Explanation of the cork industry

CRADLE OF THE CORK INDUSTRY

The merit of being the first place in the State where cork stoppers were made is something that has traditionally been claimed by a series of towns such as Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Llagostera, Tossa, or Agullana, and each of these hypotheses is accompanied by a story that seeks to explain how this occurred.

The version that attributes this honor to Agullana was made known by J. Maspons i Camarasa

who explains that two large landowners in the Agullana area, Mr. Puig and Mr. Guinart, were jointly subscribed to a French newspaper, and while reading it, they learned that in France the use of cork oak for making stoppers yielded very good returns. This prompted Guinart to go to France with a laborer, learn to make stoppers, and return accompanied by two or three French workers, who became teachers to the local farmers. Stoppers began to be made at Guinart's place, and the extraordinary yields obtained quickly propagated this new use of cork.

The good yield that cork provided at that time caused the second half of the 18th century and a good part of the 19th century to see an increase in the area of cork oak as owners planted them in rows as if they were fruit trees, a fact still quite perceivable today in some estates.

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Rik Gabriëls