Rivers in Galicia's economic modernisation programme in the 19th century

The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was one of the least economically developed countries of the Habsburg Monarchy. Realising this, politicians, publicists, social activists and entrepreneurs engaged in a debate in the second half of the 19th century on ways to lift Galicia out of its socio-economic stagnation. Modernisation potential was seen in factory industries, especially oil extraction and exploitation, the activation of crafts and trade, and the modernisation of agriculture. Rivers also held a prominent place in the economic development programme. The programme included: the construction of flood protection infrastructure, the regulation and navigation of rivers, the construction of canals, expanding navigation, especially steam navigation, the construction of hydroelectric power plants on mountain rivers, building reservoirs, and the development of wickerwork crafts. These investments aimed to eliminate the risk of flooding, transform rivers and canals into cheap transport routes to stimulate internal trade and exports and provide industry and towns with sources of cheap energy from hydroelectric power plants. This topic was discussed by a wide group of publicists and engineers.