Honourable Businessmen: Respectability and ‘Gentlemanly Capitalism’ in Spain, 1840–1880

Abstract

Revolution can lead to the complete political and social reconfiguration of a society. Such readjustment is often especially significant amongst the society's elites, as when ancient aristocrats had to converge with a newly emerging bourgeoisie. This article argues that over the course of the nineteenth century there was a steady process of negotiation that saw the evolution of a new form of elite, one defined by a new characteristic: respectability. This change saw successful businessmen, particularly magnates or tycoons, climbing to the top of the social ladder, as the culmination of a process that began in the eighteenth century. To illustrate this thesis, I discuss the case of Spain. I draw upon the lives of a large and diverse range of great Spanish bankers, industrialists, and businessmen. Traditionally, historiography has studied such men individually and from an economic history perspective. Here, a global, cultural approach is adopted. The chronology of the events described is not straightforward. Although the men studied are not all from a single birth cohort or even the same generation, I consider that they lived through the same social processes. The years between 1840 and 1880 were a period of intense industrial and business development in Spain during which modern economic practices were introduced. For the purposes of this article, I first situate the concept of respectability within the Spanish historiographical context, before analysing the discursive strategies that Spanish business magnates used to turn themselves into legitimate members of the county's new social elite. Finally, I study the three main symbolic tools that they employed to demonstrate their respectability and prove their status.