Birmingham pen trade same time Osmiroid International had a large production plant in the city. Birmingham pen trade The Birmingham pen trade evolved in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter and its surrounding area in the 19th century; for many years, the city was the centre of the world's pen trade. In Newhall Street, John Mitchell manufactured pens; he pioneered mass production of steel pens (prior to this, the quill pen was the most common form of writing instrument). Mitchells are credited as being the first manufacturers to use machines to cut pen nibs, greatly speeding up the process. John's brother William later set up
Galicia in the 20th century Galicia in the 20th century The period of Solidaridad Gallega ("Galician Solidarity"), the beginning of the modern Galician nationalist movement, began in 1907 and ended around the First World War. Its unsuccessful aim was to create a unified electoral coalition to eliminate caciquism and obtain Galician representation in the Cortes Generales, the parliament of Spain. The first stage of 20th-century Galician history lasted until the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. In this stage the Galician nationalist Irmandades da Fala ("Brothehoods of the Language") began to appear to promote the Galician language. When they began to expand, the political idea of