A Distinctive Industrialization
Cotton in Barcelona 1728–1832

This book, first published in 1992, is a study of the development of Barcelona's cotton industry, bridging the 'pre-industrial' and early 'industrial' periods.

J. K. J. Thomson (Author)

9780521394826, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 25 June 1992

368 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.66 kg

' … the book will appeal to a broad range of scholars interested in various aspects of the industrialization process.' Pamela Radcliff, Journal of Modern History

This book, first published in 1992, is a study of the development of Barcelona's cotton industry from its origins in calico-printing in 1728 to its introduction of steampower in 1832. It thus describes the experiences of the leading industry of the city, and one which provides the only Mediterranean exception to the tendency of early industrialization to be concentrated in northern Europe. The book bridges the 'pre-industrial' and early 'industrial' periods, offering answers to such questions as: what caused 'merchant capital' to move into industrial investment? what were the links between 'pre-industrial' industrial activity and industrialization proper? is it apt to refer to the economic changes of these years as an 'industrial revolution'? should industrialization be studied on a regional or a national basis? A further purpose is to provide an interpretation of the characteristics of the Catalan economy and of its relationship to that of Spain as a whole thereby contributing to the understanding of the 'Catalan question'.

List of maps
List of tables
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations, languages, measures and monetary exchanges
1. Introduction
2. Catalan industry in the 'long term'
3. The establishment of calico-printing in Barcelona
4. Why did merchant capital move into the industry in the 1740s?
5. The development of the industry in the 1750s and 1760s: adaptation to the requirements of 'merchant capital'
6. The industry at its height, 1768–86, with investment in it as common as in drapers' shops
7. Spinning
8. The crisis of the fábrica: the industry from 1787 to 1832
9. The Bonaplata mill and Catalan industrialization
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ]