THE INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE OF GALICIA

Magadalena Tannery

in Betanzos, A Coruña

By Gloria Alvarez Encinas & Eloy Palenzuela Herrero

     

In the mid-nineteenth century, the greatest wealth of the municipality of Betanzos lay in the cultivation of wheat, rye, grapes and chestnuts, the raising of livestock and the exploitation of forest. Along with these activities there also stood up a tannery, a pottery, several flour mills and various artisan looms. The town of Betanzos also became a supplier of wood and other materials to the Royal Navy Dockyards of Ferrol.

The Galician leather industry went through a process of decline in the late-nineteenth century. Its inability to adapt to new technological changes shortening the tanning process, condemned Galician leather to a slow death.

Within this context other industry initiatives began to emerge, such as soap making, and the production of soda, tile and brick and numerous flour mills.

The Etchevarria family began to tax under the corporate legal regime of the late-nineteenth century, but its activities as enterprisers started many earlier.

The founder of the Etcheverria family dynasty, D. Jean D'Etcheverry was born in Bonloc, the Basque Country in 1685, and was established in Betanzos in the early-eighteenth century.

     

D. Jean D'Etcheverry left his son D. Bernardo D'Etcheverry, and later his grandson Domingo Etcheverria (his surname hispanicized) to continue in the business. With the third generation, the family expanded its business and their participation in leather manufacturing. Domingo Etcheverria leased a tannery to D. Baltasar Rodriguez (a Betanzos neighbour) in 1840, for a period of six years.

The facilities were in the neighborhood of La Magdalena, in the parish of San Pedro de Viñas on the old wall road directly to La Coruna. It was a shelter and home to lepers.

     

This neighborhood has changed over time due to speculation, neglect and disregard for our historical past. In the end, the district of La Magdalena has become a clear example of what to never do regarding the memory of a people and its architecture.

     

With the disappearance or drastic reduction of the sick people, the old houses they had occupied were possibly used to house the new employees of the factory. The closure of the factory did not affect the typical structures; yet there are people in the Magdalena neighborhood who still remember the inhabited houses.

Domingo Echeverría was an associate of D. Ramón María Rodríguez (from Serantes, Ferrol), who provided two-thirds of the share capital (22,500 pesetas). Meanwhile Domingo exercised as teller, teacher and director of production, receiving three pesetas a day for his work and a third of annual profits.

In the following years the social fund quadrupled, with the participation of Rodriguez increasing more than Etcheverria’s. While Rodriguez contributed capital to finance the company’s financial resources, Etcheverria invested in the acquisition of three-quarters of the factory and land adjacent to the property and did work and repairs at the factory. So the asset was acquired by Etcheverria who was alone at the head of the factory in 1860, the year the company was liquidated. But Rodriguez invested the 150,000 pesetas he made from winding up 10 years later, receiving 45% of the amount invested as profits. Applying similar formulas, Domingo Etcheverria continued to associate with other employers in the area until the installations ended up in the hands of his family. La Magdalena was the name by which the tannery was known while it belonged to the family banking house, whose foundation by Jean Etcheverry dates to 1717.

     

The factory operated until a few years before the Spanish Civil War, in 1936, and it was expropriated and converted into the Prisoners Republicans Camp. Vicente Ferrer, the great protector of the poor in India, was among the prisoners. The grandfather of Ibarretxe, former president of the Basque Country was also there.

The building was later abandoned, becoming the ruins of the factory which was once a major industry.

     

After leaving the tannery, the Echeverria family turned his efforts into the financial market. In 1964 the bank, which had been a sole proprietorship, became a corporation, named Etcheverria Bank SA but maintained its family character with Domingo Etcheverria Naveira and his sons, the Muela Etcheverria brothers. Thus, the sons of Domingo Etcheverria successively joined the governing bodies of the firm. Currently D. Javier de la Muela Etcheverria is the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

CONCLUSION

The strong agricultural tradition and maritime interests of Betanzos did not prevent the development of business initiatives that were carried out in the region of Betanzos.The Etcheverría family was among many others who drove development and changes in the industrial and service sectors that dynamized the region

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Articles by:

D. Juan María García Otero ,

Dña. Margarita Vilar Rodríguez.

Dña. Elvira Lindoso Tato

And D. Vicente de la Fuente.

Published on Anuario Brigantino

News and articles on “La Opinión de A Coruña”, local newspaper.