Agrarian Society

Until 10-12000 years ago, agrarian society simply does not exist. People lived in small group of hunting-
gatherers. Then the situation changed in different part of the world independently each other, where some
people started to settle and to cultivate the land. One of this is the Near East. From there it gradually
diffused in China and Europe. In general, the autonomous transition to agriculture occurred in area where
there was a relative abundance of both plants and animals suitable for domestication.

The development of agriculture led to the growth of worldwide population that arise from 6 million in
10.000 B.C to 250 million at the start of the Common Era (year 0).

Several implications reflect on the life of this population:

- More food was available, but the human diet became increasingly depend on cereals, so it
impoverished, as appears from reduced stature of skeletal remains.
- Also, diseases become more numerous and more frequent due to increased population density and
proximity with domestical animals.
- Lastly, peasants were obliged working more than their hunting-gatherers ancestors.

However, the appearance of agrarian society brought some benefits:

- more complex society that could coordinate resource
- this led to inequality due to specialization
- but also, accumulation of skills and knowledge especially with the invention of writing (3200 B.C)
- urbanization, first city in 3000 B.C
- Jack Goody: first state began to grow with characteristic never observed before, which have
introduced taxation to build infrastructure as canals and streets.

One of the main features analyzable in this era has been the greater and earlier divergence between
Eurasia and the rest of the world.
According to Jared Diamond Eurasia was in a better position for economic growth due to four factors:
- the superior quality of plants, as for instance wheat and barley where more nutritious than maize.
- The animals’ species available, such as cows and horse more versatile than lama available in
Americas.
- The East to West extension of Eurasia’s lands, compared to the North to South one of Americas’
lands, that allow to people move easily for the simple reason that this not involve changing climate
zone. People move with them ideas, and there is the evidence that innovation spread much more
easily in Eurasia than Americas.
- Lastly, American society suffered the effects of a delayed start, since the first humans reached
Americas around 14.000 years ago and, just 2000 years ago they occupied the whole continent. So,
when Columbus arrived there were just two empires, Inca, and Aztec, organized to move resources
on a large scale.
In addition, Goody underlined the presence of similar economic and family institution, ranging from private
property to heredity systems, educational structure, and the family. For example, in Eurasia most children
received a share of the paternal inheritance. This required the pursuit of complex matrimonial strategies to
avoid excessive dispersion of inherited assets, especially land that was the main source of wealth.

Structure of agrarian society:

- Low urbanization, from 6% to 8% in West Europe, and from 20% to 25% in Italy that before the
Black Death was the most urbanized country in the whole Europe by the time.
- Limited division of labor based more on gender and age than on ability
 - Self-consumption: the great majority of production was to satisfy needs (90%), 9% was sold in the
city or in the closer ones and just 1% exported by merchant-capitalist residing in the largest city.
- Productivity was generally low, and the agrarian society could produce only a limited surplus above
what was needed for immediate substance. In addition, their productivity related in climate, so,
abundant spring rains could cause considerable damages to cereal harvests. They were able to
tolerate a year of hardship, but two or more consecutive ones were enough to cause a famine.
- This caused reduction of birth and increasing in death ,placing a great constrain on the potential
growth of the urban population.
However, this doesn’t mean agrarian society was used to live in bare-bone subsistence conditions. They
were able to have lasting and progressive improvements in living conditions.
One fundamental aspect the agrarian society actuated to survive was the solidarity system in villages,
based on a dense fabric of various degrees of family ties. Matrimonial strategies were central to this
system. The choice of marriage partner was the result of careful consideration by both families involved.
Complex marriage alliances were created and activated when needed to deal with crises period.

In the pre-industrial societies, the city was the location of the market. This latter was always subjected to
strict controls, as underlined by the French historian Fernand Braudel, defining it a “regulated market”. The
cities also tended to concentrate the production of manufactured goods and provided certain essential
service to urban residents and those of the surrounding, since they hosted the principal magistratures, civil
institutions and ecclesiastical institutions. However, most cities’ residents were still engaged in rural
activities, with few exceptions. Giovanni Villani found an exception in Venice, which did not have a large
agricultural hinterland. Exception like Venice, that were centers of the commercial and proto-financial
capitalism, were so important in maintain and strengthening both cultural and economic contacts between
the different region in Eurasia.

Although the pace of change was extremely slow, during this period occurred some important changes in
term of technological innovation, allowed the society to increase their agriculture productivity:
- The heavy plough was introduced in the 7 th century, and it spread largely between the 9 th and 12th
centuries, especially in the northern regions where soils were more difficult to work.
- The three-year crop rotation took hold from the 8 th century.
- The water mill, initially used for milling flour, over the time proved as versatile as it was powerful
and was adapted for different applications.

The principal event which trigged an accelerated phase of transformation of social and economic structure
was the Black Death.
After it disappeared in 8th century, the plague’s return to Europe is directly connected with the formation of
the Mongol Empire, which had also been a fundamental event in Eurasia’s history. It improved
communication and favored the exchange of goods and idea across this enormous area. The improved
efficiency and safety of the road network under the Mongols allowed the plague to spread in the early
1330s from Himalayan region, through Central Asia, probably part of China, before arriving to the Middle
East and to the Black Sea, from where it spread in Genoa who at the time had economic relationship with
that region. From Genoa to the rest of Europe. The plague continued its spread until 1352 or 1353. In
Europe and the Mediterranean area alone is estimating it has eliminated from 33% to 60% of the
population.
Here must be emphasized the plague constituted Europe’s first specific advantage factor in comparison
with Asia. In Europe the large loss in terms of life and human capital, and consequently of production and
trade, had been compensated by many beneficial effects. The survivor enjoyed a re-adjustment between
population and natural resources, which had become precarious in the early 14 th century, as testimony by
the famine know as “Great Hunger” of 1315-1317.
 - More land became available, so it has been possible to reorganize the agricultural production.
- This led to a vast redistribution of wealth among the survivor, resulting in more equality.
- The new balance between the population and the resources allowed higher living standards

Characteristic of the primary sector:

- Countryside cultivated to support need of the city’s population.
- Agriculture activities were labor intensive.
- Small productivity: return was from 2 to 5
- Subject to climate condition

Property:
Ultimately the landowner was the emperor. The lord of a specific land was a “tenure”, who own the land
temporary under certain constraints:
- He could take resources and taxes but had the duty to defend the land and govern over it, ensuring
to take care of the population.
- He could not transmit the ownership of the land to his son, because he didn’t have it. So, when the
lord died the land came back to the emperor who assigned it to the primogeniture of the lord or to
a fideicommissum if he was not old enough.
- He was also subject to constraints regarding the use of the land:
 Part of them had to be open field to allow the population to feed the animals.
 Part of them had the function of servitude, this means that woods were necessary
preserved to provide lumber to the citizens and to allow the aristocracy to hunt.
 Free land had to be common.

Where did this concept of property come from?

From Christian and Roman’s culture:
- For Christians the land is inalienable. As a matter of fact, in the Bible is written than in the jubilee,
that occur every 50 years, the land return to the original owners.
- For Roman law, property is subjected to limit and constraints. People who didn’t use the land
properly are going to be deprived of the property and of their political rights.
In modern concept of property, it is full and exclusive (including the right to do not use it).

Commercialization of agriculture
Gradually agriculture become production for the market. This phenomenon is associated with the rise of
Dutch commercial superiority.
The key to the success of the Dutch agriculture was specialization, that was made possible by the growing
demand of growth in Dutch cities.
Dutch farmers accepted the idea to not produce what they need, but for the market and, they bought from
others what they needed.
At the base of this is necessary that landowners considered land a resource and not a source of constraints.
Before the commercialization of agriculture there were no markets for land’s products because the main
goal was not to make a profit. The cause of this was the fact that didn’t either exist the concept of profit. It
can be defined as the differences between revenues and expense. But there were not revenues because
the factor of production had no owner, if not the emperor, so it can sound strange but there was not the
idea of profit. The main goal was live.

Secondary sector
The market orientation in Europe was greater in industry. But there were big obstacles to innovation as
well. One of the most widespread was the opposition of both authorities who feared unemployment as a
result of labor-saving innovations and monopolistic guilds.
To be producer in the secondary sector in the pre-industrial society was necessary to subscript into the
specific guild.
They settled standard of production in terms of procedures, quality, and price, to avoid competition. But at
the same time created welfare programs for the members and had also an institutional role within the
state to be sure to be protected from external competitors, for instance with tariffs.
There was no market for labor, because there were restrictions for workers in order to move from the
countryside to the city.
On this front, progresses have been made in England, where land started to be fended (enclosure), where
the production was for the market.
Guilds controlled the productive system from the labors to the sale, but their control was not extended to
the countryside. There women produced domestic manufactured that were sold in the local market.
Gradually a new commercial system took place. It was called putting-out system. In this system an
entrepreneur provided instrument and row material to countryside’s people, bought the semi-finished
product, refine it, and sell it in distant market. Guilds gradually withered away as in the woolen industry
which moved to the rural areas.

Tertiary sector
In the pre-industrial society despite the production was on a local scale, there was trade. It is fundamental
to distingue two main type of market:
- Public regulate market: it was a domestic market, made up of petty exchange, as a matter of fact it
was just a retail market. It was not a competitive market, because prices regarding foods were
settled by authorities, while the ones regarding manufactures were settled by guilds. The reason
was to guarantee to the whole population the access to these goods, according to a principle of
distributive justice. It states that every member of the community has to have what he deserves
according on his position.
- Private free market: it was an external market, caring about international economic area of long-
distance trade, made up of wholesale exchange, carried out by specialized merchants. They sold
essentially luxury goods, or spice, or more in general products not directly related to need. Market
prices were fruits of negotiation between counterparties, as a matter of fact there was not
authority setting them because there was not jurisdiction. It was based on the principle of
commutative justice, stating that free trade is based on equivalent exchange, meaning there must
be a balance in term of economic value, between what it is taken and what it is given.
In the pre-industrial society these two markets not only co-exit, but they were also co-essential for the
subsistence of the city itself. To rule the city meant to preserve the balance between the two, and it was a
matter of institution capable doing so.

Commercialization of commerce
The commercialization of commerce can be described as the spread of free market as matter of scale and
scope, but most important of rules.
The most important changes occurred between the 16 th and 17th century , in addition to the opening of the
overseas routes, were the shift in the center of gravity of European commerce from the Mediterranean to
the northern seas, a slight change in the character of commodities involved in distant trade (ex. Grain
imported from Canada because it was cheaper).
There are good reasons to move before the industrial revolution the turning point of Great Divergence. It
has to be identified in political and economic revolution, that prepared the rise of capitalism, an economic
system characterized by the constant pursuit of profit.

Distinctive features of a capitalistic economy

Commodities: something which is freely bough and sold on a market.