Economic development

Between 1450 and 1570-80, European society went through a process of expansion of which the Basque Country and Gipuzkoa were also a part. Our region, which has historically not been self-sufficient in grain, was able to restore the balance thanks to the export of its iron and wool from Castile, Navarra and Aragón, which allowed for the import of products that the region lacked, as well as others, given that a large part of the traffic between the Peninsula and Europe’s Atlantic seaboard passed through  its ports.

All of this economic development consolidated the provincial routes and allowed for the export of various products and activities based in the Province’s woodlands and water wealth, both of which, thanks to metalworking, aided the development of shipbuilding and trade.

As is well known, the metalworking industry played a significant role in the Gipuzkoa economy (consult the interactive map for places and products). In fact, the region’s mines did not produce enough and raw ore was imported from Vizcaya, above all from Somorrostro.  Gipuzkoa could rely on a plentiful water supply, essential for the foundries, as well as extensive woodlands used as a source of fuel.

The ironworks employed a large number of people, either directly (iron workers, blacksmiths, arms makers, nail makers) and indirectly (miners, charcoal makers, hauliers, lumberjacks, general suppliers). A large amount of this work was carried out by rural people, activities that were complementary but fundamental to the economy of the caserío (farmhouse),  which was the basic unit for an agricultural and fishing economy centred on the extended family home. Some authors estimate that the ironworks provided work for between 20-40% of the population.
    
Arms production was directly linked to the iron and was a fundamental economic sector in the 15th and 16th centuries particularly, although not exclusively, in the Deba valley, both for bladed weapons and firearms. In 1573 the Reales Fábricas de Armas de Placencia (Soraluze) was established to produce arms for the Crown. This was not like the modern idea of a factory, a building designed for industrial production, but more a means of controlling of the supply of materials, specialized production and export that covered the entire area. Minerals, coal, tree plantings for handles, gun butts and lances, foundries, workshops of every kind, often concentrated in particular areas – some specialising in pikes and machetes, others in muskets and harquebuses, others in swords – all these together made up a complex system of arms production that, as well as meeting the Crown’s needs, were exported to the Caribbean via Andalusia.

Further informaion, here: "The iron industry" (Bertan Collection).

Since the Middle Ages, the shipyards have been an important part of the Gipuzkoa economy. The large number of estuaries as well as woodland relatively close to the coast and the strategic position on the trade routes of the Peninsula and Europe’s Atlantic seaboard, led to large-scale expansion from the end of the 15th century.

The main commercial activity in Gipuzkoa was the export of iron, as well as other products, to European markets, which created in turn more jobs in transport and mediation. Nevertheless, from the end of the 15th century, there was an increasing Gipuzkoa and presence in the trade in goods not  produced within the province but transported across an axis running from Castile to Flanders. They were also connected to the Mediterranean market. America was a huge market which consumed a great deal of iron, precisely at a time when traditional markets were in crisis. It wasn’t just the people on the coast, but also people in the interior who took an active part in transporting the various products. Products from Vitoria and Castile we transported directly through the Deba valley, or else via San Adrián, passing through Segura, Ordizia and Tolosa, and on to Hernani and Donostia. This route was used more by traders from Navarra than by the Castilians.

The American continent also opened up new fishing grounds for the whale and cod of the New World, especially after 1530. Whales were mainly hunted for their fat which was rendered to produce oil used in lamps. There was a huge demand from the interior for salt cod, given the religious restrictions on eating meat..