F oreign capital has been of paramount importance in the creation of urban infrastructures because of the magnitude of the investments involved, their technological complexity, and the management difficulties associated with such undertakings. This was especially true in the emerging field of electricity and other associated activities such as tramways. Investment was often motivated by a desire to open up new industrial markets, and certain countries began to concentrate on specific sectors. 1 German capital focused on electrical engineering, the French on urban gas lighting, and the Belgians on tram companies and light railways, in some cases acting as a bridgehead for German electrical groups. 2 Meanwhile the British concentrated on telegraph services, water supplies and tramways. 3 Hitherto, historical research has concentrated on individual borrower countries or on the specific field of electricity. 4 In this article the international investments made by Belgium are analysed both geographically and quantitatively, within the urban transport sector, a sector which has been little researched and in which Belgium played a leading role in several countries. 5 The article looks at the importance of foreign ownership in transport enterprises, a subject of ongoing debate in transport historiography. The hypothesis that the article puts forward is that the promotion of tramway enterprises abroad, via Belgian capital, is linked with the search for new markets for the steel and engineering industries. To this end new evidence will be provided which sheds light on this relationship. This contribution will help us to better understand the role of Belgian capital in promoting tramway networks throughout the world, the motives behind such investment and the mechanisms and strategies used. There are two clearly discernible stages with respect to the periods in which tram enterprises were set up abroad by Belgian firms. In the first of these periods, up to the First World War, the importance of tramway companies increased steadily, while the second, the inter-war period, was one of decline. The expansion of tramway networks and their electrification took place largely in the first stage. Once the basic networks were in place, the economic and political convulsions of the 1920s and 1930s led to the second stage. This article focuses on the first of these periods, which is more important from an historical perspective. Belgian investment in tramways and light railways 59 Belgian investment in tramways and light railways An international approach, 1892-1935

El artículo analiza el comportamiento de Madrileña de Gas como ejemplo de la actuación del capital extranjero en el sector servicios. Se ponen de manifiesto varios rasgos comunes a este tipo de inversiones. Por un lado, la especialización sectorial francesa en el gas, y por otro, su interés en los mercados de las grandes ciudades. El respaldo bancario extranjero (Crédit Mobilier) permite el acceso fluido a la financiación parisina en una actividad intensiva en capital. La conexión francesa facilita la transferencia tecnológica y la gestión de las instalaciones. Durante la fase del monopolio la empresa se expande, tanto en Madrid como en provincias, y obtiene buenos resultados. La competencia eléctrica significa el inicio del declive, agravado por el peso del servicio de la deuda, el deterioro del tipo de cambio y la renegociación a la baja de las tarifas. Finalmente, el contexto nacionalista de la primera posguerra mundial propicia su venta a grupos eléctricos españoles.

The city as a business: gas and business in the Spanish region of Galicia, 1850-1936 ALBERTE MARTÍNEZ LÓPEZ and JESÚS MIRÁS-ARAUJO

Por ALBERTE MARTÍNEZ LÓPEZ CARLOS PINEIRO SÁNCHEZ RESUMEA creación e desenvolvemento do abastecemento de auga na cidade de A Coruña amosa unhas características bastante similares ó acontecido noutras cidades españolas. A fase de efectiva posta en marcha dende que se efectúa a concesión resulta dilatada e problemática. Terá que ser o capital bancario local o que lie dea un pulo definitivo ó proceso, ante a incapacidade fínanceira e xestora municipal. Logo dunha década de conformación do servicio básico e de exitosas presións para modificar os hábitos tradicionais de consumo (con apoio do concello), a empresa coñece unha forte expansión durante os anos vinte e principio dos trinta, sen que a depresión daqueles anos semelle terlle afectado significativamente. PALABRAS CLAVEServicios públicos, abastecemento de auga, A Coruña. ABSTRACTThe founding and development of Coruña's waterworks followed a pattern to that which took place in other Spanish cities. The project phase lasted a long time and was very problematic. The financial and managerial incapacity of the local authorities to set the utility in motion provoked the intervention of local banking capital. During the first ten years of the utilities existence a «basic» service was established, and with the help of the City Council consumption habits were modified. The Company's network expanded greatly during the twenties and early thirties, and the Great Depression was to have little effect. KEYWORDS Local utilities, waterworks, A Coruña.O traballo que aquí se presenta é un avance parcial dunha investigación mais ampia de carácter interdisciplinar centrada no abastecemento de auga na cidade de A Coruña dende mediados do século XIX até a actualidades .Neste artigo pretendemos levar a cabo a análise da creación do servicio de abastecemento de augas nunha cidade de tipo medio como A Coruña e a súa evolución durante as primeiras décadas, até o estoupido da Guerra Civil española. Nesta investigación estudiaremos as dificultades no nacemento desta infraestructura, as orixes da empresa concesionaria, as relacións entre a empresa e o concello, as etapas polas que atravesa o servicio e a empresa durante ese primeiro tercio de século e a evolución da xestión empresarial mediante o seguimento das principáis variábeis económicas e financeiras. Para evitar caer nun estudio restrictivamente microeconómico inserirémolo na evolución socioeconómica e urbanísti-

No abstract