A worker's aristocracy: the hatters (1870-1914)

Abstract

The subject of the attitudes of the old working-class aristocracies towards technological progress had not been studied in Portugal until now. This article attempts to contribute to the broad debate on this topic, through a case-study: the nineteenth century hatters and their reactions both to proletarianization and to the introduction of machines in their industry. Having inherited a rich and powerful cultural tradition, after de middle of the nineteenth century the hatters had to face the decline of their craft and the destruction of the skill which had been responsible for their priviledged position. A position that was being gradually eroded, in spite of their struggle and resistance, by the increase in mechanization. On stealing their skill, the machine was undermining their power. A detailed analysis of the origins and claims of their strikes has enabled us to see the extent to which the issue of power at the production place was central. Many of the initial strikes were due not so much to wage claims but to new factory regulations, technological innovation, employers' attempts to control the entry to the profession or changes in traditional forms of payment. The invasion of the national market by foreign products, and the resulting broad claim of the survival of the national economy, contributed to a decrease in the tensions among the workers and their employers, since any improvement on the formers condition, seemed to depend first and foremost on the prosperity of the national industry. However, after 1892, the disappointment with the way the new protectionist law was implemented, along with the rising mechanization, inevitably separated the hatters from the manufacturers. This article has studied not only the hatters' organization and struggles but also their reaction to the current debate on protectionism versus free-trade and working class attitudes towards the machine.