The Cotton Industry (1815-1914)

The cotton industry, with silk, was at the origin of Italian industrialisation and created the institutional and entrepreneurial prerequisites for subsequent developments. Lombardy's cotton industry managed to take root thanks to the traditional specialization in this sector that dates back to the modern age. Under the Austrian domination (1815-1860), the companies created a commercial organisation that conquered the markets of north-eastern Italy. However, a series of obstacles slowed its expansion: the increased cost of raw cotton, the lack of coal, the weak mechanical industry, the fragmentation of markets resulting from the previous political division. Nevertheless, after construction of the infrastructures and thanks to the protectionist tariffs of 1878 and 1887, the cotton industry increased its number of mechanical spindles and looms. Since entrepreneurs were able to overcome energy bottlenecks thanks to electricity, they conquered the internal market, improved their products and commercial structures and, around 1908, exported almost a quarter of their products, which came to represent 10% of the value of Italy’s total exports. In Europe, Italy was the fifth producer, almost on a par with Austria-Hungary. Lombardy hosted over half of the country's spindles, 2/3 of the mechanical looms and the most innovative companies. This chapter attempts to outline the factors, constraints, opportunities, and paths that led to these results.