Agrarian Change and Imperfect Property
Emphyteusis in Europe (16th to 19th centuries)
Edited by Maria Rosa Congost Edited by Pablo Luna
This book is situated at the crossroads of two recurring themes in rural history: agrarian contracts and property rights. Emphyteusis is at the heart of agrarian history in that it brings together agricultural history and the nature of social relations in traditional societies. Despite this, many such contracts have been blithely ignored, or unjustly dismissed, either because they are hard to identify, given the many variants that existed, or because, as a form of divided property, they are generally perceived in a negative light. Nevertheless, emphyteusis is to be found everywhere, even in regions which deny its existence, and it is far from being obsolete. Rather, it is flourishing, prospering and long-lived, particularly in urban areas. Emphyteusis has a long history and has played a central role, sometimes misleading, but always crucial, in the process of agricultural development. It has held sway as a substitute when access to property has been impossible, and as a source of conflicts has often revealed the nature of power relations between property owners on the one hand, whether seigneurial or not, and cultivators, short-term and long-term tenants on the other. The different chapters in this volume illuminate these multiple facets and forms of this type of contract and imperfect property rights. Though the focus is on Mediterranean societies, the questions raised have relevance far beyond this specific area.
This book is situated at the crossroads of two recurring themes in rural history: agrarian contracts and property rights. Emphyteusis is at the heart of agrarian history in that it brings together agricultural history and the nature of social relations in traditional societies. Despite this, many such contracts have been blithely ignored, or unjustly dismissed, either because they are hard to identify, given the many variants that existed, or because, as a form of divided property, they are generally perceived in a negative light. Nevertheless, emphyteusis is to be found everywhere, even in regions which deny its existence, and it is far from being obsolete. Rather, it is flourishing, prospering and long-lived, particularly in urban areas. Emphyteusis has a long history and has played a central role, sometimes misleading, but always crucial, in the process of agricultural development. It has held sway as a substitute when access to property has been impossible, and as a source of conflicts has often revealed the nature of power relations between property owners on the one hand, whether seigneurial or not, and cultivators, short-term and long-term tenants on the other. The different chapters in this volume illuminate these multiple facets and forms of this type of contract and imperfect property rights. Though the focus is on Mediterranean societies, the questions raised have relevance far beyond this specific area.
- Edited by Maria Rosa Congost
- Edited by Pablo Luna
Other Titles in this Series
Property Rights, Land Markets and Economic Growth in the European Countryside (13th-20th Centuries)
Volume 1
The Formation of Agricultural Governance
The Interplay between State and Civil Society in European Agriculture, 1870-1940
Volume 19
Integration through Subordination
The politics of Agricultural Modernisation in Industrial Europe
Volume 8
From Breeding & Feeding to Medicalization
Animal farming, veterinarization and consumers in the 20th c. Western Europe
Volume 17
Agriculture in the Age of Fascism
Authoritarian Technocracy and rural modernization, 1922-1945
Volume 13
Contexts of Property in Europe
The Social Embeddedness of Property Rights in Land in Historical Perspective
Volume 5
Inheritance Practices, Marriage Strategies and Household Formation in European Rural Societies
Volume 7
The Golden Age of State Enquiries
Rural Enquiries in the Nineteenth Century. From Fact Gathering to Political Instrument
Volume 14
Agrosystems and Labour Relations in European Rural Societies
(Middle Ages-Twentieth Century)
Volume 3
Rural Societies and Environments at Risk
Ecology, Property Rights and Social Organisation in Fragile Areas (Middle Ages-Twentieth Century)
Volume 9
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