Page 125 - 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. 125
the importance of commons in an integrated peasant economy ...
tion. Hides and wool had become important raw materials in occupations
outside agriculture, and the large increase of goats and sheep was a huge
factor in the development of the integrated peasant economy in the area.
Secondly, farms in the region underwent widespread division among
household members. It is important to note that farm division endured to
the second half of the 18th century, at the same time the number of animals
increased. By the mid-19th century, the number of animals per farm had de-
creased, but not as rapidly as the size of the farm measured in taxation as-
sessments. This means that the relative wealth held in livestock increased
at the farm level. In 1851, the average farm in Klövsjö Parish in the region
of Jämtland measured in tax was one third of its size in 1633. Its number of
cows was unchanged but each farm had on average four times more sheep
and almost three times more goats (J. Larsson 2009, 172, table 3:11). Count-
ing animals per capita among the whole rural population, including land-
less people (who often owned animals), the number of animals was stable
until the beginning of the 19th century. While a minor decrease of cows per
capita is observed, the numbers of sheep and goats increased. During the
19th century, a rapid increase in population took place, resulting in an in-
crease in the number of households and a decrease in animals per capita,
especially after 1850, when the number of goats and sheep decreased rap-
idly. However, during this era came the industrial breakthrough, around
1870, and the integrated peasant economy became more dependent on wage
labour and forestry.
Thirdly, the rapid growth of animal husbandry in the transhumance
system was possible only because labour became more efficient. The key to
understanding labour organisation at the summer farms is to analyse la-
bour division. A new organisation for animal husbandry emerged in Ear-
ly Modern upland Scandinavia, where herding animals had been the work
of men until the late Middle Ages, when women and children took over the
task, except in Denmark. Milking animals and processing milk had always
been women’s work (Simonton 1998; Myrdal 2012). The summer farm sys-
tem became efficient since women combined herding and milking, and all
households using summer farms sent one woman each to work there for the
summer. A recent study of Orsa Parish in Dalarna shows that at the end of
the 17th century households commonly sent a daughter between the ages of
11 and 21 to the summer farm. However, many households did not have a
daughter, or the daughter was not an appropriate age. The household’s sec-
ond choice was to send the wife or a close relative. However, 25% to 30% of
123
tion. Hides and wool had become important raw materials in occupations
outside agriculture, and the large increase of goats and sheep was a huge
factor in the development of the integrated peasant economy in the area.
Secondly, farms in the region underwent widespread division among
household members. It is important to note that farm division endured to
the second half of the 18th century, at the same time the number of animals
increased. By the mid-19th century, the number of animals per farm had de-
creased, but not as rapidly as the size of the farm measured in taxation as-
sessments. This means that the relative wealth held in livestock increased
at the farm level. In 1851, the average farm in Klövsjö Parish in the region
of Jämtland measured in tax was one third of its size in 1633. Its number of
cows was unchanged but each farm had on average four times more sheep
and almost three times more goats (J. Larsson 2009, 172, table 3:11). Count-
ing animals per capita among the whole rural population, including land-
less people (who often owned animals), the number of animals was stable
until the beginning of the 19th century. While a minor decrease of cows per
capita is observed, the numbers of sheep and goats increased. During the
19th century, a rapid increase in population took place, resulting in an in-
crease in the number of households and a decrease in animals per capita,
especially after 1850, when the number of goats and sheep decreased rap-
idly. However, during this era came the industrial breakthrough, around
1870, and the integrated peasant economy became more dependent on wage
labour and forestry.
Thirdly, the rapid growth of animal husbandry in the transhumance
system was possible only because labour became more efficient. The key to
understanding labour organisation at the summer farms is to analyse la-
bour division. A new organisation for animal husbandry emerged in Ear-
ly Modern upland Scandinavia, where herding animals had been the work
of men until the late Middle Ages, when women and children took over the
task, except in Denmark. Milking animals and processing milk had always
been women’s work (Simonton 1998; Myrdal 2012). The summer farm sys-
tem became efficient since women combined herding and milking, and all
households using summer farms sent one woman each to work there for the
summer. A recent study of Orsa Parish in Dalarna shows that at the end of
the 17th century households commonly sent a daughter between the ages of
11 and 21 to the summer farm. However, many households did not have a
daughter, or the daughter was not an appropriate age. The household’s sec-
ond choice was to send the wife or a close relative. However, 25% to 30% of
123
