SPANISH SOCIETY IN 19TH CENTURY
Economy and social transformations: Spain a modern society.
Economy and industralisation
Industrial Revolution was slow and only arrived in places like The Basque Country, Catalonia and large cities.
Most of the population still worked with underdeveloped technology.
Modern forms of transport, railway, didn't appear until the second half of the century.
Society
Bourgeoisie became rich and also became the dominant social class.
Industrial Revolution brought serious social problems: harsh working conditions and child exploitation in factories. In rural areas, peasants lived in extreme poverty. They were the reason for the political demands.
Wealth became the basis for new social classes, bourgeoisie, were the upper class. They lived in well-kept, modern neighbourhoods.
Steam locomotive and steamship became the forms of transport. First train line, between Barcelona and Mataró, wasn't opened until 1848.
Coal burnt by factories and transport caused serious pollution.
Cities had poor nighbourhoods with extremely bad living conditions. The poorest lower classes, factory workers, lived here.
ART AND CULTURE
Many artistic styles emerged. The majority of the population was illiterate.
Realism
In the middle of the century; painters decided to show the disadvantaged aspects of the industrial society.
Impressionism
At the end of the century; painters were influenced by technological advances and they reflected this on their work.
Generation of '98 (La Generación del 98)
A group of writers and intelectuals who criticised Spanish society and called for the modernisation of the country.
Scientific advances
Several researchers achieved scientific advances, Ramón y Cajal received the first Nobel Prize for Science.