“Lo que ha de ser no puede faltar” (“what has to be cannot be avoided”): phylloxera and the demise of the Málaga wine industry

Abstract

The Málaga vineyards of southern Spain were the first in that country to be affected by phylloxera and it is widely acknowledged that the disease had a devastating effect upon what had hitherto been one of the most famous wine regions in the world. This paper reviews the significance of Málaga's wine industry in the pre‐phylloxera period and traces the diffusion of the pest within the province. Part of the failure to recover from the epidemic is usually related to the fatalism and apathy exhibited by mainly small‐scale peasant producers. However, although phylloxera was responsible for the rapid reduction of vineyard area in the last 20 years of the 19th century, the industry was already suffering from major structural problems prior to the phylloxera epidemic. Phylloxera was therefore not the sole cause of the massive decline in the Málaga wine industry, but represented an almost terminal blow to an industry that was already struggling to survive. Furthermore, contrary to the popular impression that the peasant producers demonstrated resigned apathy in the face of the epidemic, the partial survival and recovery of the vineyard area in locations dominated by such producers indicates their determination and perseverance in the face of this major challenge.