Cooperativisme i associacionisme agrari a Catalunya: els propietaris rurals i l'organització dels interessos agraris al primer terç del segle XX

Abstract

This doctoral thesis focuses on the role of landowners in cooperativism and agrarian associations during the first third of the 20th century, as one of the pillars of the reorganization of agrarian interests after the crisis of the late 19th century. The major role played by this social group until that time in the whole of society decreased as the industrialization process and the end-of-century agrarian crisis weakened its economic position and social predominance. The landowners responded to this situation by attempting to win back their earlier position by means of collective action. Cooperativism was a fundamental tool in the adoption of new agrarian techniques, as well as an opportunity to re-establish vertical solidarities in agrarian society, and thereby neutralize social conflict. The thesis is organized into two parts each consisting of four chapters and the corresponding appendices. The first part deals with the participation of landowners in agrarian associations in Catalonia, and records diferent projects (especially those carried on by the chambers of agriculture), focusing on the role played by one association, the Institut Agrícola Català de Sant Isidre, in the organization of agrarian interests. In the second part of the thesis, this interpretation is applied to the Catalan department of Vallès Oriental. The study in a circumscribed environment allows for a more exhaustive description of the association movement, the identification of its key actors, and an analysis of the response to economic and social changes during the first third of the 20th century. One of the main conclusions of the thesis is the capacity of the landowners' class to organize itself, a finding that challenges the widely-held view that the rural world was apathetic and reluctant to mobilize. During the crisis, owners eventually became the champions of "agrarian interests" and led social mobilization. They led campaigns against the phylloxera plague, demands for protective tax measures, protests against taxation, or the defence of agrarian products against industrial products (in the question of alcohols, for instance). Later, during the first third of the 20th century, many landowners set up agrarian associations (from unions and local cooperatives to federations and associations at regional level), forming an active network based in the Institut Agrícola Català de Sant Isidre and with contacts throughout the country. These associations had two main characteristics: its cooperativism and its desire to cross class barriers. Most cooperatives were mixed associations of landowners and peasants, although owners were usually the leaders. Cooperativism was fundamental in attracting peasants to the associations led by owners, in promoting the technical and economic modernization of agriculture and in reinforcing solidarity throughout the rural society. Nevertheless, landowners often gave priority to social mobilization over cooperative action (as was the case with the chambers of agriculture). Moreover, the attempt to introduce forms of social control achieved only limited results, since the recovery of the landowners' hegemonic position depended on the maintaining their economic position, and this, after the crises of the late 19th century, became more and more difficult.

Date of Award	2 Dec 2003
Original language	Undefined/Unknown
Supervisor	Ramon Garrabou Segura (Director)