Empire Rising: Spain

For everyone, 1879 was a busy year. While the British were deeply mired in the Zulu War and Anglo-Afghan War, a new round of reforms was taking place in Spain.

Of course, compared to the comprehensive reforms advocated by former Prime Minister Prim, the current reforms were only small-scale targeted adjustments.

The reform was proposed by the Spanish Workers’ Party, aiming to improve the working conditions for workers in Spanish factories and provide some residential conveniences for them.

As mentioned earlier, hygiene was not a priority across Europe. Excrement and garbage could often be seen on bustling city streets, not to mention in the dark corners inside factories.

Working in such environments was a dual torment for the workers, both physically and mentally.

Moreover, the housing conditions for some workers were extremely poor, with dozens of people cramped in a small room, making it difficult to even turn over when sleeping.

This was a common phenomenon for workers of the era. The industrial process in Europe was essentially a history of suffering for the workers, culminating in the establishment of unions dedicated to seeking welfare and better living conditions for them.

The proposal to improve workers’ work and residential environments generated heated discussions within the Workers’ Party and caught the attention of Carlo, the party’s behind-the-scenes controller.

Taking everything into account, it was deemed very necessary to improve workers’ working and living conditions. Only in a more sanitary and clean environment could workers be emotionally invested in their work.

Additionally, only with adequate rest and relaxation could workers have sufficient energy to work.

The way to improve workers’ work and living conditions was indeed quite simple. The factory work environment could reference the governance of Madrid’s streets, ensuring cleanliness and hygiene through the construction of public toilets along with certain penalty systems.

As long as nearby public toilets are convenient, most workers would likely choose to go to the toilet rather than finding a dark corner inside the factory.

At first, some workers might be fined due to previous habits, but over time, the vast majority would adapt to the presence of public toilets.

At the same time, improving workers’ living conditions could also boost morale, preventing discontent stemming from changes in policies.

The method for improving housing is also simple, that is, to build a large number of wooden houses around the factories.

With the development of the African colony, a large amount of cheap timber was brought back to mainland Spain. Whether from the Guinea Colony or Congo Territory, there was plenty of wood available.

Building a wooden house for workers to live in requires very low costs and a short amount of time, but the resulting effects could make the entire working class more satisfied with the government.

Improving workers’ work and living environments is also a good opportunity to win over public sentiment among the worker community.

After drafting a detailed plan, Carlo summoned Prime Minister Canovas and presented a comprehensive plan, demanding the government to reform workers’ living and working environments according to it.

Receiving the command from Carlo, Prime Minister Canovas took the matter seriously, immediately issuing relevant orders to various departments.

The Spanish Government acted swiftly, presenting related announcements the following day, indicating they would start reforming workers’ living and working environments in factories from that day forward, requiring all factories within Spain to cooperate with the government’s actions in adjusting their environments.

Considering the improvement of workers’ housing would be a significant expenditure, the entire cost wouldn’t be shouldered by the factory owners alone. The government would also provide some subsidies for factories to purchase materials for building houses.

Once the announcement was published, the Spanish Government immediately began the relevant reforms and adjustments. The government’s stance was clear; this was not a negotiation with those factory owners but rather a decision already made, where factory owners and capitalists merely needed to comply.

The Spanish Government was also confident. Because, due to adopting state capitalism, several large factories in Spain were controlled by the Royal Family and the government.

Privately owned factories were mostly medium and small-sized, and these factory owners had no ability to resist government orders; they could only be forced to obey.

Moreover, government and royal factories had already taken the lead in making changes; if these small factories still persisted in resisting, didn’t it prove they were completely against the workers?

In such circumstances, the Spanish Government didn’t even need to take action. The angry workers were enough to destroy these resisting factories.

In fact, if worker power was utilized properly, its influence on politics would be boundless. For factories that deceitfully complied with government decrees, it only took mobilizing workers to strike to ensure those factory owners cooperated obediently.

After all, when factories went on strike, it was the factory owners’ interests that suffered. Against the backdrop of major construction in Spain, each day the factories halted meant one less day of income for the factory owners.

Following the Spanish Government’s announcement, the work of improving workers’ work and living environments was proceeding enthusiastically.

Various news agencies followed up with related reports, praising the attention of the new Cabinet Government and King Carlo to workers and civilians. They admired that this was the government people needed, and this was the king people should cherish.