Page 312 - 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. 312
integr ated peasant economy in a compar ative perspective
Introduction
Since more people than usual need grain this year, the yields with-
in the parish are not considered enough for the need, although the
land-owning peasantry can support itself. For the poor landless the
situation may be troublesome since each farmer, as far as possi-
ble, seeks to avoid hiring external help. (LAU, KR, Kronofogdar-
nas tredje årsväxtberättelse år 1867).
All pre-industrial agriculture was based on the utilisation of ecosys-
tem resources, and cannot be fully understood without linking the ecolog-
ical and the socio-economic components of the rural society. The land-use
practices constitute the most direct link between humans and ecosystems,
and labour was therefore essential to “colonise nature” (Landsteiner and
Langthaler 2010), i.e. to create, maintain, and harvest landscape resources.
On the other hand, products from the ecosystems were necessary for pay-
ing labourers in cash or in kind, as well as for supporting the working fam-
ily members (Diagram 13.1). Here, we study this relationship at a micro lev-
el by using farm-specific information from Sweden. We focus especially on
the period of crop failure 1867–68 (Dribe, Olsson, and Svensson 2015), when
the use of alternative resources and sources of income can be expected to
have been particularly important.
Labour is needed to perform various kinds of work (A) in order to uti-
lise ecosystems. The products extracted from the land, (B & C) are the ba-
sis for wages paid as kind (B) or via the market as cash (D), as well as for the
working family members.
Ideally, the farm could balance the need for work tasks to be done at
the farm and the possibility to support labour. Diagram 13.1 indicates that
this balance could be sensitive to reduced agricultural production, for ex-
ample induced by harsh weather conditions, as indicated by the statement
made by the local sheriff above. Crop failure could thereby cause a negative
loop if the farmers were forced to reduce the labour and thus the use of eco-
system resources. On the other hand, if labour could be kept and used wise-
ly, the farm could try to buffer the negative effect of crop failure by exploit-
ing less weather sensitive income sources.
The weather in the late 1860s caused problems for Swedish agricul-
ture. The spring and summer of 1867 were unusually cold (Jantunen and
Ruosteenoja 2000), causing very low cereal harvests and regionally no har-
vest at all. The year of 1868 was instead very hot and dry, which affected hay
310
Introduction
Since more people than usual need grain this year, the yields with-
in the parish are not considered enough for the need, although the
land-owning peasantry can support itself. For the poor landless the
situation may be troublesome since each farmer, as far as possi-
ble, seeks to avoid hiring external help. (LAU, KR, Kronofogdar-
nas tredje årsväxtberättelse år 1867).
All pre-industrial agriculture was based on the utilisation of ecosys-
tem resources, and cannot be fully understood without linking the ecolog-
ical and the socio-economic components of the rural society. The land-use
practices constitute the most direct link between humans and ecosystems,
and labour was therefore essential to “colonise nature” (Landsteiner and
Langthaler 2010), i.e. to create, maintain, and harvest landscape resources.
On the other hand, products from the ecosystems were necessary for pay-
ing labourers in cash or in kind, as well as for supporting the working fam-
ily members (Diagram 13.1). Here, we study this relationship at a micro lev-
el by using farm-specific information from Sweden. We focus especially on
the period of crop failure 1867–68 (Dribe, Olsson, and Svensson 2015), when
the use of alternative resources and sources of income can be expected to
have been particularly important.
Labour is needed to perform various kinds of work (A) in order to uti-
lise ecosystems. The products extracted from the land, (B & C) are the ba-
sis for wages paid as kind (B) or via the market as cash (D), as well as for the
working family members.
Ideally, the farm could balance the need for work tasks to be done at
the farm and the possibility to support labour. Diagram 13.1 indicates that
this balance could be sensitive to reduced agricultural production, for ex-
ample induced by harsh weather conditions, as indicated by the statement
made by the local sheriff above. Crop failure could thereby cause a negative
loop if the farmers were forced to reduce the labour and thus the use of eco-
system resources. On the other hand, if labour could be kept and used wise-
ly, the farm could try to buffer the negative effect of crop failure by exploit-
ing less weather sensitive income sources.
The weather in the late 1860s caused problems for Swedish agricul-
ture. The spring and summer of 1867 were unusually cold (Jantunen and
Ruosteenoja 2000), causing very low cereal harvests and regionally no har-
vest at all. The year of 1868 was instead very hot and dry, which affected hay
310
