ENCYCLOPAEDIA of Rebellions

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Sargadelos riot 1798

Synopsis
The setting of a blast furnace in 1794 raised social unrest in northern Galicia. The furnace was of great strategic interest, as it could provide ammunition for the army. Thus the king gave extensive privileges to its owner, Don Antonio Raimundo Ibáñez, so that he could run the factories with all the ease and military support. Ibáñez’s increasing power over the land resources annoyed the local churchmen and landholders, who felt their social primacy threatened by the entrepreneur. On the other hand, industrial activity was harming rural economy. The locals were driven out of the forests they had been exploiting for generations, as timber was to serve the royal factories exclusively. The peasantry answered by means of arson and sporadic attacks against Ibáñez’s employees. The greatest riot broke out the 30th April 1798, when more than 4.000 villagers assaulted the factories. The crowd confronted the troops and set the factories on fire, while Don Antonio Raimundo Ibáñez escaped. Even though the army put the disturbances to an end, social tension remained. It is said that the riot was inspired by the local notables Manuel Antonio Pedrosa Arias and Antonio de Cora y Miranda, but the peasants were also defending their own interests. This is why this mutiny is held as an early example of resistance against industrialization. Don Raimundo Ibáñez died violently in 1809, most probably as a later echo of the above described unrest.
Additional info

Starting date: . Ending: . Duration: 1 day. Name in sources: Motín de Sargadelos. Location: Sargadelos Country (current): Spain. Monarchy: Spanish. Main participants: Others, Peasants. Number of participants: >500. Main reasons & motivations: Economic, Labour conditions. Leadership: Manuel Antonio Pedrosa Arias and Antonio de Cora y Miranda. Relevance: medium.

Further reading
CARMONA BADIA, Joám (1993). “Sargadelos en la historia de la siderurgia española”, Revista de Historia Industrial, 3: 11-40. MEJIDE PARDO, Antonio (1979). Documentos para la historia de las reales fábricas de Sargadelos. A Coruña-Sada: do Castro. PRADO GÓMEZ, Antonio (1993-1994). “Sargadelos, una experiencia ilustrada precapitalista”, Boletín do Museo Provincial de Lugo, 6: 29-51.
Cite this entry

(2023) "Sargadelos riot 1798", in J. V. Serrão and M. S. Cunha (coord), Rebellions in the Early Modern Iberian World. (accessed on ).