FLINT FOR MADRID

José Nieto and Victoria López undertook an interesting study of historic flint mining in Vicálvaro. During the Modern Age, Vicálvaro belonged to an area specialised in flint extraction. The village of Vallecas was at the centre of this activity, although the City of Madrid owned part of the land where mining took place, and was the main user of the extracted flint.  Miners and middlemen met the demands of the construction and porcelain industries, and the need for stone for lining the city’s streets.

With the installation of the Royal Court in Madrid in 1561, the city began to regulate the flint mining industry and obliged the villages to the city’s southeast to provide flint and organise its transport. Since the second half of the 16th century, a small group of dealers and middlemen profited from the selling of flint, gypsum and lime, while the people of Vicálvaro made extra income transporting these goods to Madrid.

During the 18th century, flint exploitation took place on lands owned by the City of Madrid, as well as on private lands, usually those of noblemen. This lasted until the 19th century. The middlemen of Vallecas exercised complete control over contracts with Madrid, and by 1789, at perhaps the height of flint production in this area, they were sending some 4600 tonnes of this material to the capital every year. However, the first signs that the area was running out of flint were appearing.

At the end of the Modern Era, the exploitation of flint led to conflicts with local farmers but this did not prevent the industry from expanding, and material from Vicálvaro was still used to supply Madrid. New uses for the town’s flint, such as the surfacing of streets with wedge-shaped stones, the manufacture of MacAdam surfacing, and the production of flint porcelain, allowed the sector to survive well into the 20th century.