Rural Societies and Environments at Risk
Ecology, Property Rights and Social Organisation in Fragile Areas (Middle Ages-Twentieth Century)
Edited by Bas van Bavel Edited by Erik Thoen
This book discusses the relationship between ecology and rural society in fragile environments of the past. Rural land use in these areas entailed an inherent vulnerability, for instance because of their poor soils, aridity or their location in mountain areas, near the sea or in severe climatic conditions. The various chapters analys
This book discusses the relationship between ecology and rural society in fragile environments of the past. Rural land use in these areas entailed an inherent vulnerability, for instance because of their poor soils, aridity or their location in mountain areas, near the sea or in severe climatic conditions. The various chapters analyse how societies coped with this vulnerability by way of the organization of property rights to land. These rights formed the framework which shaped the use of the land and were a main constituent of the relationship between mankind and ecology in these fragile areas. To a large extent, therefore, they determined – and still determine – the success or failure of rural societies to cope with the challenges posed by their environment. In their turn, however, these property rights were shaped within a wider social and political context, in which political and ideological considerations, and special interests, also played their part. As a result, the organization of these rights was not always geared towards sustainability, as demonstrated in these chapters, which discuss and analyse long-term developments in several parts of Northwestern, Central and Southern Europe. Bas van Bavel is professor of economic and social history of the Middle Ages, head of the section of Economic and Social History, and coordinator of the knowledge centre Institutions of the Open Society at Utrecht University (the Netherlands). Erik Thoen is ordinary professor at Ghent University (Belgium) specialised in rural and environmental history. He is co-ordinator of the CORN history network (Comparative Rural History of the North Sea Area).
- Edited by Bas van Bavel
- Edited by Erik Thoen
Other Titles in this Series
Property Rights, Land Markets and Economic Growth in the European Countryside (13th-20th Centuries)
Volume 1
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
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