Origins, evolution, and expansion of rabassa morta contracts in central Catalonia (17th-19th centuries)

El contracte de rabassa morta va esdevenir un mecanisme per desbloquejar el mercat de la terra i una eina clau per ampliar la superfície vitícola. Alhora permetia a una gran quantitat de pagesos accedir a la propietat de la terra.Per estudiar les vicissituds d’aquest contracte agrari —l’origen, l’evolució i l’expansió— s’ha realitzat un buidatge sistemàtic dels protocols notarials de l’Arxiu Comarcal de Manresa, fons on consten contractes de rabassa morta de la majoria de pobles ubicats a la comarca del Bages.Aquest contracte agrari adquireix a Catalunya una rellevància especial a partir del segle xviii, sobretot a la segona meitat del xix. S’analitzen alguns paràmetres clau, com ara: la seva cronologia i geografia; la intensitat de plantació i els diferents ritmes d’expansió; elseu antecedent: la complantació; l’enduriment o la flexibilitat de les clàusules, per exemple en la durada del contracte, les parts de fruits i el tipus d’entrada.The rabassa morta contract became a mechanism for unlocking the land market and a keytool to the expansion of vineyards. At the same time, it gave a large number of farmers access to land ownership. To study the vicissitudes of this type of agrarian contract — its origins, evolution, and expansion — the notarial records held in the Manresa municipal archives have been fully examined, as they contain rabassa contracts from most villages located in the Bages region. In Catalonia these contracts became very important from the 18th century onwards, especially in the second half of the 19th century. Some key parameters are analyzed: their chronology and geography; the intensity of planting and the different rates of expansion; the kinds of contract, and the tightening or flexibility of different clauses, such as the duration of the contract, the proportions of fruits, and the types of entry