Page 77 - 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. 77
peasant income integration in early modern slovenia: a historiographical review
wards the sea and from the area of Gorizia towards Venetian and Inner
Austrian provinces, likewise belong to the tertiary sector. We can distin-
guish between transport by land and rafting along rivers, e.g. the Sava Riv-
er. Let us also mention peddling in Inner Carniola, Lower Carniola and in
the Idrija region; and smuggling, which was widespread in all provinces,
particularly towards the coastal towns. This sector also includes the servic-
es of female migrant workers, such as the laundresses in Lower Carniola,
who went to Ljubljana on a weekly basis to wash and bleach linen.
From the range of economic activities one can infer the considerable
diversity and density of industries in which the modern peasant popula-
tion was able to engage, in addition to agriculture. It can therefore be said
that the diversity and distribution of activities in the provinces in ques-
tion was rather high. However, it would be difficult to determine which ac-
tivity was the most widespread and which the least. But it can be said that
most tertiary activities (trade, transport, carrier services and smuggling)
were represented in all regions. On the other hand, some of them are locally
specific; e.g. female lace makers in the area of Idrija, who are still world-re-
nowned today; or silkworm breeding in the County of Gorizia and in the
coastal towns, where it had developed primarily on account of favourable
conditions for the growth of mulberry trees. The distribution of some of
these activities was therefore influenced by natural conditions; in addition
to the aforementioned sericulture, let us mention, for instance, salt produc-
tion in coastal towns. When comparing the area of western Slovenia with
the entire Alpine region and with western Europe, Panjek uncovered that
“a great number of different non-agricultural activities or even the majori-
ty of the documented typologies had been present and widespread” (Panjek
2014, 203) in our parts. This is corroborated by the present analysis, which
covers the area of central Slovenia, in addition to western Slovenia.
Let us conclude by saying a few words about Slovenian historiogra-
phy. The review of Slovenian literature has shown that in the period from
the last works of F. Gestrin in the 1990s to the concept of integrated peas-
ant economy by A. Panjek, there have been no new comprehensive studies
on peasant’s involvement in non-agricultural activities in Slovenian lands.
In any case, as regards the topic of integrated peasant economy, Slove-
nian historians had researched the broader field of “peasant trade” most of
all; its concept has been defined more thoroughly and periodised up to the
turn of the 17th century, thanks to Gestrin. In the case of Grafenauer and
other 20th-century authors, it can be said that they created a very good ba-
75
wards the sea and from the area of Gorizia towards Venetian and Inner
Austrian provinces, likewise belong to the tertiary sector. We can distin-
guish between transport by land and rafting along rivers, e.g. the Sava Riv-
er. Let us also mention peddling in Inner Carniola, Lower Carniola and in
the Idrija region; and smuggling, which was widespread in all provinces,
particularly towards the coastal towns. This sector also includes the servic-
es of female migrant workers, such as the laundresses in Lower Carniola,
who went to Ljubljana on a weekly basis to wash and bleach linen.
From the range of economic activities one can infer the considerable
diversity and density of industries in which the modern peasant popula-
tion was able to engage, in addition to agriculture. It can therefore be said
that the diversity and distribution of activities in the provinces in ques-
tion was rather high. However, it would be difficult to determine which ac-
tivity was the most widespread and which the least. But it can be said that
most tertiary activities (trade, transport, carrier services and smuggling)
were represented in all regions. On the other hand, some of them are locally
specific; e.g. female lace makers in the area of Idrija, who are still world-re-
nowned today; or silkworm breeding in the County of Gorizia and in the
coastal towns, where it had developed primarily on account of favourable
conditions for the growth of mulberry trees. The distribution of some of
these activities was therefore influenced by natural conditions; in addition
to the aforementioned sericulture, let us mention, for instance, salt produc-
tion in coastal towns. When comparing the area of western Slovenia with
the entire Alpine region and with western Europe, Panjek uncovered that
“a great number of different non-agricultural activities or even the majori-
ty of the documented typologies had been present and widespread” (Panjek
2014, 203) in our parts. This is corroborated by the present analysis, which
covers the area of central Slovenia, in addition to western Slovenia.
Let us conclude by saying a few words about Slovenian historiogra-
phy. The review of Slovenian literature has shown that in the period from
the last works of F. Gestrin in the 1990s to the concept of integrated peas-
ant economy by A. Panjek, there have been no new comprehensive studies
on peasant’s involvement in non-agricultural activities in Slovenian lands.
In any case, as regards the topic of integrated peasant economy, Slove-
nian historians had researched the broader field of “peasant trade” most of
all; its concept has been defined more thoroughly and periodised up to the
turn of the 17th century, thanks to Gestrin. In the case of Grafenauer and
other 20th-century authors, it can be said that they created a very good ba-
75
