The culture of effort

The Slate Trade in the 18th-19th Centuries: The Influence of the Traders

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Lavagna maintained its importance as a commercial center thanks to the trade in slate products, a highly appreciated specialization.

The Role of Traders

Merchants, at the end of the 1700s and in the 1830s, held control over the work and wages of the workers and porters, without protecting the interests of the workforce, even during economic crises.

The Economic Impact of Transport

After the extraction work, the slate was transported to Genoa by boats, suffering a significant price increase. This increase, of about 70%, included the costs of transportation and the labor of the stonemasons, but above all the tariffs of the merchants.

An Economic Reality Similar to Agriculture

Slate mining shared many economic characteristics with poor agriculture: lack of capital, vulnerability to market crises, and dependence on commercial intermediaries. This forced self-exploitation and dependence on human labor, ignoring the possibilities offered by technological evolution.

Emigration and Poverty

The second half of the nineteenth century saw significant emigration to the Americas, a sign of persistent economic hardship. Although slate provided a more secure income than agriculture, quarry workers were often victims of poverty and malnutrition, with an average lifespan of less than fifty years.

Fight Against Poverty

Quarrymen went underground to escape poverty and the threat of hunger, finding an alternative source of income in slate. The sale of oil, the spinning of flax and the extraction of slate supplemented the modest earnings of rural communities, offering essential sustenance in times of agricultural crisis.

A Life Made of Toil and Risk

Despite the harsh working conditions and underlying risks, the quarrymen saw slate as an escape from poverty and hunger, ready to endure any hardship to ensure the sustenance of their families.

Sources

Porcella M., “La fatica e la Merica”, Genova, Sagep, 1986

Porcella M., “Gli uomini dell’ardesia”, in Centro di Documentazione della Civica Biblioteca di San Colombiano Certenoli (a c. di), “L’ardesia della Fontanabuona e le sculture di Pietro Burzi”, Chiavari, Grafica Piemme, 2017, collana “Quaderni del Lascito Cuneo”

Savioli L., “Tradizione e storia della lavagna”, in Mannoni T. (a c. di), “Ardesia. Materia, Cultura, Futuro”, Genova, Sagep Editrice, 1995

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