Page 183 - Panjek, Aleksander, Jesper Larsson and Luca Mocarelli, eds. 2017. Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective: Alps, Scandinavia and Beyond. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 183
the equilibrium of the mountain economy in the apennines
Throughout the Early Modern Age, the economy of the southern Ap-
ennines, here examined only in relation to the Abruzzo area, appears to
have been defined by the following features.
The agro-sylvan-pastoral system based on the widespread availability
of forests and pastures did not fully correspond to the reality of the south-
ern Apennines, as it was unable to guarantee the required self-sufficien-
cy. Transhumant breeding, a sector in which the Abruzzo region was the
main producer in southern Italy and provided significant revenue, was car-
ried out in only a few areas with only a limited number of people involved
full time.
It was necessary to have recourse to market, as may be seen from the
significant number of regular events (fairs and markets) that thrived up to
the eve of WWI. Internal and external demand drove the supply offered by
the mountains and even grain, although insufficient, was destined for the
market due to its high monetary value.
The region primarily provided the market with labour in the form of
seasonal workers, sometimes also skilled workers, as shown by the names
of the communities specialising in specific activities. Abruzzo also supplied
the market with products manufactured mostly under the pluriactivity
system (in the sense used above, that is income integration for subsistence
only) with a view to short range trade, but also under the proto-industry
system with a larger distribution even sometimes including high quality
products (e.g., pottery from Castelli). Abruzzo also provided intermedia-
tion services at the lowest levels thanks to a large number of pedlars and
smugglers able to exploit their knowledge of the region and the opportuni-
ties offered by its territory as a border area of the Kingdom.
It is not possible to quantify the contribution of market-oriented activ-
ities in providing sources of income rather than subsistence agriculture in
the Early Modern Age. But it can be said that orientation toward the market
made the system dynamic and flexible, able to adapt to changes in the avail-
ability of sources of revenue and market conditions among the population
and in family structure through time. During times of crisis, the mountain
area was better able to demonstrate resilience than the hill and plain areas
due to its ability to reorganise the economy and balance the local finances.
Based on this reconstruction, we may observe that the integrated peas-
ant economy concept is applicable to the mountain economy in the Abruz
zo Apennines. The model described by Panjek is completed by the signifi-
cant role played by the commons as producers of income. Their collective
181
Throughout the Early Modern Age, the economy of the southern Ap-
ennines, here examined only in relation to the Abruzzo area, appears to
have been defined by the following features.
The agro-sylvan-pastoral system based on the widespread availability
of forests and pastures did not fully correspond to the reality of the south-
ern Apennines, as it was unable to guarantee the required self-sufficien-
cy. Transhumant breeding, a sector in which the Abruzzo region was the
main producer in southern Italy and provided significant revenue, was car-
ried out in only a few areas with only a limited number of people involved
full time.
It was necessary to have recourse to market, as may be seen from the
significant number of regular events (fairs and markets) that thrived up to
the eve of WWI. Internal and external demand drove the supply offered by
the mountains and even grain, although insufficient, was destined for the
market due to its high monetary value.
The region primarily provided the market with labour in the form of
seasonal workers, sometimes also skilled workers, as shown by the names
of the communities specialising in specific activities. Abruzzo also supplied
the market with products manufactured mostly under the pluriactivity
system (in the sense used above, that is income integration for subsistence
only) with a view to short range trade, but also under the proto-industry
system with a larger distribution even sometimes including high quality
products (e.g., pottery from Castelli). Abruzzo also provided intermedia-
tion services at the lowest levels thanks to a large number of pedlars and
smugglers able to exploit their knowledge of the region and the opportuni-
ties offered by its territory as a border area of the Kingdom.
It is not possible to quantify the contribution of market-oriented activ-
ities in providing sources of income rather than subsistence agriculture in
the Early Modern Age. But it can be said that orientation toward the market
made the system dynamic and flexible, able to adapt to changes in the avail-
ability of sources of revenue and market conditions among the population
and in family structure through time. During times of crisis, the mountain
area was better able to demonstrate resilience than the hill and plain areas
due to its ability to reorganise the economy and balance the local finances.
Based on this reconstruction, we may observe that the integrated peas-
ant economy concept is applicable to the mountain economy in the Abruz
zo Apennines. The model described by Panjek is completed by the signifi-
cant role played by the commons as producers of income. Their collective
181
