Les campagnes flamandes du XIIIe siècle au XVIIIe siècle, ou les succès d'une agriculture traditionnelle

The Achievements of a Traditional Agriculture : the Flemish Countryside from the Thirteenth to the Eighteenth Century. At the end of the eighteenth century, Flemish agriculture was celebrated for its excellence. High yields, no fallow and a large variety of crops marked off the countryside of Flanders from most other parts of Western Europe. It was all the more remarkable as the Flemish soil was either poor or not easy to cultivate. How did Flemish agriculture manage to be so successful in spite of such mediocre soil conditions ? It must be said that no Agricultural Revolution took place in Flanders ; on the contrary, there has been a long and slow evolution towards a more and more intensive agriculture. Indeed, intensification began during the thirteenth century, as soon as there was no more land left for reclaiming. This long evolution is not easy to trace, precisely because it was a slow process. It is nevertheless possible to present a chronology concerning the spreading of new crops (among others : flax clover and potato). One can also show that the three years rotation was progressively changed into longer (up to 11 years) and more complex rotations. Flemish peasants were convinced that their rather poor ground could and should be improved by hard work and all possible fertilizers : at length their efforts were highly profitable to the land. Several conditions were favourable to the development of Flemish agriculture : the density of the population, the existence of large cities, which were outlets for agricultural produces and for the linen domestic industry. Two factors had probably an even greater importance since the Middle Ages, Flemish peasants had been relatively free to choose the crops and the methods best suited to their lands and to their interests ; on the other hand, landowners were far-seeing enough not to abuse their farmers, and to consider them more as associates than as dependents.Tits-Dieuaide Marie-Jeanne. Les campagnes flamandes du XIIIe siècle au XVIIIe siècle, ou les succès d'une agriculture traditionnelle. In: Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations. 39ᵉ année, N. 3, 1984. pp. 590-610