Uprzemysłowienie województwa podlaskiego w XIX i na początku XX wieku

• Authors: Adam Dobroński

Title variants

EN

INDUSTRIALISATION OF PODLASKIE VOIVODESHIP IN THE 19TH CENTURY AND AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

First attempts to industrialise the region of the present Podlaskie Voivodeship were undertaken by Jan Klemens Branicki (Białystok), Antoni Tyzenhauz (Grodno, Sokółka region), Duchess Anna Jabłonowska, née Sapieha (Siemiatycze), Rajmund Rembieliński (Jedwabne), Count Michał Pac (Dowspuda), Karol Brzostowski (Sztabin), and several other landowners. The introduction, by tsar Nicolas I in 1832, of a customs border between the Kingdom of Poland and the Russian Empire paved the way for the establishment of Białystok textile industry district. Western capital flew into the area, and large industrial centres came into being in Supraśl, Choroszcz, Wasilków, Gródek, Michałowo, Krynki, Białystok, Ciechanowiec, and Siemiatycze (the last two had had earlier traditions). In 1860, the entire district boasted more than 70 factories and manufacturing plants. Białystok became the regional leader after several railway lines had been built (1862, 1873, 1886), and, having developed into the most industrialised city between Warsaw and Moscow, began to be referred to as the "Manchester of the North". And yet, the local textile industry was clearly inferior to that of e.g. Łódź, in terms of concentration and technology. In Podlasie, mainly so called remanufactured wool (shoddy) was used, working conditions were disastrous, successive economic crises bankrupted smaller companies. The cheap, and usually low quality, goods were sold through the intermediation of Jewish merchants. The establishment of Towarzystwo Białostockiej Manufaktury E. Becker i S-ka was a harbinger of novel solutions. Gradually, new industrial branches, particularly the food industry, increased production. The economic development of Białystok was hampered by: lack of stability, shortage of capital, climate of speculation, and outdated infrastructure. It is also worth looking more closely at several other industrial towns: Choroszcz (the patronage of the Moes family), Gródek (large participation of local inhabitants in industrial production), Michałowo (strong national diversity), Supraśl (replacement of large factories by smaller Jewish ones), and Wasilków (cooperation with Białystok). Before the First World War, in Białystok district, factory workers constituted 2-2.5% of population, while in the governorates of Łomża and Suwałki – only 0.3- 0.25%. In the summer 1915, the retreating tsarist army destroyed most of the textile factories. After the WWI, the closure of the Russian market became a serious impediment to the development of regional industry.

Keywords

EN

PODLASKIE VOIVODESHIP; INDUSTRIALISATION; HISTORY OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION

• Journal: Optimum. Studia Ekonomiczne
• Year: 2012
• Issue: 3(57)
• Pages: 33-48

Contributors

author

Adam Dobroński