An Island for Itself: Economic Development and Social Change in Late Medieval Sicily (Past and Present Publications)

This study of late medieval Sicily develops a critique of theories of dependence through trade, and a new interpretation of the late medieval economy. It thus addresses current debates on the origins of modern Italian economic dualism, and on the transition from feudalism to capitalism in early modern Europe. Dr Epstein argues that economic development during this period was shaped largely by regional political and institutional structures which regulated access to markets. Following the Black Death, many institutional and social constraints on commercialization were relaxed throughout western Europe as a result of social conflict and demographic change. Peasants became more commercialized; economic growth occurred through regional integration and specialization. The Sicilian economy also expanded and became increasingly export-oriented. although only a small proportion of its output was shipped abroad before 1500. Late medieval Sicily is thus shown to have been neither underdeveloped nor dependent on foreign manufactures and trade. The medieval southern Italian economy is commonly interpreted as having been dependent on foreign trade; and this dependence is held in turn to have caused economic backwardness in the Italian south. This study of late medieval Sicily develops a critique of theories of dependence through trade and a new interpretation of the late medieval economy. The book thus addresses current debates on the origins of modern Italian economic dualism, and on the transition from feudalism to capitalism in early modern Europe. Dr. Epstein argues that economic development during this period was shaped largely by regional political and institutional structures which regulated access to markets. Contrary to the view that medieval peasants invariably pursued subsistence strategies, it is suggested that the rate of peasant involvement in the market depended on historically variable institutions; as these institutions changed, rates of commercialization would also change, with major consequences for a society's long-term economic development. Following the Black Death, many institutional and social constraints on commercialization were relaxed throughout western Europe as a result of social conflict and demographic change. Peasants became more commercialized; economic growth occurred through regional integration and specialization. The Sicilian economy also expanded and became increasingly export-oriented, although only a small proportion of its output was shipped abroad before 1500. Late medieval Sicily is thus shown to have been neither underdeveloped nor dependent on foreign manufactures and trade "How did the French Revolution become thinkable? Keith Michael Baker, a leading authority on the ideological origins of the French Revolution, explores this question in his wide-ranging collection of essays. Analyzing the new politics of contestation that transformed the traditional political culture of the Old Regime during its last decades, Baker revises our historical map of the political space in which the French Revolution took form. Some essays study the ways in which the revolutionaries' break with the past was prepared by competition between agents and critics of absolute monarchy to control the cultural resources and political meanings of French history; by the contending political vocabularies in which the French sought before 1789 to reconstitute their body politic; and by the invention of "public opinion" as a new form of political authority displacing absolute rule. Others trace to the conceptual improvisation of revolutionary notions of "representation," "constitution," "sovereignty"--And of "the French Revolution" itself - the ambiguities, tensions, and contradictions that were to drive the revolutionary dynamic in subsequent years. The result is a substantial and unified set of studies, stimulating renewed reflection on one of the central themes in modern European history. Book jacket."--Jacket A problem that has haunted the Italian nation since its inception is that of the origins and causes of the current economic and social disparities between North and South.

late Medeival Sicily Is Shown To Have Been Neither Underdeveloped Nor Dependent On Foreign Trade.

Stephan R. Epstein. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 413-446) And Index.