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More industrious and less austere than expected: evidence from inventories of agricultural workers in north-eastern Catalonia (1725–1807)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2023

Rosa Congost Open the ORCID record for Rosa Congost [Opens in a new window] ,
Rosa Ros Open the ORCID record for Rosa Ros [Opens in a new window]  and
Enric Saguer Open the ORCID record for Enric Saguer [Opens in a new window]
Rosa Congost
Affiliation:
Faculty of Letters, University of Girona, Girona, Spain
Rosa Ros*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Girona, Girona, Spain
Enric Saguer
Affiliation:
Faculty of Letters, University of Girona, Girona, Spain
*
*Corresponding author. Email: rosa.ros@udg.edu
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Abstract

This article studies the changes in ownership of real estate, livestock and objects belonging to agricultural workers in the region of Girona, north-eastern Catalonia, through the analysis of a sample of nearly one thousand postmortem inventories dated between 1725 and 1807. It shows that a sizable number of agricultural workers gained greater access to property rights in land and other means of production, as well as undeniable improvements in their consumption levels during that period. Regarding the latter point, comparisons with inventories of the lower classes in Great Britain and other areas of north-western Europe show that the differences are not nearly as radical as suggested by the stereotype often applied to Mediterranean areas. The article thus discusses the apriorisms that have led many researchers to reject the idea that an industrious revolution was possible in southern Europe, and vindicates the need to strengthen dialogue between historiographies.

Type
Research Article
Information
Rural History , Volume 34 , Issue 2 , October 2023 , pp. 278 - 299
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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