Mercados de crédito, crisis económica y estructura social en la Cataluña del nordeste (1875-1905)

The aim of this article is to examine the dynamics of the rural credit markets and their relationship with the economic cycle during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Firstly, we present the evolution of the number of loans granted in the legal jurisdiction of Figueres (in north-eastern Catalonia) during the period 1880-1905. Secondly, we analyse the main features of the credit transactions, using the notarial deeds that authorised loans in the years 1888 and 1903. It suggests the use of the kind of “identity card” each person had been assigned by the public administration as a useful way to define social groups and a detailed analysis is made. The results obtained show that the social and geographical distance between lenders and borrowers increased sharply during the studied period. The worsening of economic expectations had led to the draining of the middle and lower classes self-financing capacity.