Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 172: Chapter 140: Rectifying the Slums (Double-Length Chapter)

By the end of November 1872, new problems emerged before the Spanish Government.

The development and construction across various regions of Spain were still progressing smoothly, with Madrid and Barcelona advancing by leaps and bounds, being hailed as the twin stars among the many cities of Spain.

Of course, the main reason was also because Spain’s overall population was very small, with not a single city in the entire country having a population exceeding one million.

Currently, among all the major powers, the capital of the United Kingdom, London, was the most populous city, with a population approaching four million.

This population size was extremely exaggerated, comparable to small countries like the Netherlands and Belgium. But the actual population of the United Kingdom was no match for Germany and France or Austria-Hungary, which also demonstrated the dramatic industrial and economic development of London as the core city of the first industrial revolution.

Although the nickname “Fog City” was not flattering, London at this time was indeed the most dazzling city in the world, and was a truly international metropolis of the era.

In comparison with London, the glamour of Paris seemed somewhat dimmer. According to current data, the population of Paris was around two million, slightly more than half of London’s population.

However, compared to the capitals of other major powers, the population of Paris still ranked among the top. Berlin and Vienna, further behind, each had a population in the millions, lacking in both scale and economic weight.

The United States was a rather peculiar nation, with the capital not being the most developed city domestically. The most developed city within the United States was New York, but the capital was in Washington.

Currently, New York’s population was also approaching one million, and it was set to experience a population explosion along with the rapid development of the United States.

Presently, New York couldn’t quite compare to London and Paris, but in the coming decades, it would develop into an international metropolis second only to London, easily surpassing many of Europe’s older cities.

Currently, Madrid’s population barely exceeded 400,000, making it considered a large city in Spain, but looking at the whole of Europe, it could only be considered a relatively large city.

Likewise, the other twin star city, Barcelona, also had a population exceeding 360,000 at this time. Besides the two twin stars of Madrid and Barcelona, other Spanish cities were relatively small in scale, even Seville, which had a small industrial base, had just over 100,000 people.

From this perspective, it was understandable why the new industrial base was located in Barcelona. Because besides the capital Madrid, only Barcelona’s population could support the construction of a medium-sized industrial base.

The industrial base being built in Barcelona would provide at least 50,000 jobs. Were it not for Barcelona having just under 400,000 people, even these 50,000 positions couldn’t be filled.

Even with the current population of Barcelona, it was far from sufficient. With the construction of the industrial city, more people were sure to be drawn from the surrounding countryside and small towns.

In the future, the populations of large cities like Madrid and Barcelona would continue to grow, while those of small cities would not see much growth and may even experience a decline.

This phenomenon was bound to occur, both now and in the future.

The rise of a super large city signaled the decline of several medium and small-sized cities. Once the industrial base in Barcelona was completed, it would certainly absorb the populations of surrounding villages and small cities.

It could be anticipated that within the next decade, Barcelona’s population would enter a period of rapid growth. But the populations of towns around Barcelona might not grow, and might even decrease.

But this was also an unavoidable issue in city development. For the growth of Madrid and Barcelona, sacrificing some small cities to an extent was necessary.

Only such large cities could support the construction of industrial bases, and the construction of large industrial bases could improve Spain’s industrial scale and environment.

Returning the focus to Madrid. As Spain’s largest city at present, Madrid’s population had already exceeded 400,000, making it the shining jewel of the Iberian Peninsula.

But this didn’t mean Madrid was an extremely prosperous city. Apart from a few bustling streets in the Madrid City Center, there were not many skyscrapers in Madrid City, and there were even many slums.

During Queen Isabella’s reign, the Spanish Government only focused on the construction of bustling streets, completely disregarding the slums where the lower-class people lived.

This led to Madrid having two different scenes. The streets in the City Center were extremely bustling, with a flow of people that seemed comparable to other major cities in Europe.

But outside of the City Center, in the outer parts of the city, many slums were visible everywhere, and there were even numerous dilapidated buildings in disrepair.

Not only did this severely damage Madrid’s city image, it also increased the likelihood of disease spread. The sanitary conditions in these slums were extremely poor, and some people even shamelessly relieved themselves in public areas.

Because the sanitary conditions were so poor here, the dignitaries and aristocrats were entirely unwilling to venture into the slums, making it a veritable paradise for criminals with poor public security.

Speaking of development, Madrid’s development was especially important.

Being the capital of Spain and currently the largest city, Madrid was one of Spain’s calling cards to the outside world, and a means of attracting immigrants.