Industrialization of Switzerland
The industrialization of Switzerland describes the phase of economic development in Switzerland in which industry became the most important sector of the economy. It led to redistribution of investment and employment among the individual economic sectors and regions. Industrialization led to great social and cultural changes .
Beginnings
The industrialization of Switzerland began - if the previous proto-industrialization is disregarded - as in the European countries surrounding the country in the 19th century.
The impetus for the industrial revolution came from the pioneering country of Great Britain, which was already well advanced in the industrialization process at the turn of the 19th century : the first spinning machines of English origin were installed in St. Gallen in 1801 and in Winterthur in 1802 - at a time when Switzerland was still occupied by the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte . As early as 1805, Caspar Escher founded the first factory for the domestic manufacture of spinning machines. The canton of Zurich was initially a pioneer canton in building factories . At that time they were still operated by direct water power, the steam engine was only introduced with a certain delay in the further course of the century.
Within not even a generation of people, the collapse of traditional hand-spinning and hand- weaving (primarily as part-time farming) occurred in some cantons - especially the Protestant - , which not least led to social unrest.
Accelerated development
As early as 1818 z. B. the chemical industry in Switzerland, with the establishment of the chemical factory in Zurich Uetikon . And a little after 1830, Switzerland already had the highest per capita export quota of industrial goods.
While the manufacturers initially built up their companies largely with their own financial resources, outside financing of their investments picked up speed after the middle of the century - especially with the establishment of the credit institution as the first of what would later become the Swiss big banks. Which, together with the also expanding stock exchanges as a financing instrument, gave industrial growth a further boost.
Turbine production in the second half of the 19th century
The manufacture of turbines for power plants as one of the «engines» of industrialization and the export economy:
| Manufacturer | Period | Total production | exported from it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Escher Wyss AG , Zurich | 1844-1875 | 801 turbines | 65.8% |
| Benjamin Roy , Vevey | 1866-1875 | 226 turbines | 45% (Europe) |
| JJRieter , Winterthur | 1854-1883 | 350 installations | 30% (Russia, Norway) |
| Socin & Wick, Basel | 1867-1883 | 320 turbines (95% Girard) | 70% of the Girard turbines |
| Theodor Bell , Kriens | 1859-1883 | 200 turbines | 50% (of which 70% to Italy) |
| Machine workshop iron foundry M. Less , St. Georgen (St. Gallen) | 1856-1883 | 130 turbines | 28% |
Social problem
Because during the industrialization the supply of labor tended to exceed the demand of the companies due to the permanent mechanization process, the wages of the workers were hardly sufficient for survival ( proletariat ). In order to secure the existence of the families, women and children also had to work. The working hours were up to 90 hours per week. Against the opposition of the entrepreneurs and, in some cases, liberalism , a factory law was introduced in the canton of Glarus in 1864 and throughout Switzerland in 1877 , which somewhat alleviated the worst excesses. The normal weekly working time was then 65 hours, children under 14 years of age were banned from factory work and night work was prohibited for women and young people.
In order to improve wages, trade union alliances were initially set up at the regional level, and strikes were occasionally used. In 1880 the SGB and in 1888 the Swiss Metalworkers' Association were founded as national unions. The collective labor agreements were also slowly becoming established .
literature
- Jean-François Bergier: The economic history of Switzerland. From the beginning to the present . Benziger, Zurich 1983, ISBN 3-545-34016-3 .
- Hans Peter Treichler: Founding the present. Portraits from Switzerland from 1850–1880 . Rentsch. Zurich. ISBN 3-7249-0568-8 .
- Kurt Humbel: The peace agreement in the Swiss machine and metal industry .: Documents on contract policy 1899–1987 . Peter Lang Publishing Group. Bern 1987. ISBN 978-3-261-03749-7 .
Web links
- Béatrice Veyrassat: industrialization. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Simon Leresche, Laurent Tissot: 150 ans de production de turbines à Vevey (1863-2013). The Benjamin Roy à Andritz Hydro en passant par les Ateliers de Constructions Mécaniques de Vevey. Éditions Alphil-Presses universitaires suisses, Neuchâtel 2013, ISBN 978-2-940489-49-7 . TV Vevey: 150 ans de production de turbines à Vevey (1863–2013)