La pérdida del negocio del vino y el drama social del medio rural de Málaga tras la plaga de la filoxera de 1878

This article analyses the causes of the deterioration of the Malaga wine trade after the phylloxera plague of 1878, which led to its near disappearance during the 20th century. After the plague, the Malaga wine trade experienced a significant deterioration that almost led to its disappearance at the end of the 20th century. In the 19th century, Malaga wine and sultanas accounted for 60% of all exports leaving the port of Malaga, illustrating the importance of this agri-food industry for the province. Malaga wine had two main players, on the one hand, the oligarchy that controlled the wine trade and, on the other, the vine growers (the winegrowers in the region of Los Montes de Málaga and La Axarquía). Although there were already problems in Malaga wine production in the mid-19th century, the phylloxera plague was the main trigger of the Malaga wine crisis. This article analyses the fundamental aspects that were decisive in the disappearance of the Malaga wine industry: the loss of the vineyards due to poor agronomic practices following the phylloxera plague and the commercial rupture between the winemaking oligarchy and the winegrowers. Small vineyard owners bore the brunt of the crisis. They had no alternative but to abandon their vineyards and emigrate. These two aspects are the focus of this paper