"For the well-being of the proletariat": social question and distribution of the commons (Navarre, 1868)

The Spanish September Revolution constituted a milestone with respect to the use of common lands as a way to develop land policies saimed to alleviate poverty. This article offers a detailed analysis of the distribution of allotments among rural workers in the province of Navarre from 1868 onwards. It concludes that allotments contributed to reduce inequality and improved living conditions for the rural working class. However, inequality rose again within a few years as the plots were illegally sold with the consent of local authorities. As a result, petitions for new allotments continued to grow until the proclamation of the Spanish Second Republic.