AN ECONOMIC HISTORY LINKED TO INDUSTRY

The role of industrial development forms an intrinsic part of the history of our city and differentiates it from other surrounding towns; over a long period of time it has been an authentic and spontaneous stimulus for growth and development.

It can be said that the industrial revolution of Alcoy had as one of its causes the hardship endured in the agricultural milieu. Industry was seen as an answer for a population struggling to survive exclusively in agricultural activities which gave poor returns.

Even though the earliest human settlements in the present-day Alcoy district can be traced back to 50.000 BC, we find that in the present location - not as a cave-dwelling settlement and rather more than as a mere manor - evidence of a settlement before the era of Moorish domination. Nonetheless, the irrefutable evidence of Alcoy’s existence is found in the Islamic period. Documentary evidence in the form of the first written reference to Alcoy can be found in the chronicles of the Christian monarch, Jaime I el Conquistador, in the mid-13th Century.

Industry already existed in this period and it has continued without interruption all the way to modern times with constant adaptation and innovation in order to meet the demands of each period. In spite of wars, invasions, revolts, earthquakes, epidemics and other upheavals we have faced throughout history, we, the people of Alcoy have earned a reputation as being hard-working, resilient in the face of adversity and full of innovative energy.

The economic history of Alcoy is proof of this in itself.

We find that in 1278, the manufacture of cloth and draperies was controlled by a respectable corporation with the Archangel Saint Michael as its patron according to a document signed before the scribe Bernat Carreres.

By the mid-eighteenth century, the first paper mill was established in Alcoy and this paved the way to a flourishing paper industry which has unfortunately disappeared in modern times.

At that time, Alcoy had 14,600 inhabitants of which approximately half worked in agriculture.

LThe metallurgy industry of Alcoy was established at a later stage. There had always been workshops where repairs were carried out, locksmith workshops, foundries etc; we find that in 1521 the bronze foundries of Alcoy received an order from the king for the manufacture of cannon for his armies. It is not until 1868 that we find metallurgy as a fully-fledged industry in Alcoy; at that time documentary evidence shows the existence of three machinery factories and two foundries..

The industrial expansion of Alcoy took place at the end of the last century and has continued right up to the present day.

Industrial growth stimulated population growth; while there were 33,000 people in Alcoy at the turn of the century the current population statistics have doubled that figure.

Today’s economic structure reflects an insignificant presence of agriculture where only 2-3% of the active population working in it; this contrasts with the enormous segment of the labour force, 76% in fact, employed in industry. We find the remaining 23% of the labour force engaged in retail and service activities, though these are closely linked to the formidable industrial presence.

All this has led to Alcoy establishing itself as the nucleus of an area of commercial influence comprising 30 municipalities and a total population of over 100,000 people.