Mines du laurion aux xxe et xxe siècles — wikipédia

THE Mines you Laurion are old silver mines, located in the southern tip of Attica, between Thorikos and Cap Sounion, about fifty kilometers south of Athens, in Greece. Many vestiges of these mines (wells, galleries, surface workshops) still mark the landscape of the region today, on a perimeter of around 32 km ² .

In the classical era, the Athenians deployed spectacular energy and inventiveness to get the maximum of ore, in particular by affecting very many slaves. This contributed notably to the fortune of the city and was undoubtedly decisive in the establishment, on the scale of the Aegean world, of the Athenian thalassocracy.

Abandoned I ^is century of. J.-C. , the mines were “rediscovered” in 1860 and exploited by French and Greek companies. They were the cause of a very serious diplomatic dispute between the two countries. Takenate by a Greek company, they were the subject of the first speculative bubble of Modern Greece. They were then exploited by a Greek company from 1873 to 1917 and by the French Company of the Laurion Mines from 1877 to 1977.

Greece after its independence was an essentially agricultural country, still with 47% of farmers among its population in 1870. The first industries created in the 1860s were also linked to agriculture (wine, paper, cotton). The return of the Laurion mines back in the years 1860-1870 took place at the same time as the creation of other mining, metallurgical or chemical companies, making the country take a new economic direction in the country ^{[ first ]} .

The rediscovery of the mines would have taken place by chance. A Greek sailboat would have used the LAURION slag as well. During a judgment in Sardinia, an owner of mines on the island, Mr. Serpieri, would have had the idea of ​​having them analyzed. By discovering their potential, he would have associated himself with the Marseille Roux entrepreneur to exploit the Laurion ^{[ 2 ]} . A royal decree of August 23, 1867 granted the Franco-Italian Red and Serpieri company to exploit the Sulfurous Argentiferous lead ores of Laurion as part of the company Laurion metallurgies ^{[ 3 ]} . On the other hand, Greek companies operated the minerals already extracted, but not yet treated (slag) which were still on the spot in spectacular volumes of the order of 1,500,000 tonnes ^{[ 4 ]} . It was estimated at the time that mines could provide a total of 120,000 tonnes of lead. As early as 1867, the tax on the production of the mine brought back to the Greek state 250,000 drachmas (£ 8,930 of the time) ^{[ 5 ]} . There rests the ambiguity which was a source of the crisis in the early 1870s: did the Franco-Italian company obtained the right to exploit the mines or the slag or the two? There was a first trial in 1869. The Laurion metallurgies obtained the cause for 11,500,000 gold francs ^{[ 2 ]} .

In the spring of 1871, the Franco-Italian company began to produce profits, especially from the moment when it also began to exploit the slag (or Ekbolades ). However, in the spring of 1871, France was in a delicate situation from a diplomatic point of view as a result of its defeat against Prussia. Greece tried to take advantage of it to improve its economic situation. The Hellenic parliament voted a law expressly stipulating that ancient minerals were not part of the concession. The Greek gendarmes were sent to occupy the mine. The French ambassador did not have the sufficient weight to be taken seriously. The Italian ambassador could not obtain from the Greek Prime Minister Alexandros Koumoundouros that the Council to address the courts. The case then took on an international magnitude. Greece sent a delegation to France and Italy to explain its position. She went to get German experts. She finally sent diplomats to seek Austrian support. King Georges personally went to obtain Russian support. The French and the Italians asked for British arbitration. At the end of October, the Greek gendarmes still occupied the mine ^{[ 3 ]} .

The Prime Minister following Thrasivoulos Zaimis promised in 1871 that what had become the “Laurion affair” was the main concern of his government. His successor Dimitrios Voulgaris asked for the patience and indulgence of France and Italy, the time to organize the legislative elections of 1872, then to open the new session. Europe proposed its good offices. The German scholars were unable to provide conclusive expertise. New samples were sent to Great Britain. The case was starting to get lost in the meanders of diplomatic relations. Whoever decides in favor of France would be guilty in the eyes of Bismarck to break up the imposed isolation. Whoever decides in favor of Greece would appear to be protective of the country, at the risk of displeasing the other candidates in this respect. The occupation of the mine continued. The French and Italian diplomats, on a visit, were insulted and jostled there. France threatened to send its navy, even troops. The new French ambassador, Jules Ferry, passed through Rome. He was more than cordially received in the Piraeus. Shortly before his arrival, the Greek government had proposed to buy the mines from the Roux-Serpieri company. The official offer took place on July 5, 1872 . She was accepted six days later. Koumoundouros, in opposition, then dropped the ministry. Epaminóndas Deligeórgis, the new Prime Minister, asked time to think. Ferry advanced in September the argument that France was a great power. The French fleet appeared in the Aegean. The French ambassador held up with Koumourndouros and Voulgaris to try to bring down the Greek government. The king supported his Prime Minister and proceeded to dissolve the Chamber. European diplomacies were delighted with successive disappointments in France. Finally, Austria again proposed, and more effectively, its good offices. THE February 26, 1873 , Roux-Serpieri sold a banker conglomerate in Constantinople ^{[ 6 ]} .

In 1873, the bankers of Constantinople founded the Greek metallurgical company of Laurion ^{[ 7 ]} . This conglomerate was led by Andréas Syngrós. His intervention led to an enthusiasm of Greek investors for the new company. The course of his shares soar. When the Creva bubble, the savings of many Greeks from the small middle classes disappeared with them. Laurion mines had just brought Greece into the era of speculative capitalism, and its disadvantages ^{[ 8 ]} .

In 1877, a French company was again created: the French Compagnie des Mines du Laurion , installed in Kiprianos ^{[ 7 ]} . His administrator was still Mr. Serpieri. In 1911, she was the main company that exploited the mines, around the deposit said Request , the one that already exploited Laurion metallurgies . She extracted silver lead, but also money, manganese, iron and calamine-zinc. Its capital amounted to sixteen million francs-or. There Greek metallurgical company of Laurion had given way to various smaller companies. There Company de Kapsalos , around the so -called deposits Roomza , Villia And Plate , extracted six million tonnes of ore every year (iron and lead) and made a profit of 1.2 million gold francs. There Dardeza-dascalio compagnia extracted three million tonnes of iron and lead. There Hellenic company of the Laurion factories , in the capital of twelve million francs-gold exploited the slag of silver lead, silver, manganese and iron. There was also a Hellenic company of the Laurion Mines , a Compagnie Française du Sounion and an Compagnie de sérifos et spiliazéza ^{[ 2 ]} .

These companies participated in the intense industrial development of the region. In 1911, the port of Laurion, frequented by vapors from around the world, was almost officially renowned ” Ergastiria ” (the factories “). The 10,000 workers in these “factories” from around the world were almost all employed in mines or foundries ^{[ 9 ]} . The French Company of Laurion Mines introduced into Greece, in the interwar period, the scientific work organization, in this case the so-called Bedaux system ^{[ ten ]} . Laurion and his mines also became one of the main centers of social and political struggles in Greece. But the closures, first of the main Greek company in 1917, then of the main French company in 1977 brought a blow to the region ^{[ 7 ]} .

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Bibliography [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

• Constantin Conophagos, The ancient Laurium and the Greek technique for the production of money , Athens, 1980.
• Édouard Driault and Michel Lhéritier, Diplomatic history of Greece from 1821 to the present day. Tome III, Paris, Puf, 1926. read online
• Gustave Fougères, Greece , Hachette, 1911.
• Caracalopoulos apostolos, History of modern Greece. , Horvath, 1975, (ISBN  2-7171-0057-1 ) .