The Management of Common Land in North West Europe, C. 1500-1850 (Comparative Rural History of the North Sea Area, 8)

Until the 19th century very large areas of western Europe were subject to some degree to common rights, where individual users collectively managed resources such as pasture and wood which were central to the agrarian economy. Much scholarship has focused on the dissolution of these rights and the effects of the enclosure of common land on society and agricultural productivity. In contrast, this volume seeks to assess in a comparative framework the long-term management of the common lands and the relative success of strategies in providing the resources sought by the rural population. Chapters covering northern and southern England, France, the Netherlands, Flanders, Sweden and northern and southern Germany examine the institutional and legal framework of commoning, the resources available and their value, the sustainability of practices, and policies of inclusion and exclusion among the group of commoners. Building on the theoretical insights of recent works on commonly managed resources, this volume, the result of an international collaboration in the CORN network, provides a series of detailed historical studies and is the first major work to address this central aspect of the agrarian economy in a comparative European context. 1. Comparing The Historical Commons Of North West Europe. An Introduction / Martina De Moor, Leigh Shaw-taylor And Paul Warde -- 2. Upland Commons In Northern England / Angus J. L. Winchester -- 3. The Management Of Common Land In The Lowlands Of Southern England Circa 1500 To Circa 1850 / Leigh Shaw-taylor -- 4. The Use And Management Of Commons In The Netherlands. An Overview / Peter Hoppenbrouwers -- 5. Common Land And Common Rights In Flanders / Martina De Moor -- 6. The Management And Use Of The Commons In France In The Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries / Nadine Vivier -- 7. Nordic Common Lands And Common Rights. Some Interpretations Of Swedish Cases And Debates / Kerstin Sundberg -- 8. Common Rights And Common Lands In South West Germany, 1500-1800 / Paul Warde -- 9. The Management Of Common Land In North Western Germany / Stefan Brakensiek -- 10. Preliminary Conclusions. The Commons Of North West Europe / Martina De Moor, Leigh Shaw-taylor And Paul Warde. Edited By Martina De Moor, Leigh Shaw-taylor & Paul Warde. Includes Bibliographical References.