In the 1990s
there were 100–150 natural disasters and more than 150 man-made disasters.
As a result, in 2002 reinsurance companies, including MAPFRE RE, redefined
hedges, especially those concerning terrorism. A report published by Swiss Re
in Sigma 2/2019 (Sigma 2019) suggested that the number of natural disasters
would remain uncertain, while the number of man-made disasters would rise
sharply.
A further problem faced by reinsurance firms in the early twenty-first cen-
tury was competition. For example, the Bermuda market provided more clients
because it was tax-free. Within this context, a great number of reinsurance
companies were in financial trouble. Enron, whose debt had been endorsed
by many insurance companies, went bankrupt; there was a crash in the profits
made by firms such as AXA, Zurich, Swiss Re, Munich Re, U.S. State Farm,
and General Re.
In 2005 MAPFRE RE broke into the state of New York, the most important
financial market of the world, whose strong regulations had not made it pos-
sible in the past. MAPFRE RE was authorised in Canada and Australia in 2006
with 7,447 thousand euros in premiums in the first country and 16,417 thou-
sand euros in premiums in the second in the first year.
In January 2007, the Brazilian state-owned reinsurance company IRB Brasil
Re stopped cornering the market. The government liberalised 40% of the
reinsurance market. Brazil was an important market for MAPFRE (Levy &
Chaves Pereira, 2007). Finally, in 2016 MAPFRE RE moved in to the
important market of the second or maybe first economy of the world, China.
In 2018 MAPFRE RE ranked 19th among the world’s reinsurance companies
(Best 2019).
Expansion in the Direct Insurance Market

MAPFRE expanded in the direct insurance market through the acquisition of
a stake in blue-chip companies in each branch or the acquisition of the whole
company. MAPFRE occasionally entered foreign direct insurance markets by
opening offices abroad. In Latin America, cultural problems arose. MAPFRE
imposed strict control, a single methodology of work, centralisation of infor-
mation, and internal auditing. It was in the Latin American subsidiaries that
many of the young managers who got to the highest positions in the core
business areas after 2000 had gained managerial experience. This was the case
for Antonio Huertas, MAPFRE’s CEO since 2012.
In August 1984 MAPFRE bought a 24% stake in Seguros Caribe from
Colombia. The remaining 76% mostly was owned by three families. Founded
in 1960, Seguros Caribe was a medium-sized company whose growth rate was
well above the average and whose productivity rate was twice the average rate
in Colombia. It operated in all branches of general insurance: car insurance
(42%), sureties (16%), fire insurance (10%), and life insurance (10%). Again,
MAPFRE contributed intangible assets in the form of knowledge, for example
0
5
1

technical assistance and staff training (Cardone 1996). In 1988, MAPFRE’s
stake in Seguros Caribe rose to 40%.
In 1986 MAPFRE bought a 75% share from the Argentinian company
Aconcagua, which ranked 35th among Argentina’s insurance companies. The
business lines were car insurance (28%), transport insurance (25%) and fire
insurance (25%). When Aconcagua opened an office in Paraguay in 1988,
MAPFRE owned the company. In the same year, in Chile, MAPFRE acquired
a 45% stake in Cía. de Seguros Generales Euroamerica and bought a stake in
the life insurance company Euroamerica Vida. Both companies grew. In 1991
their premiums were worth 352 million pesetas (8.1 million euros), mostly
for motor insurance. Life insurance premiums were worth 728 million pesetas
(4.3 million euros).
MAPFRE penetrated the Portuguese market in 1989. They opened
an office to provide life insurance. In 1994, the value of its premiums was
low (1,357 million pesetas, that is, 8.15 million euros), as compared with
MAPFRE’s premiums in Spain (48,664 million pesetas, that is, 292.4 million
euros). In 1991 an office had been opened to provide non-life insurance. Non-
life premiums were worth 6,052 million pesetas (36.37 million euros) in 1995
(Figueiredo Almaca 1999).
In Italy, in 1988 MAPFRE purchased a 6% stake from Universo (251 million
pesetas, i.e. 1.5 million euros) and a 5% holding from Varese, (89 million
pesetas, 534,900 euros), which were subsidiaries of Reale Mutua. They also
bought a 40% stake from Progress, that increase the next year to 58% stake.
The revenue of Progress was 1,000 million pesetas (6 million euros). Most of
the business was conducted in the motor insurance branch in Sicily. The head
office was in Palermo. The problem was that the claims were too high, and so
MAPFRE made a loss of 430 million pesetas (2.58 million euros) in 1992 and
of 350 million pesetas (2.1 the losses) in 1993. However, the next year losses
hit a low of 50 million pesetas (300,506 euros) and the premiums went up to
2,948 million pesetas in 1994. In 1999 negotiations began to sell the company
to Middlesea from Malta. In 2004 Middlesea acquired MAPFRE’s stake for
7 million euros, while MAPFRE acquired a 15% holding in Middlesea for
10 million euros.
In 1987 MAPFRE invested 1,121 million pesetas (6.7 million euros) to set
up MAPFRE Corporation of Florida in San Agustin, founded by Spaniards.
The company performed badly because in August 1992 Hurricane Andrew
caused 44 deaths and over 30,000 million dollars in damages (of which 15,500
were insured). The company’s revenue was 203 million pesetas (1.2 million
euros). The cost of Hurricane Andrew for MAPFRE was over 85 million pesetas
(510,860 euros). In 1988 MAPFRE bought a 70% stake in the American com-
pany Holding Amstar, which provided insurance as well as consultancy, broker,
and finance services.
In 1989, MAPFRE acquired a 40% stake in the Mexican insurance firm
Tepeyac, whose revenue was around 10,000 million pesetas (60.1 million
euros). In the same year MAPFRE acquired the Puerto Rican- American
Insurance Company (PRAICO), a subsidiary of Continental, one of the biggest
1
5

insurance firms in the United States. MAPFRE had had reinsurance contracts
with the company since the late 1970s.
The profitability of these businesses varied. In 1991, Aconcagua made
92 million-peseta profits (552,931 euros) and Tepeyac, 624 million-peseta
profits (3.75 million euros). By contrast, in Chile, Euroamerica Seguros
Generales, focusing on motor insurance, made technical losses as a result of
high road accident rates, although they were offset by the positive financial
results.
In late 1995, MAPFRE’s accumulated international investments were
33,475 million pesetas (201.2 million euros). MAPFRE had been a well-
established firm in Brazil since 1992, when it bought shares from Vera Cruz
Insurance, Vera Cruz Vida e Previdência. Soon it took control of the Vera Cruz
Group. The next year, in 1996, MAPFRE again invested heavily in the Latin
American market. Firstly, the company made an investment of 51% share in El
Sol Nacional, a big Peruvian insurance company in 1997. The investment was
of 1,213 million de pesetas (7.3 million euros). In 1999 the company was split
in two: MAPFRE Perú Seguros Generales and MAPFRE Perú Vida. Secondly,
MAPFRE invested 5,000 million pesetas (30 million euros) to take control
of La Seguridad, the leading insurance company in the Venezuelan market
with premiums worth 20,000 million pesetas (120.2 million euros). Lastly,
MAPFRE took over the Brazilian company Vera Cruz Seguradora and the
Chilean company Euroamérica Seguros Generales (Caruana & García 2009).
In early 1997 MAPFRE Vida International was founded. Its mission was
to increase MAPFRE’s share in the Latin American life insurance market.
MAPFRE bought the group Pérez Company in Argentina and La Centro
Americana in El Salvador. MAPFRE expanded more slowly in other coun-
tries such as Venezuela. The life insurance business is usually less successful in
underdeveloped countries. In March 1997, MAPFRE América, a division of
MAPFRE Internacional, was created. MAPFRE Internacional operated out of
Latin America.
In the same year MAPFRE made further investments in America
(12,664 million pesetas, 76.1 million euros). The investment made by American
MAPFRE companies accounted for about 2% of total assets. MAPFRE could
invest up to 10%, which was the maximum allowed by the Spanish govern-
ment. In September 1998, it was estimated that the losses of the subsidiaries
listed on the American Stock Exchange amounted to 1,400 million pesetas
(8.4 million euros). La Seguridad in Venezuela made the biggest loss. MAPFRE
sought to make investments in dollars in order to reduce risks. However,
MAPFRE made losses due to the high returns on investment in local currency.
As a result of expansion, one third of MAPFRE’s direct insurance premiums
came from foreign countries. In 2001, non-life premiums taken out in America
were worth over 1,500 million euros, distributed across five countries: Mexico
(311 million euros), Venezuela (300 million euros), Brazil (285 million euros),
Puerto Rico (223 million euros) and Argentina (220 million euros).
The geographical distribution of MAPFRE’s workforce in America in 1999
reflects the company’s expansion (see Table 10.1).
2
5
1

Table 10.1 Distribution of MAPFRE Employees in America in 1999
Employees Employees Employees
Mexico 1,494 Chile 387 Dominican 15

Republic
Brazil 1,137 Peru 264 Ecuador 14
Venezuela 977 United States 153 Costa Rica 11
Argentina 626 El Salvador 111 Guatemala 11
Puerto Rico 515 Paraguay 52 Bolivia 10
Colombia 513 Uruguay 43 Panama 10
Source: author’s own elaboration with MAPFRE data. MAPFRE.
Latin America was hit by a new crisis in 2001–2002. In Argentina, the

number of non-life premiums halved in 2002. It recovered slowly, and in 2006
it reached the levels of 2001. In Venezuela, the number of premiums declined
gradually and also recovered in 2006. In contrast, between 2001 and 2003,
the value of premiums rose from 59 million euros to 97 million euros in Chile,
from 43 million euros to 58 million euros in Colombia, and from 29 million
euros to 46 million euros in Peru. In markets such as El Salvador, Paraguay,
and Uruguay, MAPFRE performed less well.
In 2005, MAPFRE’s non-life insurance business recovered. Revenue from
premiums went up from 1,289 million euros to 1,655 million euros. In 2006,
it was over 2,000 million euros. The upward trend continued in 2007, particu-
larly in the Dominican Republic.
In Brazil, growth was linked to the success of motor insurance and life
insurance VGBL, with big tax-financial returns. In Mexico the motor insurance
business grew. The economic boom led to the purchase of cars and of car insur-
ance and health insurance premiums. In Venezuela, health insurance was one of
the core businesses. MAPFRE gained large numbers of clients thanks to group
policies taken out by civil servants. Likewise, MAPFRE’s health insurance
business developed in Puerto Rico through health care plans for pensioners
subsidised by the Medicare program. In addition, MAPFRE acquired Baldrich,
an insurance agency specialising in motor insurance. Finally, Argentina saw the
growth of labour insurance risk and motor insurance.
The life insurance sector also grew. The value of premiums went up steadily:
around 200 million euros in 2004, nearly 300 million euros in 2005, over
400 million euros in 2006, and 678 million euros in 2007. The biggest markets
were Brazil and, to a much lesser extent, Colombia.
In 2002 BBVA and MAPFRE failed to reach an agreement over the dis-
tribution of insurance products in Latin America. What they did try was
an agreement that BBVA would distribute MAPFRE’s non-life insurance
products on an exclusive basis, but this arrangement did not work out (BBVA
operated mainly in life insurance). However, BBVA and MAPFRE made
co-insurance arrangements in Argentina and Colombia. This co-insurance
3
5
1

business was controlled by MAPFRE, which had broader experience in
this field. In Latin America, MAPFRE achieved a market share of 9.5% in
the non-life insurance market, thus becoming the market leader. It ranked
third, only overtaken by Bradesco and AIG in all type of insurance in Latin
America in 2007.
MAPFRE Internacional was set up in February 2005 to expand the direct
insurance business in the United States, Turkey, Europe (Italy, Germany,
Portugal, Turkey), and Indonesia. The US insurance market is the largest market
in the world, with a total workforce of 2.5 million. Its premium volume is close
to 1.1 trillion dollars, more than a third of world volume. Insurance pene-
tration (percentage of premiums over GDP) accounts for 9.6% (4.4% in life
insurance and 5.2% in non-life insurance) in 2007. The US insurance market
is heavily regulated, primarily at state level. In fact, each state has its own
department and insurance commissioner, although there is some coordination
by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. In 2008, MAPFRE
purchased The Commerce Group, with nearly 2 billion euros in consolidated
premiums, for over 1,432 million euros. It was MAPFRE’s major acquisition.
The Commerce Group, founded in 1971 in Webster, Massachusetts, has car
insurance as its main business (90% of premiums), and since 1990 it has been
one of the largest and one of the most profitable car insurance firms in the
state. It operated in 16 further states, and in 2019 it had 2,200 million dollars
in assets (ratings.ambest.com/companyprofile).
In 2007, in Turkey MAPFRE signed an agreement to purchase 80% of
Genel Sigorta, which ranked 10th in the non-life insurance market, and 6th
in the car insurance market, and its life insurance subsidiary Genel Yasam, for
285 million euros. MAPFFE justified entry in Turkey on the grounds that it is a
large market (over 70 million inhabitants) with a very low insurance penetra-
tion rate (1.6%), which made growth possible.
In Europe, MAPFRE broke into the German market, the 6th largest in the
world. German insurance companies employ more than half a million people
and with its financial assets it managed 1.6 trillion euros in 2018. In 2014
MAPFRE reached an agreement with the British insurance company Direct
Line Group, which had been a telephone insurance division of The Royal Bank
of Scotland Group, to acquire its car insurance subsidiaries in Germany and
Italy for 550 million euros. The businesses in Italy and Germany contributed
714 million euros in premiums, 1.6 million clients, and 19.5 million-euro
profits in 2013. Finally, in 2017 in Indonesia, the fourth most populated
country in the world, MAPFRE invested 90 million euros to purchase 31%
of ABDA.
MAPFRE’S CEO, Antonio Huertas, postulates a decentralisation policy.
Local managers are in charge of the company’s offices in foreign countries.
And in the last report of MAPFRE 2019, 30% of the premiums was in Spain,
Latin America held 29%, 22% was in reinsurance, and other countries held
16% (the last 3% is MAFPRE Assistance, the part of the company that has
spread in more countries).
4
5
1
Conclusion
MAPFRE went global in the 1980s. Foreign expansion began with reinsurance,
the main area being Latin America, a less competitive, though riskier, market.
Cultural ties facilitated the process. Expansion in Latin America took place
through acquisition of companies. In 25 years, MAPFRE became the leader
in the Latin American non-life insurance market. Expansion continued in the
United States, Canada, China, and Australia. In much the same way, expansion
in direct insurance started in Latin America and was pursued in the United
States, Turkey, Europe (Italy, Germany and Portugal), and Indonesia.
The reasons for MAPFRE’s successful expansion process lie in the company’s
reputation and know-how in all types of insurance, ranging from car insurance
to life-insurance. Internationalisation has also allowed MAPFRE to become
a global player. It ranked 15th in terms of turnover in 2018 in Europe (Atlas
Magazine 2019), with premiums worth 23,043.9 million euros in 2019 and
over 28 million clients in the world.
Sources
Interviews: José Manuel Martínez Martínez, Antonio Huertas Mejias, Alberto Manzano
Martos, and Andrés Jiménez Herradón.
MAPFRE Archive. Reports of the meetings of the board of directors of the Mutual and
of the Corporation.
References
Archive of MAPFRE, Annual reports of MAPFRE (1980–2019).
Atlas Magazine. 2019. Ranking of European insurers and reinsurers in 2017. www.
atlas- mag.net/e n/ a rticle/ ranking- o f-european-insurers-and- r einsurers-in-2017.
(accessed April 8, 2020).
Best, A. M. 2019. Top 50 World’s Largest Reinsurance Groups. www.ambest.com/
review/displaychart.aspx?Record_Code=274409. (accessed March 22, 2020).
Boletín Oficial del Estado. 1992, Madrid, Imprenta Nacional. www.boe.es/diario_boe/
txt.php?id=BOE-A-1992–25067. (accessed July 2, 2020).
Cardone, C. 1996. MAPFRE un sistema “asegurado” de éxito, coord. J.J. Durán
Herrera, Multinacionales españolas. Madrid: Pirámide. 1: 209–239.
Caruana de las Cagigas, L. & J. L. García Ruiz. 2009. “La internacionalización del
seguro español: el caso de MAPFRE, 1969–2001”. ICE. 849. Julio-agosto. 143–157.
Figueiredo Almaca, J. A. 1999. El mercado ibérico de seguros. Retos y estrategias frente
a la Unión Europea. Madrid: MAPFRE.
Hernando de Larramendi, I. 2000. Así se hizo MAPFRE. San Sebastián de los
Reyes: Actas.
Hernando de Larramendi, I. 1955–1990. Informes de Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi.
Madrid: Archivo Mapfre.
Holzheu, T. & R. Lechner. 2007. “The Global Reinsurance Market,” en J. D. Cummins
and B. Venard (eds.) Handbook of International Insurance. Between Global
Dynamics and Local Contingencies, 877–902. New York: Springer.
51

Levy, A. & F. Chaves Pereira. 2007. “Recent Developments in the Brazilian Insurance
Market”, In Hand Book of International Insurance, eds. J.D. Cummins and B.
Venard, 743–787. New York: Springer.
MAPFRE. 1983. Cincuenta años. MAPFRE hacia el futuro. Madrid: MAPFRE.
Martínez Martínez, J. M. 1986. “El reaseguro español: principales problemas”.
Hacienda Pública Española, 98: 255–264.
Martínez Martínez, J. M. 1987. “Internacionalización del seguro y reaseguro. El caso
español”. Conferencia en el V Encuentro Inter europeo de Reaseguros, Madrid:
Mapfre Archive. September.
Martínez Martínez, J. M. 2004. “MAPFRE: una experiencia Multinacional”. Trigésima
novenas Jornadas de Estudio para Directores del Sector Seguros, Madrid: Mapfre
Archive. March.
Mundo MAPFRE. 2001. “Asamblea y Junta Generales relevo en la presidencia del
Sistema Mapfre”. Sistema MAPFRE. 33.
Sigma. 2019. “Natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2018: “secondary”
perils on the frontline”. Swiss Re Institute. 2.
Tortella Casares, G., L. Caruana de las Cagigas, & J. L. García Ruiz. 2009. De Mutua
a Multinacional. MAPFRE 1933–2008. Madrid: MAPFRE.
6
5
1
11
Spanish Entrepreneurs and the
Two Transitions (1975–1986)
Jorge Lafuente del Cano
Introduction
The Transition to democracy has been one of the great issues in the historiog-
raphy of contemporary Spain. Unlike other events of great relevance, such as
the Napoleonic invasion or the Civil War, the relatively pacific change from
Franco’s dictatorship to a parliamentary democracy was a certain collective
success story that has been reflected in the literature of the period (Prego 1996;
Tusell & Soto 1996; Powell 2001; Fusi 2018). Nevertheless, works have been
appearing recently with a critical viewpoint on the process (Gallego 2008;
Guillamet 2016; Molinero & Ysàs 2018). In any case, it is still an open subject
with room for new interpretations.
One such interpretation refers to the protagonists of that intense moment
of change. The focus has gradually been widened from the political class, both
from the Franco regime and those who were in exile or working clandestinely
(Powell 1995; Fuentes 2011; Tirado Ruiz 2015), to other actors who also
had a notable influence in those decisive years of the country’s recent history.
Some of these new protagonists are the representatives of the economic sector
and, among those, the entrepreneurs. It is not only the analysis of the role of
the individual entrepreneurs that is of interest, some of whom had political
responsibilities, but also the role of entrepreneurs as a collective through the
organisms of representation that gradually became consolidated along with
the liberalisation of Spain’s public life and those whose aim was to make their
voices heard in the most important matters for the country (Cabrera & Del
Rey 2011; González Fernández 2012; Lafuente del Cano 2019).
The role entrepreneurs played is also equally important because Spain found
itself in a delicate economic situation in the 1970s (Hernández Andreu 2006,
p. 786). The effects of the petroleum crisis had a strong impact, similar to that
of other European economies. There was a lack of economic measures taken
by the last governments of Franco due to the fear of social unrest following the
first rise in oil prices in 1973 that lead to the problem becoming pressing two
years later, in the middle of the process of institutional change. Thus, following
the need to transform the political structures, there came the need to apply
measures that would help to overcome an economic situation which, by 1979,
had become much more complicated with the second rise in crude oil prices.
7
5
1
Spanish Entrepreneurs and Two Transitions 157

This chapter studies the global role of the Spanish entrepreneurs from
the Transition to democracy until its definitive completion in 1986. In order
to analyse the position of the entrepreneurs we must first define the “two
Transitions” that Spain had to face at that time: the domestic and the inter-
national Transition. The following section focuses on the domestic Transition
and the attempts by the Spanish entrepreneurs to publicly organise to defend
their interests on the public stage. Later, we will analyse the entrepreneurial
position concerning the international Transition –the return of Spain to the
international organisations in which it had not been able to participate because
of political questions and in which two institutions stood out above all others
in defining the new strategic and economic position of democratic Spain:
NATO and the EEC.
Domestic and International Transitions

Following the death of Franco, in November 1975, Spain experienced a double
process of change. The domestic Transition supposed the transformation of a
regime that died along with its visible head into a democratic system similar
to those that were enjoyed by other European countries. The term that could
sum up that endeavour was “consensus” (Juliá 2017, p. 510): the renunci-
ation of a program of maximums in order to reach an agreement between
the political forces and the social and economic representatives. In spite of
a certain initial idealisation of this period, it should be remembered that the
solution could have been very different, even radically different to what finally
took place. The analysis of the positions of some political forces or of those
recalcitrant sectors of the dictatorship (known as the “bunker”) reinforces
the idea that everything could have turned out differently. Perhaps because of
this, the greatest success of the political change was symbolised by the passing
of the Constitution of 1978, the first Spanish Magna Carta forged through
agreement and renunciation rather than through the imposition of one group
over another. Thus the result, with all its ambiguities and problems that grad-
ually appeared over time, has become the constitutional text with the greatest
stability in the entire history of Spain. Achieving this objective was the fruit of
the interaction between many groups and factions: on the one hand, the gov-
ernment, led since July 1976 by Adolfo Suárez, who would create an electoral
coalition: the Central Democratic Union (UCD), which integrated personal-
ities of very different sensibilities but with a common objective –to achieve a
reform of the system in order to advance towards full democracy. On the other
hand, were the parties that had opposed the Franco regime, from the socialists
to the communists, who agreed to participate in the political game: institutions
as social representatives (entrepreneurs, trade unions), the Catholic church,
and, of course, the Spanish people who had lived through notable social trans-
formations since the 1960s and who were mostly supportive of moderate, yet
profound, changes.
Although there were problems, difficulties, and violence, the rapidity with
which the change happened was one of the principal characteristics of the
8
5
1
158 Jorge Lafuente del Cano

domestic Transition. Franco died in November 1975, the first elections were
held in June 1977, and the Constitution was ratified by a referendum in
December 1978. In just over three years, Spain’s political system had been
definitively modified.
With the passage of time, another Transition process took on its own prom-
inence (Pereira 2004). The international Transition brought about Spain’s
entry into those international institutions to which it should have belonged,
but which it could not belong during the dictatorship of Franco for political
reasons. The dictatorship, which had suffered strict isolation after World War
II, from the 1950s onwards during the Cold War, had managed to get a certain
international recognition which resulted in bilateral agreements with the USA
(1953) and entry to the UN (1955). However, Spain was still vetoed in other
prime institutions; in particular NATO and the EEC.
Spain’s entry to the Common Market was logical for geographical, cultural,
political, and economic reasons. Perhaps because of this, the political and
social unanimity, with certain nuances, was the general rule during the process
(López Gómez 2016). Spain, which had seen how the members of the EEC had
greeted the democratisation of the political system, came up against a more
prosaic reality: the assignation of power and interests had already been done
in the EEC, and opening the door to a new member was not a simple task. We
have to remember that the first expansion that allowed in the UK, Ireland, and
Denmark in 1973 was still causing certain upsets within the Community (Gay
2001, p. 137). This meant that the new expansion to the south, for Greece,
Portugal and Spain, was probably not going to be as fast as initially foreseen.
In fact, it did not happen until 1986.
Entry into NATO, the key western defensive system, was different. The
unanimity disappeared and a strong opposition could be seen from some
sectors linked to the political and social left (Mateos 2016, pp. 13–14). The
question was a subject of discussion even in the governing party, the UCD, in
the first years of political change. The entry did not happen until the resigna-
tion of Suárez and the start of the mandate of his successor, Leopoldo Calvo-
Sotelo. Nevertheless, the process was not definitively closed until 1986 with the
referendum called by the socialist government concerning Spain’s permanence
in the organisation.
The Entrepreneurs and the Domestic Transition

The entrepreneurs began to acquire a relevant role at a time of great uncer-
tainty in both the political and economic situations. Added to the difficulty of
an institutional change on the death of the dictator was the complex economic
panorama, with the greatest economic stagnation of the previous 25 years. The
organisational process of the entrepreneurs at the start of democracy was nei-
ther fast nor easy. In this section, we analyse first of all the creation of diverse
associations of entrepreneurs that culminated in the formation of a single asso-
ciation that managed to become the voice of Spain’s entrepreneurs, and sec-
ondly, the steps taken by this association on the road towards the formation
9
5
1

of a democratic system in Spain, reflected in the debates that gave rise to the
Constitution of 1978. Finally, we examine the position of entrepreneurs, now
playing within the democratic game, with respect to the economic policy of the
different parties during the centrist presidencies of Adolfo Suárez and Leopoldo
Calvo-Sotelo, as well as the first term of office of the socialist Felipe González.
After forty years of dictatorship, with the first steps towards freedom in
Spain, there emerged different discourses and values from those that had been
heard from the official sources. Among the political proposals that began to
appear in the public sphere, there were many that promoted a total removal
of Spain’s political system, including the economic system. Criticism of capit-
alism, the free market system, and business began to be heard forcefully from
1976 onwards. In this type of discourse, the entrepreneurial class was identi-
fied as being closer to the dictatorial regime than to the new democratic forces.
This partly explains why the first collective actions of the entrepreneurs, within
their plurality, were of a defensive nature (Flores 2003, p. 504). Their coordin-
ation seemed vital in order to try to offer a single voice to modify this negative
image of the entrepreneurs, who had not found explicit support from any of
the political forces that began to be constituted at the end of the dictatorship.
In July 1976, the king entrusted the presidency of the government to Adolfo
Suárez. Despite his provenance as secretary general of the National Movement,
the party of Franco, Suárez put all his weight behind carrying out reforms.
To do so, he approved a series of legal provisions, starting with the Political
Reform Law, which would demolish from the inside the legal apparatus of the
dictatorship. He thus opened up the possibility of legalising political parties,
trade unions, and entrepreneurial organisations. In this latter aspect, the
laws of March 4, 1977 concerning labour relations and that of April 1, 1977
concerning the right to belong to a trade union were particularly important.
With the beginning of the process of liberalisation, numerous entrepreneurial
associations were founded at both national and regional levels. By June 1977,
three of the most important –the Independent Entrepreneurial Group, the
Spanish Entrepreneurial Confederation, and the General Confederation of
Spanish Entrepreneurs –agreed to initiate a fusion process (Flores 2000,
p. 711).
Thus, in June 1977, the same month that the first general elections took
place, the association of associations was created. In a short time span, this
association would become the consolidated voice of Spain’s entrepreneurs:
the Spanish Confederation of Entrepreneurial Organisations (CEOE). It is
interesting to note the change that its appearance brought about. The attitude
of the new organisation would no longer be reactive; on the contrary, it would
adopt a high profile in the defence of their cooperative interests and the essen-
tial ideas common to them all: in essence, the free market system (Cabrera &
Del Rey 2011, pp. 356–357). To do so, numerous acts and meetings demanding
entrepreneurial rights were held throughout the national territory. From that
time onwards, the CEOE was a consolidated, representative voice in public
debates; in fact, its role has been described as taking an active political role, or
even of being intrusive (García Crespo 2019a, p. 313). Its voice was heard in
0
6
1

the most relevant political and economic affairs at that time: the pacts of the
Moncloa, the passing of the Constitution and the initiatives of the governments
of the UCD and, later, of the PSOE.
The elections of June 1977 had defined the political and institutional trans-
formation of a Spain that was turning into a parliamentary democracy. In
those elections, the UCD achieved a comfortable victory, but did not obtain
the absolute majority. In second place, with 47 fewer seats, was the socialist
party (PSOE) of Felipe González. The brief legislature that began at that
time focused on two points: the drawing up of a Constitution and the search
for unity in order to face the economic crisis. President Suárez called all the
political forces to a meeting in the Presidential Headquarters, the Moncloa
Palace, to try to reach a transversal agreement that would allow the country
to face the economic situation with sufficient guarantees –an economic crisis
that was characterised by the deceleration in the growth of the GDP and the
increase in both inflation and unemployment (Comín & Hernández 2013,
p. 307). Involving the opposition forces to the government, he aimed to main-
tain the collaboration he also needed to draw up the Magna Carta. The pacts
of the Moncloa were signed in October 1977. The CEOE warily analysed the
pacts, on the one hand because they had not been invited to participate in the
discussions, which clashed head on with their policy of consolidating the asso-
ciation as the single voice of the entrepreneurs, and on the other because the
agreements seemed to them both insufficient and incoherent for the country’s
needs, which in their judgment should focus on reaffirming the free market
system, freedom to hire and fire, tax reform, and increased productivity of the
national economy (Cabrera 2003, p. 55).
Parallel to the economic pact achieved by the parliamentary forces, the
process of drawing up the new Constitution also began. The government’s
aim was for all the parties, but in particular the main opposition party, to
actively participate in obtaining a text of minimums that would be agreeable
to everyone. The CEOE, through the document entitled “For a Constitution
that guarantees social progress and economic liberties”, demonstrated their
misgivings concerning some concepts contained in certain articles of the con-
stitution, defending the link between democracy and the market economy
(Flores 2000, p. 716).
Once the constitutional text had been approved, in March 1979, the second
general elections were held, with very similar results to the first. Lacking a
profound bond with the UCD, the CEOE tried to influence from outside the
economic positions that the government adopted. The relation between the
centrist party and the CEOE was difficult; as were the personal relations
between the two leaders of the UCD, Adolfo Suárez and his successor Calvo-
Sotelo, and the top executive of the entrepreneurs, Carlos Ferrer Salat, a
businessman from the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. There was no
personal understanding and nor was there any understanding of the concept
of economic policy. On several occasions, it was suggested that his own pol-
itical ambitions lay beneath the criticisms of the leader of the entrepreneurs
(Calvo-Sotelo 1990, p. 169).
1
6

The CEOE was especially critical of a political centre which they considered
to be too close to social democracy in their economic postulations. It should be
remembered that the UCD had come about as a coalition of centrist parties and
that it only became a political party in and of itself at a later date. The hetero-
geneity of the preceding parties, their leaders, and their regional organisations
meant that their ideology had not been defined in a strict sense and that very
different visions coexisted within the organisation. The vertebral axis was
the desire to reform the political system without ruptures, and the figure of
President Suárez also formed part of that vertebral axis. Reviewing the names
of the successive centrist Finance Ministers can give us a good idea of this het-
erogeneity: Enrique Fuentes Quintana, Fernando Abril Martorell, Leopoldo
Calvo-Sotelo, Juan Antonio García Díez. In this state of affairs, the CEOE tried
to influence the economic policy of the UCD Executives, hoping for a reconver-
sion to the liberal economic line to face the principal problems that Spain, in
their judgment, had to overcome from the start of the democratic process and
which were not being resolved adequately: unemployment, debt, trade imbal-
ance, and lack of investment (Flores 2000, p. 712).
For his part, Adolfo Suárez, who always wanted to have a single inter-
locutor among Spain’s entrepreneurs, became ever more critical of them. This
President from Ávila was also having to face up to an ever progressive erosion
of power. Once he had, in record time, managed to pass the laws that enabled
the system change and the approval of the Constitution, he seemed to have
trouble finding his way forward. The year 1980 was especially complicated.
The economic situation had not substantially improved; terrorism was con-
tinuously attacking the State, causing the mistrust of the Armed Forces who
were the habitual target of ETA; the PSOE had increased its work of oppos-
ition, including a no-confidence motion in the month of May, and the UCD
appeared to be ever more internally divided, obtaining poor electoral results in
the regional elections of Catalonia and the Basque Country. The entrepreneurs
showed a profound lack of confidence in the capacity of the President or the
government to redirect a situation that was becoming unsustainable towards
the end of the 1980s.
Events gathered speed. In January 1981, Adolfo Suárez resigned. Leopoldo
Calvo-Sotelo, the economic vice-President, was elected to succeed him. Calvo-
Sotelo was independent; he did not belong to any of the parties that formed
part of the UCD and neither had he had a long political career in the Franco
era. He was an engineer, had worked for 25 years in the private sector and,
with the arrival of democracy, had taken on the roles of Minister of Commerce,
of Public Works, and of Relations with the European Communities (Lafuente
del Cano & Ortúñez Goicolea 2020a). In spite of his apparent proximity to
the entrepreneurs, because of his professional past, the CEOE received the new
government with a very hard, critical document in which they asked, once
more, for a change in the country’s economic direction.
The government of Calvo-Sotelo (1981–1982), which had had to start by
dealing with an attempted coup d’état, the now infamous 23-F, in the inves-
titure session itself, maintained a certain distance from the CEOE. Despite
2
6
1

the exhibition of social compromise visible in the signing of the National
Agreement for Employment (1981), which had the participation of the CEOE
and the two principal trade unions, the UGT and the CCOO (Del Campo
1995, p. 90), the CEOE had less and less trust in the future of the UCD. Faced
with the weakness of the government and the risk of the opposition gaining
power, as already predicted by the polls, the CEOE reinforced their desire to
intervene in the country’s political reorientation, looking for an agreement
between the centre and the right, the so-called “natural majority”, that could
stand against the left in an election. Throughout 1982, the CEOE tried to pro-
mote an alliance between the UCD and the Popular Alliance (AP), led by an
ex-minister of Franco, Manuel Fraga. Yet this option was fully opposed by the
social democratic wing of the UCD, who aimed to remain in the centre of the
political spectrum, without deciding on agreements to either left or right.
Calvo-Sotelo managed to keep some of the promises of his investiture speech,
in particular concerning entry to NATO and the law limiting the competences
of the autonomous communities (LOAPA). However, he resisted a pact with
the right as he considered that it would alienate a part of his electoral support
in the centre. The image of the party was, in any case, one of total internal
discord that could be seen in their opinion concerning such laws as that of
divorce; some UCD members of parliament abandoned the party, moving
towards the AP of Fraga, while others moved towards the PSOE. The President
of the government decided to go it alone to a new general election, despite
entrepreneurial pressure, bringing the election forward to October 1982.
The result was a political turn around: the Socialist Party obtained a decisive
electoral victory, Alianza Popular became the principal opposition party and the
UCD only obtained a symbolic representation. The CEOE received the elect-
oral victory of Felipe González with certain trepidation, although their public
declarations were restrained (González Fernández 2012, p. 49). The naming
of moderate leaders for the economic portfolios, Miguel Boyer and Carlos
Solchaga, and the first measures that were closer to classic social democracy
than to the socialism of Mitterrand brought about closer relations between the
socialist government and the entrepreneurs. The expectations of a highly left-
biased government meant that the reality was accepted with some relief by the
representatives of the entrepreneurs. In 1983, Carlos Ferrer Salat abandoned
the presidency of the CEOE and he was replaced by José María Cuevas, who
had links to the paper industry. The truce between entrepreneurs and govern-
ment was maintained throughout the first legislature and only began to deteri-
orate from 1986, the year of the socialist government’s first re-election.
The Entrepreneurs and the International Transition

Entry to the EEC was possibly the central issue of the international Transition.
The political impediment to entry during the Franco regime had created an
almost unanimous desire in a country that began to identify Europe with mod-
ernity and progress (Moreno Juste 2001, p. 169). The end of the dictatorship
and the consolidation of the democratic system laid the foundations for Spain’s
3
6
1

entry, but the negotiation was more difficult and complicated than initially
foreseen. Spain officially applied for entry to the Common Market in July 1977
and the negotiations officially began in April 1979 but did not conclude until
June 1985.
All the actors who began to emerge during the process of democratisation
wished to participate in some way in this historic process; and this included the
entrepreneurs. On the other hand, the Spanish government wanted to main-
tain control throughout the entire negotiations. They aimed to do so from
1978 until 1981 through a specific, newly created organism: the Ministry for
Relations with the European Communities and from 1981 until 1985 through
the Secretary of State for Relations with the Communities, as part of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In the first phase, the objectives of the Ministry for Relations were to try
to start the official negotiations as soon as possible; to coordinate the position
on Europe of all the Ministries; and to try to involve the political parties, the
economic interlocutors, and society in general in this aspiration (Lafuente del
Cano 2017, pp. 60–65). To do so, it was necessary to know their opinions
down to the last detail, so the first negotiating team maintained frequent
contact with all the country’s economic sectors, and, in particular, with the
entrepreneurs and their organisations. Between 1978 and 1980, there were
a total of 17 official meetings with the entrepreneurs: seven with the CEOE
(Spanish Confederation of Entrepreneurial Organisations), five with CEPYME
(Spanish Confederation of SMEs), and seven with the Superior Council of
the Chambers of Commerce1. These meetings allowed the government to be
aware of the entrepreneurs’ hopes and worries during the initial weeks of the
negotiations.
The basic position of the entrepreneurs was as follows: as with a good part
of Spanish society, they were in favour of Spain’s adhesion to the Common
Market and they considered that it would be positive for the country’s economy.
However, they were particularly cautious about the way to proceed. They
feared that a hurried and badly negotiated entry could suppose great sacrifices
for the country’s economic sectors and its companies. This could be seen in the
lack of trust towards the Spanish political class who, since 1979, had suffered
a certain deterioration in popularity with the end of the consensus and the start
of the party political game so characteristic of a democratic system. The great
expectations that had been forged by the vertiginous institutional changes
within the country came up against democratic normality. Several problems,
especially economic ones, were still unresolved and would remain so for a
long time to come. This lack of trust in politicians included the fear that they
might sacrifice the country’s economy in order to achieve the political success
of Spain’s adhesion and its consequential electoral gain. This entrepreneurial
position could be summed up by a sentence which has often been repeated
since then: “Entry yes, but not at any price” (Lafuente del Cano & Ortúñez
Goicolea 2020b, p. 137). The President of the CEOE, Carlos Ferrer Salat, acted
as the spokesperson of this idea on numerous occasions when speaking with
both the negotiators and the media.
4
6
1

These possible sacrifices that the entrepreneurs feared from a hurried
agreement could be summed up by a series of points: first, they would be giving
up the Preferential Trade Agreement of 1970. This was the framework for
relations between Spain and the European Communities until the former’s entry
to the EEC. It had been signed in 1970 and had several positive consequences
for Spain’s economy, as the European Communities had underestimated Spain’s
industrial potential. On several occasions, particularly during the negotiations,
some member states of the EEC had suggested that Spain should renegotiate this
aspect or even unilaterally renounce it. Secondly, entrepreneurs were afraid of
sacrificing the Transition periods that were, in reality, the key to the agreement.
This was so because Spain was not negotiating but adhering to the organisation,
fully accepting all the EEC’s rules. The period of adaptation to this new legisla-
tion on the part of the different sectors was thus decisive. Some member coun-
tries defended a short Transition period for Spain’s industrial sector and a long
one for the feared agricultural sector. The entrepreneurs, however, defended
more balanced periods. In third place there was VAT, a tax that would be man-
datory in Spain once entry to the EEC had been agreed upon. Yet there were
many voices in the EEC that asked Spain, as a show of good will and to accel-
erate the negotiations, to adopt VAT early, despite the misgivings of a good part
of the economic sectors towards the proposal.
In any case, Spain’s negotiating determination was not sufficient to impress a
rapid rhythm to the negotiations. The EEC had to deal with numerous internal
conflicts (including the consequences of the British rebate or the impact of
the economic crisis) that considerably delayed progress. So, in June 1980, the
President of the French Republic, Valery Giscard d´Estaing, delivered a famous
speech asking for a pause in the negotiations concerning new membership. In
practice, this pause supposed a veto in the Spanish negotiations of some of the
most important and most conflictive aspects, such as agriculture (Bassols 1995,
p. 237). From this moment on, the successive centrist negotiating teams tried
to remove this veto and intensify the negotiations, especially at some particular
moments such as the attempted coup d’état of the 23-F or the change in the
French presidency after the victory of François Mitterrand. The position of
the entrepreneurs did not change, however; they were still cautious about any
opportunity to accelerate the process at the cost of renouncing Spain’s strong
negotiating points.
From December 1982 onwards, a new socialist team headed up the nego-
tiations, with the hope of creating a better relationship with their French
counterparts so as to benefit Spain’s possibility of entry. The entrepreneurs
followed the process with the same desire to influence and to intervene in any
eventual deviation from what they considered to be the country’s economic
interests, in particular in the agricultural aspects that had been at the forefront
of the negotiations and of the disagreements between the teams from the EEC
and Spain (García Crespo 2019b, p. 264).
The diplomacy finally worked. Once the EEC’s internal conflicts had been
singularly resolved in the summits of Stuttgart (June 1983) and Fontainebleau
(June 1984, when an agreement was reached concerning the UK’s economic
5
6
1

claim), progress was finally possible in the pending aspects of the nego-
tiation. In June 1985, the definitive agreement was reached and thus Spain
became a member with full rights of the EEC starting on January 1, 1986. The
entrepreneurs looked at the final agreement with suspicion, since some of their
pretensions, such as the Transition periods for certain agricultural products,
had not been confirmed. Nevertheless, despite some apprehension regarding
the future, they did appreciate the possibilities that such a historically relevant
occurrence might bring.
The other decisive element in the international Transition was Spain’s
adherence to NATO. The differences with the case of the EEC were notable.
The consensus that had made the pacts of Moncloa and the drawing up of the
Constitution possible was still present, with certain nuances, with respect to
Spain’s entry to the EEC, but this was not the case with NATO. As the impact
on the economic question was much less, the position of the entrepreneurs was
not so decided.
The government of the UCD backed Spain’s entry to NATO, although they
were cautious. In its electoral program of 1977, the party simply mentioned the
commitment to the security policy, whereas, in 1979, they explicitly mentioned
NATO (Martínez Sánchez 2011, p. 186). Nevertheless, President Suárez did
not decide to initiate the entry process, despite pressure from his Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Marcelino Oreja. There were numerous reasons that may help
us to understand the President’s decision, yet it would seem that a fear of an
acceleration in the rupture of the internal consensus and possible assistance by
the Soviet Union to the terrorists of ETA were both present (Pérez López &
Lafuente del Cano 2014, pp. 7–8).
The boost to NATO membership came with the change of presidency. Calvo-
Sotelo was well known for his support of NATO membership and he wished to
reflect this objective in his investiture speech. The centrist party thus remained
united in its support for NATO membership, but it came up against strong
opposition in both parliament and in the street. Thus, the question of NATO
has been defined as one of the last battles of the left in the Transition (Mateos
2016, p. 13). The PSOE, which expressed an ideological radicality that later
contrasted with its moderation in their years in government, proclaimed its
well-known slogan “OTAN, de entrada no” (NATO, no entry). All in all, the
process continued on its course through parliament and the majority in favour
of NATO membership was victorious. Spain’s official entry to NATO took
place in May 1982.
However, the game was not over, since one of the electoral promises of the
PSOE in the campaign of October of that same year was to call a referendum
concerning Spain’s exit from NATO. Nevertheless, the first years of the socialist
government’s legislature were a reality check and they turned to pragmatism
(Andrade 2007, p. 98). Thus, in the referendum of 1986, the Executive asked
people to vote in favour of remaining in NATO. In the heat of the referendum,
which ended with the yes vote for remaining in NATO being victorious with
56.85% of the vote, the political and social division around NATO member-
ship was revived.
61

The voice of the CEOE was not listened to in the same way or with the same
intensity as in the other aspect of the international Transition, yet this was in
some ways logical because it was seen more as a question of foreign policy or
of strategic positioning than as a question of strong economic content as the
entry to the EEC had been: the Common Market would affect the economic
sectors, the regions, and the companies, so the entrepreneurs wished to firmly
show their opinions. In contrast, the CEOE remained neutral concerning the
referendum about remaining in NATO, as they considered that the result of
the vote would not directly influence the march of Spain’s economy. This atti-
tude contrasted with that of Spain’s principal banks (known informally as “the
club of the seven”), which firmly came out in favour of remaining (El País,
06/03/1986). Nevertheless, some authors have questioned the strict neutrality
of the entrepreneurs, putting it on par with the strategy of Fraga’s party, which
supported abstention (Díaz Varela & Guindal 1990, pp. 253–255). In reality,
the right was in favour of NATO but considered the referendum to be unneces-
sary and an exercise of political tightrope walking by the government. Faced
with the possibility that an affirmative vote to remain in NATO could be seen
as a vote in favour of the government, they decided upon abstention in the
campaign.
Besides the official position of their representatives, there is another way
to know the thoughts of the entrepreneurs concerning the NATO question. In
the light of the polemic surrounding the entry and later permanence in NATO,
numerous sociological studies were carried out concerning Spanish society and
NATO. These studies showed a majority in favour of NATO, an attitude of
“soft NATO support” by the entrepreneurs (Gallego 1986, p. 105). However,
there is also evidence of an internal plurality within the collective, as well as
the polarisation that was present in Spain around the anti-NATO campaigns.
In 1976, 53% of the professional category of managers and entrepreneurs was
in favour of NATO; yet two years later, in October 1978, the number in favour
had dropped notably as opposed to those who did not answer, while in April
1982, 29% of entrepreneurs were not in favour of NATO as opposed to 23%
who were in favour. In any case, in June 1983, the entrepreneurs could be
characterised as being a collective where the majority was in favour of NATO
(REIS 22, 1985, 187–263). Later on, in 1985, it was calculated that 75% were
in favour of remaining in NATO (Pérez Díaz 1985).
Conclusions
Between 1975 and 1986, Spain lived through profound changes in both its
political system and its position in the comity of nations. At that moment of
democratic consolidation, a new actor began to acquire a singular relevance in
public life: the entrepreneurs.
On the one hand, the regime that had been forged in Franco’s shadow had
become weaker and weaker with the dictator’s own decline. Some reformist
leaders who had made a career in Franco’s regime but who considered that
Spain should advance towards democracy, without doubt or hesitation, headed
7
6
1

the process of transformation that included parties opposed to the dictator-
ship, as well as other institutions of public relevance, such as the workers
representatives and the entrepreneurs.
On the other hand, the country tried to achieve recognition from an inter-
national point of view with the country’s entry to NATO and the EEC. NATO
membership was complicated and generated strong resistance in both parlia-
ment and society, while the Common Market supposed an apparent unan-
imity in a country that had begun to associate Europe with democracy and
modernity.
This entire process of change, which saw many difficulties and much resist-
ance, occurred at a moment of intense economic instability. This was not the
only problem. Convinced of the need to derail the process of democratic trans-
formation by force, terrorism exercised constant pressure through violence and
death during those years. In 1980 alone, terrorism caused the deaths of over
one hundred people.
In this difficult but enthralling framework, the role of the entrepreneurs
emerged. As with other sectors, the opening up and political liberalisation of
Spain also allowed the entrepreneurs to experience years of great movement
and a proliferation of associations. Of these, one institution came to represent
an entire collective: the CEOE (Spanish Confederation of Entrepreneurial
Organisations). The CEOE not only took on the role representing entrepreneurs
in the social dialog, it also wanted to have its own voice in the debates and
the political arena. It defended supporting the objectives of its members, while
also, publicly and openly, unequivocally supporting the free market system.
This position involved participating in public debates and in the media in
order to influence the policies of successive governments. The tension became
evident with the centrist governments, which disappointed the entrepreneurs
who desired a less Keynesian economic policy than that offered by Adolfo
Suárez and his successor in the Moncloa, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo. The situ-
ation was different with the first government led by Felipe González; with the
expectations of policies too far to the left, the moderation of González and
the ample support from the electorate in the elections of October 1982 toned
down the perspective and the grievances of the CEOE.
The entrepreneurs also took up a particular stance with the international
Transition. NATO did not bring great debates, as its economic impact on the
country was less. It was a defensive and strategic question in which a good
part of the entrepreneurs was in favour of NATO, though the CEOE remained
neutral. The Common Market was also a strategic position, but one that had
a very strong economic component. Spain had to face reforms to adapt to the
European framework and its impact was feared in certain sectors. The Spanish
entrepreneurs did not break the consensus in favour of the EEC, predom-
inant in parliament and in society. However, they showed a profound mistrust
of the method of entry. They feared that the politicians would sacrifice part
of the Spanish economy in order to obtain the political gain from adhesion.
They were thus cautious because of the fears that adhesion produced, and they
tried to make their voice heard in the negotiating teams. They did not manage
8
6
1

to participate directly in the negotiation, which was reserved solely for the
government, but they made their presence felt through appeals and constant
demands to the Spanish negotiators.
Note
1 Archivo Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo (ALCS), Relaciones con las CEE, 98, 12.
References
Andrade, J. A. 2007. Del socialismo autogestionario a la OTAN: notas sobre el cambio
ideológico del PSOE durante la transición a la democracia. HAOL 14: 97–106.
Bassols, R. 1995. España en Europa. Madrid: Política International.
Cabrera, M. & F. Del Rey. 2011. El poder de los empresarios. Política y economía en la
España contemporánea (1875–2010). Barcelona: RBA.
Cabrera, M. 2003. Empresarios y políticos en la democracia. De la crisis económica a
las incertidumbres de la transición. Economía Industrial 349–350: 51–62.
Calvo-Sotelo, L. 1990. Memoria viva de la Transición. Barcelona: Plaza & Janés/
Cambio16.
Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas. 1983. La opinión pública ante la OTAN.
Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas 22: 187–262.
Comín, F. & M. Hernández. 2013. Conclusiones. Las crisis económicas en España.
In Crisis económicas en España, 1300–2012: lecciones de la historia, coord. by F.
Comín and M. Hernández, 279–320. Madrid: Alianza.
Del Campo, E. 1995. ¿En el corazón del mercado? Sindicatos y empresarios en la
democracia española. Política y Sociedad 20: 85–96.
Díaz Varela, M. & M. Guindal. 1990. A la sombra del poder. Barcelona: Tibidabo.
Flores, A. 2000. Los empresarios y la transición a la democracia en España. Estudios
Sociológicos 54: 695–726.
Flores, A. 2003. Los empresarios y la transición a la democracia: Los casos de México
y España. Revista Mexicana de Sociología 65: 497–522.
Fuentes, J. F. 2011. Adolfo Suárez. Biografía política. Barcelona: Planeta.
Fusi, J. P. 2018. La democracia en España: la Transición en perspectiva. In España
constitucional (1978–2018), ed. B. Pendás, 319–329. Madrid: Centro de Estudios
Políticos y Constitucionales.
Gallego, M. D. 1986. Algunas consideraciones sobre el cambio social y el empresariado
en España 1960–1980. Documentación social 65: 93–114.
García Crespo, G. 2019a. La democracia del libre mercado. La intervención patronal
en el sistema político de la Transición. Historia y Política 42: 297–330. doi.org/
10.18042/hp.42.11.
García Crespo, G. 2019b. El precio de Europa. Granada: Comares.
Gallego, F. 2008. El mito de la Transición. La crisis del franquismo y los orígenes de la
democracia (1973–1977). Barcelona: Crítica.
Gay, J. C. 2001. El proceso de integración europea: de la pequeña Europa a la Europa
de los Quince. In Historia de la integración europea, coord. by R. Martín de la
Guardia and G. Pérez Sánchez, 123–166. Barcelona: Ariel.
Guillamet, J. 2016. Las sombras de la Transición. Valencia: Servei de publicacions.
González Fernández, A. 2012. Los empresarios ante los regímenes democráticos en
España: la II República y la Transición. Pasado y Memoria. Revista de Historia
Contemporánea 6: 33–55.
9
6
1

Juliá, S. 2017. Transición: Historia de una política española (1937–2017). Barcelona:
Galaxia Gutenberg.
Hernández Andreu, J. 2006. La transición centrista. In Historia Económica de España,
coord. by A. González Enciso and J. M. Matés-Barco, 781–794. Madrid: Ariel.
Lafuente del Cano, J. 2017. Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo y Europa. Madrid: Sílex.
Lafuente del Cano, J. 2019. Los empresarios españoles ante el cambio: retos, dificultades
y esperanzas. In Empresas y empresarios en España. De mercaderes a industriales,
coord by. J. M. Matés-Barco, 353–368. Madrid: Pirámide.
Lafuente del Cano, J. & P. P. Ortúñez Goicolea. 2020a. Leopoldo Calvo- Sotelo:
ingeniero, empresario y político frente a la integración europea. Historia y Política
43: 121–155. doi.org/10.18042/hp.43.05.
Lafuente del Cano, J. & P. P. Ortúñez Goicolea. 2020b. Un objetivo y dos estrategias: el
centro, los empresarios y los sindicatos ante Europa (1977–1982). In La Transición
española: una perspectiva internacional, coord. by P. Pérez López, 125– 154.
Pamplona: Aranzadi Thomson Reuters.
López Gómez, C. 2016. La sociedad española y la adhesión a la Comunidad Europea
(1975–1985): políticos, asociaciones europeístas, interlocutores sociales. PhD diss.,
Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
Martínez Sánchez, J. A. 2011. El referéndum sobre la permanencia de España en la
OTAN. UNISCI 26: 283–310. dx.doi.org/10.5209/rev_UNIS.2011.v26.37825.
Mateos, A. 2016. La batalla de la OTAN en España. Un tardío ajuste ideológico. Ayer
103: 1–13.
Molinero, C. & P. Ysàs. 2018. La Transición: Historia y Relatos. Madrid: Siglo XXI.
Moreno Juste, A. 2001. España en el proceso de integración europea. In Historia de la
integración europea, coord. by R. Martín de la Guardia y G. Pérez Sánchez, 167–
214. Madrid: Ariel.
Pereira, J. C. 2004. El factor internacional en la transición española. Studia historica.
Historia contemporánea 22: 185–224.
Pérez Díaz, V. 1985. Los empresarios y la clase política. Papeles de economía española
22: 2–37.
Pérez López, P. & J. Lafuente del Cano. 2014. Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo y la Transición
International: la prioridad europea. Arbor 190–769: 1–15. dx.doi.org/10.3989/
arbor.2014.769n5008.
Powell, C. 1995. Un rey para la democracia. Barcelona: Planeta.
Powell, C. 2001. España en democracia 1975–2000. Barcelona: Plaza & Janés.
Prego, V. 1996. Así se hizo la Transición. Barcelona: Plaza & Janés.
Tirado Ruiz, J. A. 2015. Siete caras de la Transición: Arias Navarro, Juan Carlos I,
Adolfo Suárez, Manuel Fraga, Torcuato Fernández- Miranda, Santiago Carrillo,
Carmen Díez de Rivera. Madrid: San Pablo.
Tusell, J. & Á. Soto. (eds.). 1996. Historia de la transición, 1975–1996. Madrid: Alianza.
0
7
1
12
From the Sector to the Automobile
Cluster of Castilla y León
Its Study through the History of
Lingotes Especiales
Pablo Alonso-Villa and
Pedro Pablo Ortúñez Goicolea
Introduction
Castilla y León is one of the 17 autonomous communities that make up Spain
in territorial and administrative terms. It is neither the most populated nor
the most developed economically speaking. Nor is it the most industrialised,
yet since the mid-twentieth century, it has become one of the leading indus-
trial enclaves in the automobile sector in Spain. Along with Cataluña, it is
the region with the largest vehicle production at a national scale. Between
them, the two regions account for over 40% of the national total, according to
data from the National Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers
(ANFAC). Exports represent a similar percentage of the total.
This region is home to the production plants of three car manufacturers,
Iveco –the seventh largest exporting company of automotive equipment in
Spain – Renault Group –the second, is also the fourth largest in the country
as a whole –and Nissan. The region boasts a large group of firms who manu-
facture car parts and equipment. Some of these firms are multinationals who
head the national market in these products. Prominent amongst these are,
for example, Lingotes Especiales, Grupo Antolín, Gestamp, Benteler, Johnson
Controls, Faurecia, Valeo, etc.
For decades, the area has been home to externalities which have had an
impact on the competitiveness which the automobile sector has managed to
achieve. In the case of certain cities, such as Valladolid, the main nucleus of
the sector, these advantages have been present since the first third of the nine-
teenth century, thanks to the previous existence of a metallurgical industrial
district. The creation of the automobile cluster in 2001 was a spontaneous
phenomenon, arising from the favourable conditions that already existed in
the area. A change has occurred in which the cluster has come to be more
important than the automobile sector itself. This is due to the fact that it not
only embraces car firms but also a large group of suppliers involved in related
sectors, as well as important technological centres and educational institutions.
The following pages examine the most important ideas concerning the
theory of industrial location and set out the advantages which, according to
authors such as Marshall, Becattini, and Porter, emerge from the concentration
1
7
The History of Lingotes Especiales 171

of firms. A description is then provided of the development of the automo-
bile sector in Castilla y León and its transformation to the regional cluster.
This dynamic is analysed through a study of the business history of one of the
leading firms in the cluster: Lingotes Especiales. Also provided is a look at the
area’s advantages which this company has benefitted from in order to be com-
petitive in international markets.
The Agglomeration of Economic Activities in Economic

Theory: A Brief Summary
The location and agglomeration trends of economic activities in an area and
the advantages to stem from this concentration have been the subject of ana-
lysis in economic science for over a century. The pioneering contribution of
Alfred Marshall laid down the foundation of what was to become the gen-
eral theory concerning industrial districts and clusters. A brief summary of
the principal ideas of the authors who have most influenced this theory is
provided below.
The earliest references to industrial districts are to be found in the work
of Marshall, specifically in his book entitled Principles of Economics (1890).
According to Loasby (2009), the importance of this concept lies in the fact
that it highlights the role of external economies in industrial development
processes. The term industrial district introduced by Marshall underpins the
fact that firms which are concentrated in a given area and which draw on
a single local labour force can achieve advantages in production at a large
scale, acting as suppliers to other firms and driving technological innovation,
such that the production process is linked to an area’s economic and sociocul-
tural resources1. Once the industry has set up in the area, it is likely to con-
tinue developing thanks to a series of advantages which would stem, amongst
other reasons, from the very concentration of firms itself. These advantages or
external economies which Marshall reflects in his work are concentrated in
three groups.
First, there is the existence of non-codified knowledge to which all the firms
and people in the district can gain access. This leads to the creation of a kind
of “industrial atmosphere” wherein said knowledge is acquired almost natur-
ally and would gradually be perfected by the member of the district for their
mutual benefit.
The second advantage concerns the emergence of a subsidiary industry.
The production process within a district is divided into a series of phases or
stages which are assumed by the various firms. In addition, suppliers who are
specialised in the production of the machinery required to manufacture the
product or range of products that are characteristic of the district itself may
also appear.
The existence of a specialised labour force constitutes the third advantage,
which is external to the firms, but internal to the district. The district’s spe-
cialisation in one or more products triggers a series of special technical skills
amongst the firms’ workers. In this way, the advantages for firms in the district
2
7
1
172 Alonso-Villa and Ortúñez Goicolea

when hiring skilled workers who are familiar with the techniques used in that
industry would not be found in another isolated firm.
This set of advantages, which Marshall perceived in certain industrial
areas of late nineteenth century Britain, have come to be known in economic
literature as Marshallian advantages in order to distinguish them from another
series of valuable factors which emerged in districts and which were subse-
quently studied by other authors.
The term industrial district was re-established by Becattini in the 1980s. The
theory deriving from the works of this as well as other authors, such as Brusco,
Bellandi, Sforzi, and Dei Ottati, is known as neo-Marshallian. Becattini refers
to the district as a socio-territorial entity characterised by the active presence
of both a community of people as well as a group of small-and medium-
sized companies who cooperate with one another in a historically determined
area (Becattini, 1979, 1989, 2002). This notion of district not only embraces
the classical advantages or Marshallian externalities, but also adds a further
two aspects that were characteristic of the Italian industrial areas he studied:
predominance of small-and medium-sized companies and the existence of a
cultural, political, and institutional framework specific to that area. This there-
fore extends the idea of “industrial atmosphere” which is characteristic of
Marshall, and districts come to be areas in which the knowledge generated by
the agents who operate in them flows (Galletto 2014). Apart from recovering
the term district, according to Trullén (2015), the change in the unit of analysis
in industrial economy –“from the production sector to the district” takes on
enormous relevance within the theory developed by Becattini. In other words,
rather than studying the sector in itself, the analysis focuses on the area where
production is developed. Amongst the institutions driving the area where the
district is located, prominent would be those pointed out by Becattini (1979,
1989) and later by Piore and Sabel (1990): local credit institutions, educa-
tional institutions, chambers of commerce or business associations, and local
administration.
This phenomenon of agglomeration has been given a number of names:
local production or work systems, innovative milieu, areas of flexible special-
isation, and regional innovation systems. Yet all of them highlight the concen-
tration of firms and the interactions between them. These terms were replaced
by one word: cluster, which in the 1990s was coined by Harvard professor
Michel Porter (1990, 1991, 1998, 2000). He took the pioneering ideas of
Marshall and, based on them, developed a wide-ranging theory on competi-
tiveness in the context of the global economy, yet focusing on a local basis. The
international success of sectors and, in sum, of nations, is linked to a high geo-
graphical concentration of economic activity. When referring to this concentra-
tion, he used the expression cluster or group of firms. He defined the cluster as
an agglomeration of firms and institutions that are interconnected in close-knit
geographical location (Porter 1998). The economic agents in the cluster engage
in complementary actions and compete with one another, but also cooperate.
The cluster’s international competitiveness stems from the many advantages
generated by the concentration of agents in a given area. First, there is the
3
7
1

access to input and specialised workers. Input includes components, machinery,
or financial services, which can be obtained at a lower cost. Both advantages
refer to the first two Marshallian externalities. The cluster also favours access
to information and knowledge. The agents in the cluster accumulate know-
ledge on the markets and production techniques. The proximity between them
also leads to this knowledge circulating within the cluster. A third advan-
tage of international competitiveness is the complementarity of activities;
in other words, the possibility that subsidiary industries might emerge, just
as Marshall proposed. The cluster also facilitates access to institutions and
public goods. The concentration of firms triggers the appearance of an insti-
tutional framework which, through public investment in technical education
or infrastructures reduces company costs. A fifth factor in the cluster’s com-
petitiveness involves competition between the firms it is made up of. The sixth
advantage is the fostering of innovation. Rivals who are located close to one
another tend to emulate and try to outdo one another, striving to improve in
all the stages of production and distribution. Finally, the cluster contributes
to the creation of new businesses. There are fewer obstacles to the arrival of
new competitors than in isolated locations. A greater degree of externalisation
sparks the emergence of new businesses.
The specialised literature seems to agree that the cluster phenomenon is
more appropriate for explaining the competitive dynamic of capitalism than
the neo-Marshallian vision (Catalan et al. 2011). This might be why interest in
clusters is not only confined to the academic world but has found widespread
acceptance amongst political decision-makers, from supranational institutions
such as the OECD or the European Union, down to national, regional, and even
municipal governments. A new form of industrial policy is being sought whose
goal is the creation of competitive economies, with the cluster having become
a tool to achieve such a goal. As a result, governments have encouraged and
supported the development of competitive industrial clusters. The possibility of
creating “top down” clusters –and, therefore, seeking to attract companies and
economic agents to an area –clearly differs from the spontaneous and natural
emergence (“bottom up”) of agglomerations of firms and economic agents in
a constant process of cooperation and collaboration where, in some cases, the
structure of relations dates back decades or even centuries. Such is the case,
for example, with the car industry in Castilla y León. We now look at how it
has evolved and how a cluster has been created on the basis of already existing
competitive advantages and relations between firms in the sector as well as
other related firms and local institutions.
From the Sector to the Regional Automobile Cluster

Castilla y León, and in particular Valladolid, which is the principal nucleus of
the regional sector, has a long-running tradition of manufacturing cars and car
parts. The city’s metallurgical industrial district, which began to emerge in the
early twentieth century, enabled the development –after the 1950s –of the
automobile sector both in the city as well as throughout the region as a whole.
4
7
1

The manufacturing of car parts and components began in the first third of the
twentieth century. One of the first companies to manufacture parts for motor
vehicles was the Sociedad Española del Carburador IRZ, founded in 1922.
In addition to producing carburettors for car engines, its clients included the
leading national –Hispano Suiza and Casa Elizalde –as well as international
aviation companies, such as the British firm Armstrong Siddeley2 (Alonso
et al. 2019).
The 1940s saw a transformation in the supply provided by firms in the dis-
trict towards the manufacture of products destined for the transport material
sector. However, it was not until Fabricación de Automóviles, S.A. (FASA) was
built in the early 1950s that vehicles were manufactured in the region and
therefore, that the sector began to develop. This company commenced pro-
duction of cars under licence from Renault in 1953. They were soon followed
by other companies. In 1956, Fabricaciones de Automóviles Diésel, S. A.
(FADISA) was set up in Ávila to manufacture vans under licence from Alfa
Romeo3. One year later, the Sociedad Anónima de Vehículos Automóviles
(SAVA) was opened in Valladolid to manufacture three-wheel vehicles with
Barreiros engines4 (Álvarez 2008).
During the 1960s, the industrial policy carried out by the Franco regime
helped to boost the automobile sector in Castilla y León. The government
promoted the development of the region by declaring Burgos and Valladolid
to be “Poles” (Cebrián 2009). Between 1965 and 1970, production in the
sector grew at an average rate of 21.6%. It was at this time that mass produc-
tion started at FASA. Its production rose substantially, increasing from 8,400
vehicles in 1960 to almost 170,000 in 1973 (Fernández de Sevilla 2013). The
boost given by this company as well as by other manufacturers who had also
set up in Spain in the 1950s, SEAT and Citröen, helped to increase the number
of firms supplying units and equipment in Castilla y León and nationally. In
1950, there were 429 such firms in Spain, while ten years later the figure had
risen to 1,329, (Ortiz-Villajos 2010: 389).
The 1970s saw an upheaval in the history of the automobile, not only in
Spain but globally (García-Ruiz 2001). The international automobile sector
reached a turning point, which was sparked by the oil shock of 1973. In Spain,
the crisis which began that year lasted until the end of the decade (Carreras
& Tafunell 2010). In the case of the domestic car industry, internal demand
for vehicles fell by 10.4% between 1974 and 1979 (Castaño & Cortés 1980).
Faced with this situation, being able to resort to exports, boosted by the pref-
erential agreement which Spain signed in 1970 with the EEC, brought relief to
Spanish manufacturers (Fernández de Sevilla 2013).
Despite this downturn, the 1970s heralded a period of consolidation for
the sector in Castilla y León. In quantitative terms there was a rise in the level
of occupation5, of the total volume of production –to a greater extent –and,
as a result, there were productivity gains. FASA-Renault continued to increase
its production thanks to exports to France, spurred by the parent company,
Renault, and opened a new factory in Valladolid and another in Palencia, which
5
7
1

consolidated the firm’s presence in Castilla y León. Two of the most important
car component firms, backed by regional capital, consolidated their position in
the market. The first of these, Grupo Antolín, set up in Burgos in 1959 and the
second, Lingotes Especiales in Valladolid, in 1969 (Alonso & Ortúñez 2020).
In addition, the European leader in tires, Michelin, arrived and opened a fac-
tory in Aranda de Duero in 1970 and another in Valladolid in 1973.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the sector grew even further following the arrival of
major multinational equipment and component firms –Huf, Benteler, Johnson
Controls, and Ficosa, amongst others –as well as the creation of firms with
national or regional capital –such as Gestamp –who set up in various provinces
in Castilla y León. Other manufacturers also arrived, such as Nissan –in 1980
it bought Motor Ibérica S.A and maintained the plant at Ávila –and Iveco,
who opened in Valladolid in 1991 after acquiring ENASA.
This proliferation of firms was due to increased internal demand as well
as to demand from other neighbouring regions –Basque Country, Navarra,
Aragón, Cataluña, and Galicia –where there were vehicle manufacturers. This
flow of interregional relations is, amongst others, the reason behind the even
geographical distribution of firms around the various provinces of Castilla y
León. Together with Valladolid –the leading industrial nucleus where the car
industry is present –the main enclaves are Burgos and León. The three of them
account for over 70% of all the firms.
For suppliers in Castilla y León, their initial dependence on manufacturers
in the region, in particular on FASA-Renault, gradually declined and even
began to disappear. In that year, 36% of company sales of equipment and
components in Castilla y León were shipped to other regions in Spain and
30% to other countries, mainly in the EU (Camino et al. 2005). In other words,
only one third of what regional suppliers were producing was absorbed by the
plants which Renault, Nissan, and Iveco had in Castilla y León.
This percentage may well now be even less due to the growing international-
isation of suppliers of equipment and components to the region. This opening
up has been based on exports and on direct investment overseas. Prominent
examples of this dynamic are Grupo Antolín, Gestamp, and Lingotes Especiales.
The equipment and component industry in Castilla y León currently represents
23.4% of the national total, and is second only to Cataluña in regional terms
(Datacomex).
Apart from companies’ internal factors, this high level of international com-
petitiveness has benefitted from the existence of a series of economic agents
present in the region –knowledge centres, specialised service firms, and com-
panies from other related sectors –who maintain a close link –collaboration
and cooperation –with the vehicle builders and manufacturers of parts and
components, which has favoured the emergence of agglomeration economies
and externalities. In 2001, many of these agents decided to group together in
the form of a cluster and set up the Castilla y León Automobile Business Forum
(Facyl). In this case, unlike what happened in other European regions where
automobile clusters have been created “top down”6, the conditions required
6
7
1

for it to emerge were already present in the area, as we have seen, since the
mid-twentieth century, such that its creation has been totally spontaneous, or
“bottom up”.
Facyl has grown since it was set up nearly 20 years ago. It is currently made
up of 69 agents or members, approximately half of whom are SMEs, which are
classified as follows. A first group comprises the three car manufacturers pre-
sent in the region: Grupo Renault, Iveco and Nissan. A second group of agents
is composed of suppliers of car equipment and components. In this case, a dis-
tinction should be drawn between two groups of firms. On the one hand are
the subsidiaries of the major international groups of car parts –one key feature
is that Facyl includes almost half of those in the world –and on the other are
the regional suppliers. Some of these –Lingotes Especiales, Grupo Antolín, or
Gestamp–have become leading multinational groups. Companies from other
related sectors, such as tire manufacturers (Michelin), producers of fibres and
fabrics for seats, or metal products, also form part of the cluster. All of them
make up the third group of agents in the cluster. The fourth group comprises
the knowledge generating units, such as the technological centres (CARTIF and
Cidaut), the universities of Valladolid, Burgos, and León, service companies
who specialise in engineering and vocational training centres. These techno-
logical agents work in the area of ICT. Their potential and knowledge lead
them to undertake key projects in conjunction with firms in order to develop
products and processes, and to incorporate good practices in management and
production. Finally, there are all those local institutions who help to promote
the area, such as local credit institutions, chambers of commerce or business
associations, economic development agencies, public credit institutions, and
local administration.
The turnover of all the agents involved in the cluster –with the exception
of the institutions or public entities –exceeded 12,200 million euros last year
(21% of regional GDP) and provided direct employment to 25,900 people
(2.7% of the working population)7. If we compare these figure to those of the
regional car industry –17% of regional GDP and 1.9% of employment –we
see how the situation has changed and how it reflects how the cluster is more
important than the sector8. Until around 2015, the production of the agents
in the cluster represented some 80% of that of the sector. Today’s data show
that the figure now stands at over 100%. In terms of production, overseas
companies have a greater weight –it should be remembered that there are
three vehicle manufacturers. Nevertheless, those backed by regional capital or,
in certain instances, national capital, have a major presence. Grupo Antolín, a
family business, is the sixth leading exporting firm of automotive equipment
in Spain. Gestamp is present in 20 countries and is the world leader in steel
stamping, and Lingotes Especiales, who export over 80% of their production
and account for 12% of the European markets in brake discs, are just some
examples of the dynamism achieved by regional companies9.
The possibilities for growth, both in the domestic market and in the over-
seas market, for firms which belong to the cluster are much greater than for
those firms who are outside it. In fact, the most competitive and productive
71

companies are those who belong to Facyl. Prominent in this regard are the
three previously mentioned companies plus the factories in the Renault Group
in the region who, together with the Nissan plant in Sunderland, have become
the most productive and competitive in the whole of the Renault- Nissan
Alliance (Alonso & Juste 2018).
There are many externalities derived from the agglomeration of these agents
in Castilla y León and they have an impact on firms’ competitiveness. These
competitive advantages may represent anchoring factors in the area, which is
known in the specialised literature as the “territory effect”. In the case of Facyl,
five advantages are seen to be present in the area.
The first of these is the possibility for cooperation which companies have,
particularly SMEs. The option to cooperate may be applied to different
scenarios, from fostering commercial and production internationalisation, to
joint hiring of services. The strategic lines which Facyl pursues seek to boost
this advantage so that a greater number of firms in the cluster may benefit
from it. The other externalities present in the territory are linked in one way or
another to the idea of cooperation.
Another advantage linked to the cluster is joint participation in R&D
projects. The availability of a context of knowledge boosts firms’ technological
potential and makes them more competitive. In the automobile cluster, many
major companies who are able to manage their technological dynamic through
their own R&D coexist with an even greater number of SMEs who are not
able to economically sustain such departments and who, therefore, need
external assistance. For these firms, being able to draw on technological centres
and engineering firms is key to undertaking research projects and developing
new products and processes. Within the Castilla y León automobile cluster,
there are two such centres (Cidaut and CARTIF, who both form part of the
European network), as well as six engineering service companies, specialising
in providing firms in the cluster with comprehensive solutions.
A third advantage concerns the possibility of subcontracting production
tasks which, occasionally or permanently, a firm may decide to outsource. The
existence of subsidiary industries is one clearly distinctive feature of clusters.
Vehicle manufacturing involves a great number of tasks and procedures and
it is necessary to assemble a wide variety of parts and units. Sharing the pro-
duction of these units provides firms with greater production efficiency. In the
case of Castilla y León, there is more outsourcing than in other production
activities, added to which it has also grown more quickly (Alonso & Juste
2018). This result confirms the trend pointed out by Myro (2009) for the case
of the car industry on a national and international scale. In a context of ever-
growing externalisation, company proximity and cooperation is vital vis-à-vis
being able to implement a system of lean manufacturing and of supplying just
in time (JIT).
The fourth advantage to derive from the cluster is the existence of a specialised
labour market. This advantage is undoubtedly the one which the area has been
offering the longest. It is linked to the prior existence of a metallurgical based
industrial district. Since the late nineteenth century, the area as a whole, and
8
7
1

Valladolid in particular, has had industrial vocational training schools. Over
the years, the range of courses offered by these centres has expanded and, since
the 1930s, specialised studies in the automotive sector have been available
in Valladolid. In the 1950s and 1960s, almost half of all technical engineer
graduates from the Valladolid Industrial Engineering Faculty worked in firms
involved in the automobile sector (Alonso & Ortúñez 2019). The range of
courses gradually spread to the rest of the provinces and 16 vocational training
centres in Castilla y León today include courses geared exclusively towards the
car industry. The same can be said of the region’s universities. Thanks once
again to cooperation, there is also the possibility of receiving joint training
through the programmes offered by Facyl for life-long learning for workers,
middle management, and directors. This stock of knowledge forms part of
the traditional and ongoing “industrial automobile atmosphere” present in the
region’s cities, such as Valladolid.
One final advantage is the presence of institutions or local development
agents, as well as business organisations. Castilla y León has an economic
development agency, a institute for business competitiveness, and a financial
institute. Moreover, and in constant interrelation with the firms in the cluster,
there are chambers of commerce and industry in the various provinces in the
region. This kind of employers’ organisation cooperates with firms and offers
a wide variety of specialised guidance services, particularly in the international
area with a view to promoting companies’ expansion overseas.
The Companies in the Sector: The Case of Lingotes Especiales

1969 witnessed the creation in Valladolid of Lingotes Especiales, one of
Spain’s leading automotive equipment and component firms. Its industrial and
business history may help to understand the changes that have occurred in the
sector at a regional scale over the last five decades. Moreover, an analysis of the
firm provides an insight into the advantages of the cluster which have helped
it, amongst other aspects of an internal nature, to achieve greater competitive-
ness. The use of these advantages depends on its business strategy and, more
specifically, on its management style. Amongst the many companies that make
up Facyl, Lingotes Especiales has been chosen as a case study for a number of
reasons: a) it is a firm with a long-running tradition in the sector, b) it is backed
by regional capital, c) it is one of the leading firms in the cluster thanks to its
great competitiveness in international markets, d) it is one of the founding
members of Facyl, and e) it currently presides over the cluster’s board.
The idea behind Lingotes Especiales came from some young entrepreneurs
in the region who set out to cast iron and obtain a range of metal parts for the
industry in general. The firm was set up at the time when the national auto-
mobile industry was beginning to take off (Alonso & Ortúñez 2020). In this
context, the increased number of vehicle manufacturers in Castilla y León,
FASA-Renault, and to a lesser degree SAVA, enabled them to have key clients
in the region itself who would acquire part of their production. The two car
9
7
1

companies soon became regular clients. Since then, many of the parts that
Lingotes Especiales has manufactured have gone to car building firms10. In the
1970s and 1980s, the firm continued to expand despite the difficulties the car
market was going through at a national and international scale. The strategy
of commercial diversification it implemented during the early decades of its
activity allowed it to overcome these difficulties and in 1990 its annual produc-
tion exceeded 45,000 tons of metal products, compared to the less than 5,000
it had produced in the early 1970s.
The 1990s heralded a period of consolidation for the company for two
reasons. The first was its firm conviction to focus on the overseas market. Its
competitive skills in terms of production enabled it to manufacture quality
parts at a low price and its commercial strategy in Europe meant that it could
easily gain a foothold in that market. The results of its internationalisation
strategy are there for all to see. The firm went from exporting less than 2% of
its production in 1990, to over 75% in 2000. The second reason underlying
its consolidation was the decision to take its production process to the next
level and to mechanise the parts it produced, thereby giving them added value.
In order to undertake this project, the company decided to cooperate with an
Italian firm, Bradi, which up until that point had been mechanising the parts
being cast in Valladolid. In 1996, the two companies signed a technical col-
laboration agreement –a joint venture –to carry out the project and created
a new company called Braling Conjuntos. The capital for the new firm was
split between the two partners and the Castilla y León Industrial Development
Society (Sodical)11. Four years later, and thanks to the good results obtained,
Lingotes Especiales decided to buy out its partner’s share and changed the
name to Frenos y Conjuntos, S.A. Thanks to the mechanized subsidiary com-
pany and to its new product, the mechanized brake disc, exports grew until
they reached 80% of total production in 2003. Manufacture of these parts,
together with the raw discs, accounts for 12% of the European market.
After 2000, Lingotes Especiales took yet another step forward in its inter-
nationalisation and undertook a process which involved investing abroad
by setting up production plants. It once again opted for cooperation with
a business partner, and various options were weighed. Given the interest of
the North-American multinational company Alcoa in knowing the produc-
tion processes carried out by Lingotes Especiales, that company was chosen.
Alcoa, with its automotive sector division, Alcoa Automotive Casting Unit,
provided Lingotes Especiales with the chance to access the North-American
car market fairly quickly. The agreement between the two firms to manufacture
aluminium car parts was signed, and the first phase of the project saw the pur-
chase of a production plant at Leyland, owned by the British company Alloy
Technologies Limited (ATL). The first manufacturing tests using technology
designed by Lingotes Especiales with the help of Cidaut were conducted at
the factory. A second stage involved installing another larger factory in Spain
which was for serial production of the aluminium parts. The location chosen
to house the new plant was in Castilla y León, close to Valladolid. The two
0
8
1

partners concluded that this location was ideal given the advantages the area
could offer. Despite the good technical results obtained in the components,
these failed to have the anticipated business impact. The agreement began to
hang by a thread and eventually Lingotes Especiales decided to abandon the
project in late 2004. Although this ambitious adventure ultimately proved
unsuccessful, it did provide Lingotes Especiales with valuable experience in
techniques for mechanising aluminium parts and components.
The last business project undertaken by Lingotes Especiales overseas was
in India. In 2014, the firm signed a joint venture with a car component com-
pany in India, Setco Automotive Limited, for the manufacture of mechanised
parts. Once again, Lingotes Especiales headed the technical side of the project.
The first units were shipped out to clients in Southeast Asia in 2016. Current
expectations are to expand the facilities to reach a production capacity of over
50,000 tons per year.
Throughout its 50-year history, Lingotes Especiales has taken advantage of
some of the competitive advantages afforded by the area, some of which are
now listed. One of the factors, perhaps the most important, which influenced
the setting up of the firm and its location in Valladolid was the close proximity
of the FASA-Renault and SAVA factories which, in this case and at least at the
beginning, served as driving or leading companies, according to the cluster
theory. Another reason that explains the firm located in Valladolid was the
existence of partners in the city who had a long-running tradition in the metal-
lurgical sector and who were ready to invest. Valladolid’s metallurgical trad-
ition, which dates back to the late nineteenth century, enabled it to create a
business class that had experience in this type of venture and which had shown
its willingness to invest by welcoming the arrival of FASA.
Links with the area and the advantages this entails can also be seen through
the use of specialised staff. Lingotes Especiales’ first workers in the 1970s
included people who had acquired experience in metallurgical activities in local
factories. Moreover, throughout its whole life, the firm’s staff has included a
number of graduates from the University of Valladolid as well as from voca-
tional training centres in the area, and with whom it has set up internship
training agreements. This type of cooperation with educational institutions
proves beneficial to both parties. It has allowed Lingotes Especiales to choose
its workers, taking into account the skills they have demonstrated during their
training period. It allows students and future workers, to gain the experience
they would not otherwise be able to acquire through their theoretical studies
in training centres. Many companies in the cluster –including the Grupo
Renault –have benefitted from the existence in the region of the wide range of
vocational training courses available.
In the case of Lingotes Especiales the importance of institutions which pro-
mote economic and industrial development is also clear. As mentioned, the
Castilla y León Industrial Development Society (Sodical) was involved in its
mechanising project. This business plan required a substantial financial outlay,
200 million euros, such that the two companies –Lingotes Especiales and its
1
8

partner Bradi –opted to draw on the financial support provided by Sodical,
who provided 20% of the social capital.
Finally, Lingotes Especiales has cooperated with other firms in the cluster
and with technological centres. In addition to its participation with other
agents at international business fairs or meetings on quality and competi-
tiveness, it has developed the necessary procedures to ensure the correct
implementation of the lean manufacturing production system and the JIT
supply system, both of which require constant coordination with its clients
and with other suppliers. Cooperation also extends to the technological
sphere. Lingotes Especiales has maintained close links with the University
of Valladolid to engage in joint research into developing new processes
and products. It has also fostered the creation of the Cidaut and CARTIF
technological centres, with whom it cooperates in R&D issues, even though
it has its own department for such purposes. In its alliance with the multi-
national Alcoa, it was Lingotes Especiales who headed the technical part of
the project. Together with Cidaut, it designed the new moulding system to be
introduced at the Leyland plant. The advantages afforded by the area meant
that Alcoa and Lingotes Especiales decided to house the production factory
in Castilla y León, despite the North-American multinational having fac-
tories in the neighbouring region of Galicia. Another of the most important
technological innovations undertaken by Lingotes Especiales is the European
patent obtained in 2016 for the lightweight disc brake, and which meant a
30% reduction in its weight. In this case it also received technical assistance
from Cidaut.
Final Notes
Unlike what has happened in other European regions, in Castilla y León there
is a clear example of a cluster created spontaneously as a result of the exter-
nalities that the area has offered. The favourable conditions for the birth and
development of the automobile cluster were present from the mid-twentieth
century, with some even dating from the late nineteenth. A relational network
has been created that extends between automotive companies and other sectors,
technology centres, and institutions, and this is what ultimately drives the com-
petitiveness of the cluster and serves as a territorial anchor for investment. The
impact of the agglomeration of these activities in Castilla y León on the com-
petitiveness of automobile companies is clear in the case of Lingotes Especiales.
Herein only a sample of the fluid and constant cooperation relationships which
this company maintains with the other agents in the cluster has been provided.
Future research may provide further insights into the relational structure of this
automobile cluster and will shed light on all of the stages this group of agents
has gone through. The impact which the cluster has on regional economy com-
petitiveness as a whole is also evident since, according to the cluster theory, the
advantages of the production sectors are transferred to the area in which they
are located.
2
8
1

Notes
1 Although Marshall mentions the term district, this tends to be referred to as indus-
tries specialised in specific locations.
2 Some of the planes which made pioneering flights had IRZ carburettors installed,
such as the first flight between London and Cape Town in the early 1920s or the
Dornier Wal seaplane or flying boat, known as Plus Ultra, which made the first
flight between Spain and America in 1926 (Aérea 1926).
3 In 1965, Motor Ibérica S.A bought FADISA. In 1980, the Japanese firm Nissan
purchased Motor Ibérica S.A. and changed the name to Nissan Motor Ibérica
S.A. although it maintained its industrial plant in Ávila.
4 In 1968, ENASA, which built Pegaso trucks, bought SAVA. Later, in 1991 Iveco
purchased ENASA and since then has been building light trucks at the factory in
Valladolid.
5 According to Parejo (2011), 6,295 industrial jobs were created in Valladolid
between 1964 and 1974. This represents one of the most remarkable figures among
non-metropolitan cities, according to Catalan et al. 2011. Many of these jobs were
in the automobile sector.
6 According to Aláez et al. (2010), approximately 70% of the 51 currently in
Europe.
7 Direct employment would stand at over 100,000 people, according to the Regional
Economy Ministry at the Regional Government of Castilla y León.
8 According to data compiled in the annual Facyl reports and data from the Regional
Spanish Accounts of the National Statistics Institute, this is the trend observed since
the last decade.
9 Annual report of the Grupo Antolín (2017), ESADE Business School (2018),
Gestamp annual report (2017) and annual report of Lingotes Especiales (2017).
10 The company has also often manufactured components for other sectors such
as the domestic sector, the electrical and mechanical industry, public works, and
railways. The strategy of diversification which the company has pursued has
allowed it to overcome the specific and contextual difficulties that the car industry
has experienced in Spain and in Europe (Alonso & Ortúñez 2020).
11 Institution of a public nature that promotes, through investment and favourable-
term loans, the region’s industrial and economic development.
References
Aérea. 1926. Revista Ilustrada de Aeronáutica 36: 1–42.
Aláez, R., J. C. Longás, M. Ullibarri, J. Bilbao, V. Camino, & G. Intxauburru. 2010.
Los clústers de automoción en la Unión Europea. Incidencia, trayectoria y mejores
prácticas. Economía Industrial 376: 97–104.
Alonso, P. & J. J. Juste. 2018. El sector de la automoción en Castilla y León. 50 años de
crecimiento económico y productividad, 1961–2011. Revista de Estudios Regionales
113: 101–136.
Alonso, P., M. Álvarez & P. P. Ortúñez. 2019. Formación y desarrollo de un distrito
metalúrgico en Valladolid (c. 1842–1951). Investigaciones de Historia Económica
15: 177–189.
Alonso, P. & P. P. Ortúñez. 2019. La formación profesional industrial en Valladolid y
su impacto en el desarrollo industrial de la ciudad (c. 1880–1970). Investigaciones
Históricas 39: 473–516.
3
8
1

Alonso, P. & P. P. Ortúñez. 2020. El proceso de internacionalización en la industria
española de equipos y componentes de automoción: Lingotes Especiales, 1968–
2018. Revista de Historia Industrial 78: 115–154.
Álvarez, M. 2008. La industria fabril en Castilla y León durante el primer franquismo
(1939–1959). Valladolid: Universidad de Valladolid.
Becattini, G. 1979. Dal “settore” industriale al “distretto” industriale. Alcune
considerazioni sull’unità d’indagine dell’economia industrial. Rivista di Economia
e Politica Industriale 5: 7–21.
Becattini, G. 1989. Riflessioni sul distretto industriale marshalliano come concetto
socio-economico. Stato e Mercato 25: 111–128.
Becattini, G. 2002. Del distrito industrial marshalliano a la ‘teoría del distrito’
contemporánea. Una breve reconstrucción crítica. Investigaciones Regionales
1: 9–32.
Camino, V., R. Aláez, C. Álvarez, J. Bilbao, G. Intxauburru, J. C. Longás, A. Pardo,
M. Ullibarri, & M. Vega. 2005. El sector de automoción en Castilla y León.
Componentes e industria auxiliar. Valladolid: CESCYL.
Carreras, A. & X. Tafunell. 2010. Historia Económica de la España Contemporánea
(1789–2009). Barcelona: Crítica.
Castaño, C. & G. Cortés. 1980. Evolución del sector del automóvil en España.
Información Comercial Española 563: 145–157.
Catalan, J., J. A. Miranda, & R. Ramon-Muñoz. 2011. Distritos industriales y clusters
empresariales. Trayectorias históricas de ventaja competitiva en la Europa del Sur.
Madrid: LID Editorial Empresarial.
Cebrián, M. 2009. ¿Industrializar Castilla? El caso del Polo de Desarrollo de Valladolid,
1964–1975. In Estado y Mercado: los planes de desarrollo durante el franquismo,
ed. J. De la Torre and M. García-Zúñiga, 261–296. Pamplona: Universidad Pública
de Navarra.
ESADE Business School. 2018. Exportación de la mediana y gran empresa en España.
Barcelona: ESADE.
Fernández de Sevilla, T. 2013. El desarrollo de la industria del automóvil en España: el
caso de FASA-Renault, 1951–1985. PhD diss. Universidad de Barcelona.
Galletto, V. 2014. Distritos industriales e innovación. PhD diss., Universidad Autónoma
de Barcelona.
García-Ruiz, J. L. 2001. La evolución de la industria automovilística española, 1946–
1999: una perspectiva comparada. Revista de Historia Industrial 19–20: 133–163.
Loasby, B. J. 2009. Industrial Districts in Marshall´s economics. In A Handbook
of Industrial Districts, ed. G. Becattini, M. Bellandi and L. de Propis, 78– 89.
Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Marshall, A. 1890. Principles of Economics. Londres: Macmillan.
Myro, R. 2009. La profunda crisis del sector del automóvil. Madrid: Colegio de
Economistas de Madrid.
Ortiz-Villajos, J. M. 2010. Aproximación a la historia de la industria de equipos y
componentes de automoción en España. Investigaciones de Historia Económica 16:
135–172.
Parejo, A. 2011. La conformación de distritos industriales en España durante la
década del desarrollismo: un enfoque desde la inversión, 1964–1974. In Distritos
industriales y clusters empresariales. Trayectorias históricas de ventaja competitiva
en la Europa del Sur, ed. J. Catalan, J. A. Miranda, y R. Ramon-Muñoz, 175–200.
Madrid: LID Editorial Empresarial.
Piore, M. J. & C. Sabel. 1990. La segunda ruptura industrial. Madrid: Alianza.
4
8
1

Porter, M. 1990. The Competitive Advantage of Nations. New York: The Free Press.
Porter, M. 1998: Clusters and the New Economics of Competition. Harvard Business
Review November-December: 77–90.
Porter, M. 2000. Locations, Clusters, and Company Strategy. In The Oxford Handbook
of Economic Geography, ed. G. L. Clark, M. P. Feldman, and M. S. Gertler, 253–274.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Trullén, J. 2015. Giacomo Becattini and the Marshall’s method. Investigaciones
Regionales 32: 43–60.
5
8
1
Contributors
Pablo Alonso-Villa is an associate lecturer at the University of Valladolid. He

holds a degree in Economics, a master’s degree in Economics Research and
a PhD in Economics from this University. He made a research stay at the
Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon. He has published
numerous articles in indexed journals and a book chapter. His research
focuses on the industrial history of Castilla y León and especially in the
metallurgical sector and its connections with the automobile industry.
Rafael Barquín Gil is an associate lecturer at the Universidad Nacional de
Educación a Distancia, Madrid. At present, his main lines of research focus
on railroads, integration of cereal market, and processes of literacy in
nineteenth-century Spain. Some of his publications are “El consumo urbano
en Andalucía Oriental a mediados del siglo XIX” Investigaciones de Historia
Económica, 2019; “La influencia del ferrocarril en el desarrollo urbano
español (1860–1910)” Revista de Historia Económica /JILAEH, 2012; and
“Analysis of Spanish wheat prices (1765–1855)” Histoire et Mesure, 2011.
He is editor in chief of Transportes, Servicios and Telecomunicaciones (TST).
Leonardo Caruana de las Cagigas is tenure at the University of Granada
(Spain). His research is on insurance and reinsurance history. He has
published “From Mutual to Multinational, MAPFRE, 1933–2008” with
Gabriel Tortella Casares and José Luis García Ruiz and “The History
of Spanish Insurance” with Gabriel Tortella Casares, Alberto Manzano
Martos, Jerònia Pons Pons, and José Luis García Ruiz. “About Corporate
Forms” was published in Oxford University Press edited by Robin Pearson
and Takau Yoneyama. Recently he has published with André Straus (eds.)
Highlights on Reinsurance History, Peter Lang, Bruxelles, 2017. He has also
done research on economic warfare with Hugh Rockoff and published in
the Journal of Economic History and in the European Review of Economic
History.
David Carvajal is a graduate in History and in Business Sciences (University
of Valladolid, 2007 and 2009). In 2008 he was granted with a National
Fellow –University Teachers Training Program (FPU) and in 2013 he
finished his PhD dissertation titled “Private Credit and Debt in Castile
6
8
1
186 Contributors
1480–1520”. He enjoyed two academic international research stays in the
University of Cambridge – Queens College (2009 and 2011) and he was
awarded with the PhD National Award on Humanities (Real Academia de
Doctores de España) and the University of Valladolid PhD Prize. His research
lines include premodern Economic History and topics like credit, banking,
merchants & trade, networks, and institutions, of which he has published
many publications in prestigious editorials and journals. During the last few
years he has been a member of several national and international research
projects about taxation, finances, and trade. He has also taken part in more
than 60 national and international conferences and scientific meetings
related with Economic History, Medieval History, and Modern History.
Mariano Castro-Valdivia holds a PhD in Economics at the University of Jaén.
He is associate lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of
Jaén and coordinator of several research projects as well as a member
of the Jaén Applied Economics Research Group. He is also the secre-
tary of the journal Water and Landscape. His research work has focused
on the teaching of economics at the Spanish University and on the dissem-
ination of classical economic thought in Spain, of which he has published
several works: “La diffussion mondiale de l’oeuvre by Jean-Baptiste Say”,
“Próceces et impacts sélectifs”, “Money and Finance in the Wealth of
Nations: Interpretations and Influences”, “Giennense participation in eco-
nomics studies at the beginning of the 20th century in Spain”, and “The
teaching of Economics in Spain during the first half of the 19th century”,
among others. He has conducted research stays of more than three months
at the Universita degli Studi di Roma «La Sapienza», at the University of
Salamanca and at the University of Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux 3. He is
a participant and coordinator of several teaching innovation projects at the
University of Jaén, with publications such as “Historical research through
ICT: a teaching experience”.
Mercedes Fernández-Paradas is a doctor and head professor of Contemporary
History at the University of Málaga. She specializes in Economic History
and public services, especially business history, gas, and electricity. She is the
principal researcher of the Research and Innovation Project of Excellence
of the Government of Spain “La industria del gas en España: desarrollo y
trayectorias regionales (1842–2008)”. She has carried out several research
stays, including at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She
has won several awards, including the Premio Extraordinario de Doctorado
en Filosofía y Letras (Extraordinary Doctorate Award in Philosophy and
Arts) for the History Department of the University of Málaga.
Francisco José García Ariza is a doctor at the University of Málaga. He is
specialized in Economic History, Business History and Agroindustrial
History. He has published several researches on the Sociedad Azucarera
Antequera, related to the construction of the sugar factory, its founders,
shareholders, sugar production, etc., among them, the chapter published with
7
8
1
Contributors 187
Mercedes Fernández-Paradas entitled “La Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana:
una respuesta a la crisis finisecular (1890–1906)”, en J.M. Matés (coord.),
Empresas y empresarios en España. De mercaderes a industriales. Madrid,
Pirámide, 2019.
Jorge Lafuente del Cano is a lecturer in Economic History at University of
Valladolid. He holds a degree in History, a degree in Journalism and a PhD
in History. He made a research stay in the University of Oxford and also
in the University of Roma-La Sapienza. He is a member of “Studies on
Economic History” Research Group and a member of “Studies on Recent
History” Research Group as well. Dr. Lafuente has published two books
and numerous articles on entrepreneurship, economic history of Spanish
Transition to democracy, negotiations for Spain’s entry into the European
Economic Community, and the figure of former Spanish prime minister,
Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo.
Carlos Larrinaga is an associate lecturer of Economic History at the University
of Granada (Andalusia, Spain). His research is in the history of tourism,
railways in the 19th century, and the service sector. He is currently leading
an interdisciplinary project on the history of tourism in Spain and Italy in
the twentieth century, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation
and Universities, and the European FEDER funds.
Juan Manuel Matés-Barco is professor of Economic History and Business
History at the University of Jaén, bachelor of the University of Zaragoza, and
doctor from the University of Granada. He has made stays at the Università
degli Studi di Firenze, at the European University Institute (Italy) and at
the Université Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux 3. He is a member of the
Group of Historical Studies on the Company, a researcher of the Permanent
Seminar Water, Territory, and Environment. He is part of the Editorial Board
of the journal of Transport, Services and Telecommunications History. He
is director of the journal Water and Landscape, co-edited by the School of
Hispanic-American Studies of Seville-CSIC and the University of Jaén. His
research is focused on the public water supply service and he has published
studies on the economy of contemporary Spain.
Miguel Muñoz Rubio has a Ph.D. in History. He has specialized in railway
history, having researched widely on the Spanish railways. He was director
of the Railway History Archive and the National Railway Museum and
professor of Economic History for ten years at the Madrid Autonomous
University. He has published more than fifty books and papers, and was
founder and editor of the academic journal “TST” between 2001–2009
and 2013–2015. He also was a member of the High Commission for
Administrative Documentation Rating of the Spanish Government, vice
chairman of the International Association for Railway History (IRHA), cur-
ator of several exhibitions, and secretary of the VIII International Congress
of The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial
Heritage (1992).
81
188 Contributors
Pedro Pablo Ortúñez Goicolea has a Ph.D. from the University of Valladolid,
1999. He is a senior lecturer in Economic History at the University of
Valladolid (Spain). His research interests include the Spanish railway system
and the public sector before nationalization of the railway and regulation
and business history. He has published his research in books (on editorials
of first quartile like Oxford University Press, Ariel, Pirámide, and Comares)
and specialized journals (indexed in JCR or Scopus) and has participated
in conferences in these fields. He has undertaken research in several stays
at the London School of Economics and at the École des Hautes Études en
Sciences Sociales (Paris).
María José Vargas-Machuca Salido holds a degree in Economics and Business
Administration. She is an associate lecturer of the Department of Economics
at the University of Jaén, where she teaches the subjects of Spanish Financial
System and World Economy. She belongs to various research groups and
teams related to her area of knowledge. Her research has focused on the
history of the financial system, especially at the local level. She has published
several articles in specialized journals on this topic. Her doctoral thesis deals
with “La Caja Rural de Jaén. 60 years at the service of the province of Jaén”.
María Vázquez-Fariñas has a PhD in Social and Legal Sciences from the
University of Cádiz (Spain). She is a lecturer in History and Economic
Institutions Area (Department of Economics) at the University of Jaén
(Spain). She has been actively involved as a component of the Esteban
Boutelou Historical Studies Research Group, and Lean Management of
Production and Hyperconnected Universal Integrated Logistics Research
Group, both from the University of Cádiz. She has made a predoctoral
research stay at the School of Hispanic American Studies (CSIC, Seville),
and in the last months she has been developing a postdoctoral stay at the
University of Bordeaux. Her lines of research focus on the Economic and
Business History of Cádiz in the nineteenth century, the wine industry of the
region, and the development of commerce and the port of Cádiz between
the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. Related to these lines of
research, she has published several works, such as “The wine business in
the city of Cádiz. Lacave and Company business history, 1810–1927”, “The
wine industry in the nineteenth century in Cadiz. Lacave and Echecopar:
winemakers and maritime consignees”, “Cadiz: wine city between the mid-
nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries”, and “The activity of the port of
Cadiz at the beginning of the 20th century”, among others.
9
8
1
Index
Note: Page numbers in bold denote tables, those in italics denote figures.
19th Century: financial services 99, Alloy Technologies Limited (ATL) 179
100–2, 105–6; sugar industry 71–81; almacenistas, wine business 55
water suppliers 82–98; wheat and flour American military bases 139
market 41–54; wine businesses 55–70 Andalusia 13–14; education in
20th Century: Andalusian financial entrepreneurs 15; water companies 95;
services 107–12; railways 82–98; see also Antequera
travel agency businesses 130–43; Andalusian financial services 99–114;
two Transitions 156–69; water Banks of Issue 103–5; expansion in
suppliers 82–98 early 20th Century 107–9; liquidation
111; local banks in early 20th Century
active internationalisation process 144 109–12, 110, 111; private banks in
administrative concession 82, 92 19th Century 105–6
agents, wine business 55 ANFAC (National Association
agglomeration of economic of Automobile and Truck
activities 171–3 Manufacturers) 170
agricultural freight, Norte 119 Anglo-Saxon countries 1
Aguas de Alicante 86, 87 ansatiners 14
Aguas de Areta 88, 89; profits 93 Antequera 71–3; nineteenth century
Aguas de Barcelona 86, 87 economic recession 72; service sector
Aguas de Bufilla 90 72; textile businesses 72–3; see also
Aguas de Ceuta 87 Sociedad Azucarena Antequerana
Aguas de Jerez 86, 87 Aragon, water companies 95
Aguas de La Coruña 87 Arandina de Aguas Potables 87
Aguas del Canto 88, 89 Argentina, MAPFRE expansion 148,
Aguas de Léon 87 150, 152
Aguas de Morón y Carmona 86 aristocratic prejudice against work 3
Aguas Potables de Barbastro 88, 89 de Arnedo, Pedro 34
Aguas Potables de Barcelona 92 associative strategies, Castile history 24
Aguas Potables y Mejoras de Astudillo dueña 22
Valencia 86, 87 Asturias, water companies 95
Aguas Subterráneas del Río ATL (Alloy Technologies Limited) 179
Llobregat 86, 87 Austria, water supply companies 83
Aigües de Barcelona 95 Austrian school of economics 12
Aigües de Catalunya 92 automobile cluster 170–84; 1940s 174;
air travel 136–7 1950s 174; 1960s 174; 1970s 174–5;
Alcazaba-Martínez-Soto company 26 agglomeration of economic activities
Alcoa Automotive casting Unit 179 171–3; consolidation 174–5;
Alicante, water companies 92 cooperation within 177; growth
0
9
1
190 Index
possibilities 176–7; industrial districts Boletín Oficial del Estado (Official State
172; international competiveness Gazette) 133
172–3; multinational companies 175; Bolin, Luis 132–3
sector from 173–81; specialist labour Bores Romero, José Maria 76–7
force 171–2; subsidiary industry 171; Borrego, Lorenzo 73–4
turnover of 176; see also Lingotes Botin family 18
Especiales Boyer, Miguel 162
Braling Conjuntos 179
Bailly-Baillère Annual directory 105 Brazil: MAPFRE expansion 152;
Bakumar travel agency 133–4 MAPFRE REINSURANCE 149
Balearic islands, water companies 95 British Overseas Airways Corporation
Banca Rodriguez-Acosta 105–6 (BOAC) 136
Banco Central: expansion 108; brokerage revenues, Reinosa route 47–9
takeovers by 106 Bucher, Karl 17
Banco de Andalucía 107 Burgos 31, 36
Banco de Bilbao 108 Business History Review 16
Banco de Cádiz 104 business organisations, automobile
Banco de Cartagena 107, 108 cluster 178
Banco de Castilla 107 business studies 17
Banco de España 100
Banco de Jerez 104 Cádiz 55; economy in 19th Century 56;
Banco de Málaga 102 export drop 63–4; pre-19th Century
Banco Español de Crédito 107–8, 109 56; water companies merging 92; wine
Banco Hispano Americano 108 business see wine business
Banco Matritense 109 Cafranga, Eusebio 132
Banco Popular de los Previsores del Cafranga travel agency 134
Provenir 109 Calvo-Sotelo, Leopoldo 159, 160, 161–2
Banco Urquijo 108 Camaras de Compensación (Clearing
banking: Lacave & Echecopar 59–60; Houuses) 106
see also financial services Cambo Law (Banking Organisation Law,
Banking Control Council (Consejo 1921) 106
Superior Bancario) 106 Cambo Law (Spanish Banking
Banking Operation Law (1921) 105 Organisation Law) 110
Banking Organisation Law (1931) del Campo, Pedro 30
106–7 Canal de Isabel II 90
Banking Organisation Law (Cambo Law, Canal de la Huerta de Alicante 87
1921) 106 canals 15
Banks of Issue: 19th century 100; Canary Islands 32
Andalusia 103–5 Cantillon, Richard 10
Banks of Issue Law (1856) 100, 104 capital, Castile companies 25
Barcelona, water supply capitalism: Catholic mistrust of 3;
companies 90, 92 nationalist path 42; raising of 14
Baroja, Pío 3 Cartagena, water companies 88
Basalla, George 12 cartels: legal existence 44; location
Basque Country 18 of 44–5
Belgium, water supply companies 83 Casado, H. 33
Bergamín García, Francisco 74 Casa Elizalde 174
Bernuy dueña 22 Casco Moreno, Ramón 75
Bliss, Stanley Norman 137 case studies 13–15; entrepreneurship
BOAC (British Overseas Airways promotion 16–18; entrepreneurship
Corporation) 136 support 15–16; value
Boletín de Comercio: flour trading 45; determination 18–19
wheat and flour market 49 Casson, Andrew 12
Boletín Oficial del Comercio de Castile: wheat and flour prices 49, 49–50;
Santander 47 wheat market in 19th Century 43–7
1
9
Index 191
Castile history 22–40; companies 23–8, Credit Companies Law (1856) 100
26–7; 15th to 16th Centuries 22–3; Crédito Commercial de Cádiz
foreigners 22–3; geographical area (1860–1866) 102
of 28–9; human capital 33–4; local Crédito Commercial de Jerez
to international commerce 31–3; (1862–1866) 103
management changes 33–4; Middle Crédito Commercial de Sevilla
Age to Modern Era 28–37; network (1862–1868) 103
creation 34–6; products 28–31; risk Crédito Commercial y Agricola de
management 36–7; services 29–31 Córdoba (1864–1867) 103
Castilla y León 170–84; see also criadera system 56, 61
automobile cluster Cuba, Lacave & Echecopar exports 65
Castilla y León Automobile Business Cuevas, José María 162
Forum (Facyl) 175–6
Castilla y León Industrial Development Daza-Calatayud company 30, 32
Society (Sodical) 179, 180–1 Daza-López de Calatayud company 26
Castro-Mújica company 35 Decree Bases for legislating Public Works
Catálogo de Sociedades de (1868) 118
abastecimiento de agua potable 84 demand, water supply companies 93
Catalonia, water companies 95 Denmark, water supply companies 83
Catholic mistrust of capitalism 3 d'Estang, Valery Giscard 164
Central State Administration, travel destinations, travel agency
agency businesses 132 businesses 135–6
CEOE see Confederation of DGT (Directorate General of
Entrepreneurial Organisations (CEOE) Tourism) 132
Chandler, Alfred 12–13 Díaz-Medina company 26
Chatham Re 148 Directorate General of Tourism
Circuitos en Autocar por Europe 136 (DGT) 132
Citróen 174 dissemination of entrepreneurship 9–13
City of Las Palmas Water & Power 87 domestic consumption, water supply
Clark, John Bates 10 companies 87
collusion hypothesis 41, 44 Domestic Transition 157–62; armed
Colombia, MAPFRE expansion 149 forces, mistrust of 161; economic
Comisaria de la Banca (Banking changes 159; economic pact 160;
Commission) 106 Finance Ministers 161; Socialist
Commercial Code (1829) 47, 60, 100, Party 162
101, 105
commercial services, Castile history 31 Echecopar & Company 56
Compañía Gaditana de Crédito Echecopar, Eduardo 62, 63
(1861–1867) 102 Echecopar, Juan-Pablo 63
Compañía Internacional Wagon-Lits 130 Echegaray Decree (1874) 100, 104–5
company theory 12 economics 1; 1970s 156–7;
concessions, private railways 121 agglomeration of 171–3; Austrian
Confederation of Entrepreneurial school of 12; Keynesian economics
Organisations (CEOE) 159; NATO 12; natural trajectory of 12;
refurendum 166; social democracy neoclassical economics 10–11, 12;
criticisms 161 publications in 16
Consejo Superior Bancario (Banking economic theory, perfect competitive
Control Council) 106 markets 41
consulates, Castile history 36 education, Castillian merchants 33
cooperation, Lingotes Especiales 181 El Álbum Nacional 61
Córdoba, water companies 88 electricity companies 84
La Coruña 90; water companies employment, private railways 120
merging 92 Empresa del camino de Hierro de Jerez al
credit companies 99–114; 19th century Puerto 58
100, 102–3; see also financial services Empresa Fabril Gaditana 58
2
9
1
192 Index
Empresa Gaditana del Trocadero 58 foreign banks, expansion into
Empresas Hidráulicas de Canarias 87 Andalusia 107
England, Castile merchants 32 foreign investments, Lingotes
Enlightenment Now (Pinker) 52 Especiales 179–80
entry barriers, wheat/flour market 46–7 foreign (international) markets:
entry requirement to Spain 139 automobile cluster 172–3; Castile
Escarrer Juliá, Gabriel 140 history 31–3; wheat and flour
Esquivel-Sánchez company 26 market 50
Europe: MAPFRE expansion 146; foreign operators, travel agency
MAPFRE Internacional 153 businesses 132
European Union (EU): entry into foreign way, railways 115–17
162; internal conflicts 164; France: Castile merchants 32; water
membership of 158 supply companies 83
Explorations in Economic History 16 Franco regime, opposition to 157
export numbers, Lingotes Especiales Franquelo Díaz, Juan 76
179 freedom of trade, wheat and flour
Extremadura, water companies 95 market 47
freight: MZA 118–19; private
Fabricaciones de Automóviles Diésel, railways 118–20
S. A. (FADISA) 174 French–Spanish border closure 135
Fabricaciones de Automóviles S. A. Frías-Medina Huerta company 27
(FASA) 174 Fuentes Quintana, Enrique 161
Facyl (Castilla y León Automobile
Business Forum) 175–6 García Díez, Juan Antonio 161
family: business in 18; Castillian García Sarmiento, José 75
businesses 34–5 gas companies 85
FASA (Fabricaciones de Automóviles General Confederation of Spanish
S. A.) 174 Entrepreneurs 159
Ferrer Salat, Carlos 160 General Law on Railways (1855)
FESIT (Spanish Federation of 116–17
Trade Unions and Initiatives and geographical area, Castile history 28–9
Tourism) 132 Germany: MAPFRE Internacional 153;
Finance Ministers, Domestic water supply companies 83
Transition 161 Gestamp 175, 176
financial services 99–114; 19th Glorious Revolution (1868) 65
century 99, 100–2; Andalusia see Gómez Tapia, Pedro 30
Andalusian financial services; Castile González, Felipe 160, 162
history 31; Castillian businesses Gonzalo de Segovia company 32
34, 35; company formation 101–2; Granada, banks of 104
partnerships 101–2; private banking Great Britain, water supply
(1900–1936) 106–7; Spanish companies 83
Civil War 99 Greece, water supply companies 83
Finland, water supply companies 83 Grupo Antolín 174, 175, 176
First Industrial Revolution 15; Guerrero de Smirnoff, Diego Vladimir 76
studies on 17
First World War: economic growth 122; Harvard Business School 16
water supply companies 94 Hawley, Frederick Barnard 11
Fives-Lille, Sociedad Azucarena Hernando de Larramendi, Ignacio 145
Antequerana factory 77 Herreria Barcelonesa 120
Flanders, Castile merchants 32 Hidraulica Santillana 87
flourcrats 44–5 Hispano Suiza 174
flour market see wheat and flour market History of the Company 9–21; study
Fluxá Figuerola, Lorenzo 140 of 17–18
Fomento Agricola Castellonense 86 Holland, water supply companies 83
Fontainebleau summit (1984) 164–5 Horizon Holidays 141
3
9
1
Index 193
Huertas, Antonio 153 Juan Pablo Echecopar & Company 56
human capital 15; Castile history 33–4 Juan Pedro Lacave & Company 56
justice, Castile history 36–7
IATA (International Air Transport
Association) 137 Keynesian economics 12
ICAO (International Civil Aviation Kirzner, Israel 12
Organization) 136–7 KLM 136
ICTI (Information and Communication Knight, Frank H. 11, 12
Technology) 15–16 knowledge centres, automobile
Imbrechts, José Déez 115 cluster 175
imperfect market competition 41
Independent Entrepreneurial Group 159 La Aurora (1846) 90
India, Lingotes Especiales 180 labour movement organisations 14–15
Indonesia, MAPFRE Internacional 153 Lacave & Company 66
industrial districts, automobile Lacave & Echecopar 55–70; banking
cluster 172 59–60; businesses, seapration of 65;
industry creation 14 commercial expansion (1852–1862)
Information and Communication 59–63; depression and closure 63–6;
Technology (ICTI) 15–16 diversification strategy 59; domestic
information networks, Castillian market 65; export sales 61–2, 62;
businesses 35–6 infrastructure expansion 62–3; non-
innovation of entrepreneurs 11 wine businesses 58; origins of 57–9;
institutional framework: automobile real estate 60; shipping agents 60
cluster 173; railways 116 Lacave Mulé, Pedro 63
institutions: automobile cluster 178; Lacave, Pedro 57, 58
Castile history 36–7; risk in water Lacave Soulé, Pedro-Luis 63
supply companies 93 Lacoste Salazar, Ana María 60
insurance companies: Castile history La Gaditana 56
36–7; domestic firm expansion La Hondura 86, 87
145–6; foreign companies 144–5; La Rioja, water companies 95
see also MAPFRE late Restoration period, economic
intermediaries, wine business 55 policies 42
internal demand, automobile cluster 175 Latin America: MAPFRE expansion 145;
International Air Transport Association MAPFRE REINSURANCE 147
(IATA) 137 legal restrictions, wheat and flour
International Civil Aviation Organization market 47
(ICAO) 136–7 Liberal Revolution 44
international isolation, travel agencies Linares, water companies 88
and 135 Linares Colom, José 140
international markets see foreign Lingotes Especiales 174, 175, 176,
(international) markets 178–81; consolidation 179; export
International Transition 157–8, 162–6; numbers 179
VAT 164 liquidation, Castille companies 25, 28
Inter, Sidney 12 livestock, railway transport 119
irrigation, water supply companies 87 local development agents, automobile
Italy: MAPFRE expansion 150; water cluster 178
supply companies 83 London, MAPFRE expansion 148
Iveco 170 Lopez, Pedro 106
Los Amigos 56
Jaspe, Ricardo 134 Luis Petit 90
Jean Bouchard 90 Luna Rodríguez, Antonio 75–6
Jerez, water companies merging 92 Luxembourg, water supply companies 83
Jerez de la Frontera 104
Jimenez, Andrés 148 Macdermot, Hugo 57
J. P. Echecopar 65 Madrid Pact (1953) 139
4
9
1
194 Index
Madrid Zaragoza Alicante (MZA) Morales Berdoy, Luis 77
117; acquisitions 121; financial Moreno González del Pino,
crisis and 117–18; First World War Fernando 74–5
122–3; freight 118–19; lack of Motril, water companies 88
competition 121 multinational companies, automobile
Maeztu, Ramiro 3 cluster 175
Málaga, banks of 104 municipal services, management
Mallorca, travel destination as 136 model 82–3
management: Castile history 33–4, 37; Murcia, water companies 95
Castille companies 25; ownership MZA see Madrid Zaragoza
separation 14 Alicante (MZA)
management model, municipial
services 82–3 National Agreement for Employment
Manzanares, water companies 88 (1981) 162
MAPFRE 144–55; direct insurance National Association of Automobile
market 149–53; foreign company and Truck Manufacturers
acquisition 146–7; geographical (ANFAC) 170
distribution 151, 152; international national banks 99–114; see also financial
expansion 144–7; international services
investments 150–1; life insurance nationalist path, capitalism 42
expansion 152 national way, railways 115–17
MAPFRE Corporation of Florida 150 NATO: adherence to 165–6; entry into
MAPFRE Internacional 153 158, 162
MAPFRE REINSURANCE 147–9; natural monopoly 82
finiancial problems 148–9 natural trajectory of economy 12
MAPFRE XL Compañia Internacional de Nelson, Richard 12
Reaseguros S.A. 147–8 neoclassical economics 10–11, 12
La Maquinista Terrestre y Marítíma 120 neo-Marshallian theory 172
marketing, Castile history 29 Nervión 147
Marroquín-Sánchez de Toledo network creation, Castile history 34–6
company 26 new customers, water supply
Marsans travel agency 134 companies 93
Marshall, Alfred 10, 171 New World, Castile merchants 32
Marshallian advantages 172 Nissan 170
Martínez, José Manuel 145–6 non-codified knowledge 171
Martorelli, Fernando Abril 161 Norte 117; acquisitions 121;
matrimonial ties, wine business 57 agricultural freight 119; financial
Medina-Aranda company 27 crisis and 117–18; freight 123; lack of
Medina-Calatayud company 26 competition 121
Medina-Ram company 26
Medina-Urueña company 26, 27 Oeste, lack of competition 121
Meliá, José 134, 136, 140–1 Official State Gazette (Boletín Official del
Memorias y Estadísticas Diversas 84 Estrado) 133
merchant bankers 99–114; 19th century oil shock, automobile industry 174
100; see also financial services Omnium Ibérico 87
merchants: Castile history 23; Castillian Ordóñez y González, Ezequiel 77
businesses 34 Oreja, Marcelino 165
metal mining, railway transport 119 ownership, management separation 14
Mexico, MAPFRE expansion 150
Mill, John Stuart 10 partnerships, financial services 101–2
Ministry for Relations with the European passenger numbers, private railways
Communities 163 118
Mitterand, François 164 Pereire company 117
modernisation, private railways 118–21 perfect competitive markets 41
monopolies, legal existence 44 Pesquera-Silos company 26, 32
5
9
1
Index 195
Philippines, Lacave & Echecopar Reinosa route 41–54; brokerage revenues
exports 65 47–9, 48, 49; see also wheat and
Pickman & Company 56 flour market
Pimentel, Manuel 16 Renault Group 170
Pinker, Stephen 52 RENFE (Spanish National Railways
Pinkley, Virgil M. 137 Networks) 127
del Plano, Arnao 34 rentiers 14
Plazuela-Resxo company 26 research and development (R&D),
Political Reform Law (1977) 159 automobile cluster 177
political transition 2 Reus, water companies 88
Porter, Michel 172 Revista de Obras Públicas 84
Portillo-Ávila company 27 Revista Seminal 45, 49
Portugal: Castile merchants 32; risk management, Castile history 36–7
MAPFRE expansion 150; water supply risks 11–12
companies 83 Rodriguez-Acosta, Banca 104
Preferential Trade Agreement (1970) 164 Rodríguez-Román company 27
Primo de Rivera dictatorship 42 Romero Robledo, Francisco 73
Principles of Economics (Marshall) 171 Roquien-Mizariego-Calbet company 27
private banks, Andalusia in 19th Rosenberg, Alexander 12
Century 105–6 Rota y Sanlúcar 58
private railways 115–29; concessions in Rothschild company, railways 117
1914–1931 123–7; concession system, Royal Decree (1835) 47
end of 127; early 20th Century 121–3; Royal Order (1844) 115–16
financial crisis and 117–18; freight Ruiz, Simón 22
118–20; growth of 117; modernisation Ruiz-Soto company 26
118–21; protectionism 122; running Ruiz Zorrila, Manuel 118
costs, los; of control 124; share Ruy González del Portillo 32
price drop 117–18; State control
124–5; State Railway Fund 126–7; Santa Cruz, Calixto 115
see also Madrid Zaragoza Alicante Santander: flour trading cartels 45–6;
(MZA); Norte flour traffic from 50–1, 51; wheat
products, Castile history 28–31 market in 19th Century 43–7
profit shares, Castille companies 25, 28 Santander bank 18
protectionism: private railways 122; SAVA (Sociedad Anónima de Vehículos
wheat/flour market 43 Automóviles) 174
publications in economics 16 Say, Jean-Baptiste 10
public utilities 84–5; analysis of 83; Schmoller, Gustav 17
see also water supply companies Schumpter, Joseph Alois 11, 12, 16
public works, private railways 120 SEAT 174
Puerto Rico: Lacave & Echecopar Second Industrial Revolution 15–16;
exports 65; MAPFRE expansion 150–1 Antequerra 72
Pueto de la Cruz 86 Second Spanish Republic, economic
policies 42
Quintana dueña 22 Second World War, economics after 12
de Segovia, Gonzalo 30, 35
railways 15; foreign way 115–17; Seguros Caribe 149
institutional framework 116; servants, Castillian businesses 34
national way 115–17; private see service firms, automobile cluster 175
private railways; rolling stock service sector: Antequera 72; Castile
manufacture 120 history 29–31
Railway Statute (1926) 126–7 Sevilla Water Works 86, 87
raw materials, Castile history 29 Seville 36; banks of 104; water
real estate, Lacave & Echecopar 60 companies merging 92
refundable advance payments, Shane, Scott 12
railways 125 sherry 56
6
9
1
196 Index
shipping agents, Lacave & Echecopar 60 Stockholm syndrome 13
Sky Tours 141 Stock Market, foundation (1931) 100
slow growth policy, water supply storage, what/flour market 46
companies 93 Stuttgart summit (1983) 164–5
small-scale capitalists, what/flour Suárez, Adolfo 157, 159
market 46 subcontracting, automobile cluster 177
Smith, Adam 10 Subercase, Juan 115
sobre cosa señalda 24–5 Subercase Report 115
social democrats, criticisms of 161 sugar business 71–81
Socialist Party, Domestic Transition 162 Suministro de Aguas Potables 87
Sociedad Anónima de Vehículos Sweden, water supply companies 83
Automóviles (SAVA) 174
Sociedad Azucarena Antequerana Tabacos Ygueravide 58
71–81; company growth 78–9; factory tariff franchise, private railways 120
construction 77–8; founders of 73–6; tax businesses, Castile history 29
managers 76–7; profits 78–9; sales technical obstacles, water supply
strategy 78 companies 93
Sociedad Española del Carburador temporal workers, Castillian
IRZ 174 businesses 34
Sociedad General Española de Tenerife, water companies 86
Descuentos (Spanish General territorial scope, flour trading 45–6
Discounts Society, 1859–1866) 103 textile businesses 84–5; Antequera 72;
Sodical (Castilla y León Industrial Castile history 30–1
Development Society) 179, 180–1 Thomas Cook 130–2
Solchaga, Carlos 162 tierras de pan ilevar 50
solera system 56, 61 Tortella, Gabriel 18
Sombart, Werner 17 tourist numbers 137, 138
de Soria, Álvaro 30 town size, water supply companies
South America, Lacave & Echecopar size and 86
exports 65 trade fairs, Castile history 31
Spanish Banking Organisation Law transection cost theory 12–13
(Cambo Law) 110 Trans World Airlines (TWA) 136–7
Spanish Civil War: financial services 99; travel agency businesses 130–43; 1950s
water supply companies 94–5 opportunities 138–41; air travel
Spanish Constitution (1978) 157 and 136–7; Decree of 1942 132–4;
Spanish Constitution of Cádiz (1812) 44 destinations used 135–6; foreign
Spanish Entrepreneurial operators 132; Group A classification
Confederation 159 133–4; Group B classification 134;
Spanish Federation of Trade Unions and history of 130–1; numbers of 130; post-
Initiatives and Tourism (FESIT) 132 Second World War 134–8; sales office
Spanish General Discounts Society numbers 139–40; US financial aid 139
(Sociedad General Española de Turkey, MAPFRE Internacional 153
Descuentos, 1859–1866) 103 TWA (Trans World Airlines) 136–7
Spanish National Railways Networks two Transitions 156–69
(RENFE) 127
specialised labour market: automobile de Unamumo, Miguel 3
cluster 171–2, 177–8; Lingotes uncertainties 11–12
Especiales 180 Union Bank of Spain and England 107
speculation, what/flour market 46 unions 14–15
speculators 14 United States of America (USA):
Stabilisation Plan of 1959 138 MAPFRE expansion 148; MAPFRE
state concessions 18–19 Internacional 153; MAPFRE
State Railway Fund 126–7 REINSURANCE 149; travel to 137
stock companies 99 urban growth, private railways 120
7
9
1
Index 197
Valencia, water companies 90, 95 century 86–7; merging of 90–2; risk
Valladolid 170, 173 & uncertainty 93–5; size of vs. town
Vasconi Cano, Luis 74 size 86; small & medium companies
VAT 164 88–93, 89, 91; Spanish Civil War 94–5;
Verdesoto-Salinas company 31 Western Europe 83–4
Viajes Cafranga travel agency Wealth of Nations (Smith) 10
135–6, 141 wheat and flour market 41–54;
Viajes Iberia travel agency 138; deterioration of goods 50; entry barriers
capitalisation 139–40 46–7; foreign market 50; freedom
Viajes Marsansrof 132 of trade 47; history of 43–4; legal
Viajes Meliá travel agency 136, 138 restrictions 47; prices in Castile 49–50;
The Visible Hand (Chandler) 12–13 railway transport 119; Santander, from
voluntary registration, financial 50–1, 51; see also Reinosa route
services 110 Williamson, Oliver 12–13
von Mangoldt, Hans 11 wine business: business divergence 60–1;
von Thünen, Johann Heinrich 11 export reduction 63–4, 64; exports 65;
Norte 123; price drops 64; production
wage rises, water supply companies 93 methods 61; see also Lacave &
Wagons-Lits Cook 133 Echecopar
water supply companies 82–98; business wool trade: Castile history 30; railway
takeovers 95; domestic consumption transport 120
87; early 20th century growth 92, World War I see First World War
94–5; First World War 94; historical World War II, economics after 12
number variation 83; irrigation 87;
large companies 85–8, 87; late 19th Zulueta Samá, Josefa 73
8
9
1

Book

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Book

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Book

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

i

Juan Manuel Matés-​Barco is Professor of Economic History at the University

Leonardo Caruana de las Cagigas is Professor at the University of Granada,

Routledge Studies in Entrepreneurship

New Frontiers in the Internationalization of Businesses

Contextualizing Entrepreneurship Theory

Entrepreneurial Marketing and International New Ventures

Entrepreneurship, Dyslexia, and Education

Women and Global Entrepreneurship

For more information about this series please visit: https://www.routledge.com/

First published 2021

To our dear Gregorio Núñez Romero-​Balmas, Professor at the

1 Entrepreneurship and the History of the Company 9

2 Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Networks: The

4 Lacave & Echecopar: Strategies and Businesses in the

5 The Sociedad Azucarera Antequerana, a Successful

6 Small, Medium and Large Companies in the Supply of

8 The Private Period of Spanish Railways 1848–​1941:

9 The Spanish Travel Agency Business in the Early Years of

11 Spanish Entrepreneurs and the Two Transitions

12 From the Sector to the Automobile Cluster of Castilla y

List of Contributors 185

Figures and Tables

Entrepreneurship in Spain: A History

Which Example of Entrepreneur Should Be Disseminated?

Entrepreneurship & the History of Company 11

Entrepreneurship & the History of Company 13

What Do Case Studies Contribute?

Entrepreneurship & the History of Company 15

Do Case Studies Support Entrepreneurship?

Do Case Studies Promote Entrepreneurial Culture?

Entrepreneurship & the History of Company 17

Which Values or Sets of Values Can Be Determined from

Entrepreneurship & the History of Company 19

Entrepreneurship & the History of Company 21

The Commercial and Financial World at the End of the

Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Networks 23

The Company in Castile: A Multiform Institution

Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Networks 25

1489 Daza-​López de Valladolid 1,350,000 149.37 Trade and Iberian Pen.

Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Networks 27

 he Keys to Castilian Entrepreneurial Success at the End of the

 etween Specialization and Diversification: Products and

Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Networks 29

Between Specialization and Diversification in Products and Services

Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Networks 31

From Local to International Commerce

Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Networks 33

Human Capital and Changes in Management

The Creation of Networks

Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Networks 35

Risk Management: Institutions, Insurance and Justice

Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Networks 37

Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Networks 39

42 Rafael Barquín Gil

Competition and Monopoly on Reinosa route 43

The Flour Traffic between Castile and Santander in the

44 Rafael Barquín Gil

Competition and Monopoly on Reinosa route 45

46 Rafael Barquín Gil

Juan Manuel Matés-Barco is Professor of Economic History at the University

To our dear Gregorio Núñez Romero-Balmas, Professor at the

8 The Private Period of Spanish Railways 1848–1941:

1489 Daza-López de Valladolid 1,350,000 149.37 Trade and Iberian Pen.

he Keys to Castilian Entrepreneurial Success at the End of the

etween Specialization and Diversification: Products and

Figure 3.1 Trading Income on the Reinosa Route (Percentage)

Table 3.1 Wheat Prices on the Reinosa Route. Reales/Fanega

1828 (jan-apr) 22.2 23.3 30.7 19.9 –

q(t) /p(t) –0.25 0.38 –0.57 –0.24

The Last Years of Lacave & Echecopar (1862–1870)

Table 4.2 Wine Exports by Lacave & Echecopar, 1858–1870

Table 6.1 Large Water Supply Companies (1933)

Small and Medium-Sized Companies