De Keyzer / de Keyzer Inclusive Commons and the Sustainability of Peasant Communities in the Medieval Low Countries

1. Auflage 2017
ISBN: 978-1-351-68185-8
Verlag: Taylor & Francis
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 150 Seiten

Reihe: Rural Worlds: Economic, Social and Cultural Histories of Agricultures and Rural Societies

Is inclusiveness in the commons and sustainability a paradox? Late medieval and Early Modern rural societies encountered ever growing challenges because of growing population pressure, urbanization and commercialization. While some regions went along this path and commercialized and intensified production, others sailed a different course, maintaining communal property and managing resources via common pool resource institutions. To prevent overexploitation and free riding, it was generally believed that strong formalized institutions, strict access regimes and restricted use rights were essential.

By looking at the late medieval Campine area, a sandy, infertile and fragile region, dominated by communal property and located at the core of the densely populated and commercialized Low Countries, it has become clear that sustainability, economic success and inclusiveness can be compatible. Because of a balanced distribution of power between smallholders and elites, strong property claims, a predominance of long-term agricultural strategies and the vitality of informal institutions and conflict resolution mechanisms, the Campine peasant communities were able to avert ecological distress while maintaining a positive economic climate.

Autoren/Hrsg.

De Keyzer, Maika

de Keyzer, Maïka

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Mittelalterliche, neuzeitliche Archäologie (Europa)

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. The Dominance of Exclusive Commons: An Exploration and Re-evaluation

2. The Campine Area: An Overview

3. Inclusive Commons

4. Successful Commons: What’s in a Name

5. The Road to Success

6. Conclusion

Über Autor(innen)

Maika De Keyzer is a Researcher in the Department of History and Art History at Utrecht University.