¿Fue alguna vez la cooperativa una sociedad por acciones? Leyes de negocios y de cooperativas en España (1869-1931)

Studies of Spanish cooperatives locate their spread from the Law on Agrarian Syndicates of 1906. But the first legislative appearance of cooperatives is an 1869 measure that permitted general incorporation for lending companies. The 1931 general law on cooperatives, which was the first measure permitting the formation of cooperatives in any activity, reflects the gradual disappearance of the cooperative’s mercantile characteristics. In this paper we trace the Spanish cooperative’s legal roots in business law, and its connections to broader questions of the freedom of association, the formation of joint-stock enterprises, and the liability of investors in business and cooperative entities.