El artículo examina el activismo de los oficiales zapateros de Barcelona entre 1830 y 1860, así como sus condicionantes económicos, legales, políticos y culturales. Además de crear sus propias cooperativas y sociedades obreras, los zapateros se involucraron en federaciones locales para resistir a la precarización de sus condiciones laborales, especialmente el desarrollo del trabajo domiciliar a destajo y el recurso a la mano de obra femenina e infantil. Aunque adoptaban una actitud conciliadora con sus maestros y afirmaban su adhesión al liberalismo, sólo pudieron asociarse de manera intermitente y con restricciones. Las sociedades fueron un medio de sociabilización de los zapateros, que les permitió adquirir experiencia organizativa autónoma y empezar a construir una identidad colectiva de clase.
Si bien se confirma su protagonismo social, no se puede concluir que se singularizaban por su radicalidad.
The paper examines the activism of Barcelona's cobblers between 1830 and 1860, as well as its economic, legal, political and cultural conditioning factors. In addition to creating their own cooperatives and workers' societies, the shoemakers became involved in local federations to oppose the growing precariousness of their working conditions, especially the development of piecework at home and the use of female and child labour.
Although they adopted a conciliatory attitude towards their masters and affirmed their liberal convictions, they were only allowed to associate intermittently and with restrictions. The societies were a means of socialisation, which enabled the cobblers to acquire autonomous organisational experience and to begin to build a collective class identity.
Although their social protagonism is confirmed, it cannot be concluded that they stood out for their radicalism