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May 09, 2017

The Cigar Makers. 51, Embajadores Street

The Royal Tobacco Factory in Madrid was originally built to house the Royal Factory of Playing Cards and Liquor, but in 1809, Joseph Bonaparte decided to turn it into a tobacco factory.
Listen to the history that took place just next door to our school!!



Fill in the gaps according to the information you hear:
1.      Women were ……………………. and better at rolling cigars.
2.      They could …………………………… their children.
3.      The women cigar makers were …………………… in the workers’ struggle in Spain.
4.      Galdos thought that women at the Tobacco Factory were the delight of the people and the …………………. of the authorities.
5.      The Tobacco Workers Union was created in ……………………
6.      Clara Campoamor and Victoria Kent …………………… on topics related to women.
7.      After 2000 the memory of the women tobacco factory workers slowly ……………………………. in the city.

TRANSCRIPT:

The Royal Tobacco Factory in Madrid was originally built to house the Royal Factory of Playing Cards and Liquor, but in 1809, Joseph Bonaparte decided to turn it into a tobacco factory. At first, tobacco factories produced snuff and employed men to grind the tobacco leaves, but with the growing popularity of smoking tobacco, they began to hire women because women proved quicker and better at rolling cigars, could be paid lower wages and were thought to be more docile and submissive.

The men were steadily replaced by women until almost the entire workforce was female. The tobacco industry became the first feminised industry in Spain, and in Madrid employed the largest workforce.

Initially, production was manual and the work was flexible, allowing the women workers to combine their working day with their household and family responsibilities. If necessary, they could look after their children, breastfeed and eat in the workshops. But the advent of mechanisation in 1887 changed all that. Each woman had to sit at a specific machine, there was no longer any room for children and strict working hours were imposed. All these measures were met with multiple protests.

The fact that the women worked together in the same place and faced the same problems helped forge a strong collective identity that spurred them to become fierce defenders of their rights and pioneers in the workers’ struggle in Spain. This rebellious spirit prompted Galdós to say: “The community of women tobacco factory workers: the delight of the people and the nightmare of the authorities”.

The arrival of the twentieth century witnessed growing political awareness and union organisation among women tobacco factory workers, until in 1915 the Tobacco Workers Union was created, with members throughout the nation. In the 1930s, union activity went beyond the factory walls to focus on cultural and social actions. For example, a school for social empowerment was created in the district of Embajadores, where famous activists such as Clara Campoamor and Victoria Kent gave talks on a variety of topics related to the women’s lives.

After the tobacco factory in Madrid closed its doors in 2000, the memory of the women tobacco factory workers slowly faded in the city. Today, however, many of their traces remain in the urban landscape of Lavapiés.

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