The Evolution of Farming in Burgundy, 1700-1840

Traces the development of farming in the Burgundian flatlands of eastern France, looking at agricultural productivity, techniques, and the agronomic thinking of ordinary farmers.

How did French farmers feed a third more people at the end than at the beginning of the eighteenth century? While historians have demonstrated that a few areas of large farms in the fertile plains of northern France increased their level of production considerably, the idea that regions of small farms saw little improvement because peasants resisted innovation and prioritized subsistence over profit remains influential. This book, however, argues that, in responding to favorable prices and improved export opportunities, small peasant farmers brought about substantial production increases, with 1740-80 being a key period for growth.

Based on a novel source - probate auctions of standing grain - it shows that crop yields increased by about 50 per cent, while total grain production increased even more due to the planting of an increasing proportion of the fallow. Probate inventories also indicate other forms of improvement, such as an increase in animal feed production that then drove a substantial increase in dairy production. Growth did not, however, require the weakening of collective regulation of agriculture; this book demonstrates that communal rotation patterns and pasture rights persisted throughout the period studied. It also discusses the agronomic theories of ordinary farmers, revealing that peasants were aware of many of the ideas that circulated as part of the Agricultural Enlightenment in the eighteenth century.