The Imperfect Peasant Economy
The Loire Country, 1800–1914

The story of the survival of a rural household economy of small-holders in nineteenth-century France.

Gregor Dallas (Author)

9780521526906, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 7 June 2004

368 pages
22.8 x 15 x 2.2 cm, 0.548 kg

This book shows how a rural household economy of small-holders in one of the least isolated areas of France, the Loire Country, managed to survive the challenges of the nineteenth century. Rather than taking the view that this system was an anachronism doomed to disappear, the author recognises its large adaptive capacity during times of stress. This leads to a critical assessment of the notions of 'industrialisation' and 'modernisation' that will interest economists, anthropologists and social scientists, as well as historians.

List of figures and tables
Preface
Part I. Introduction: 1. Aims and scope
2. The Loire Country: the land and its settlements
3. 'The theory of peasant economy'
Part II. Space: 4. Relative space: town and country
5. The connectors
6. The rural economy in toto
Part II. Time: 7. Peasant family and peasant population
8. Peasant properties
9. Crisis and stability: the rural economy through time
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], European history [HBJD]