The remains of the ‘agras’. The evolution of agrarian landscapes in Galicia (Spain): A Terra Chá (1954-1968)

Abstract

This article analyses the transformation suffered by the agrarian landscape in Galicia following the implementation of the Francoist agrarian policies. Focusing in the case-study of a given area in the province of Lugo, the article describes the way the colonization policy meant the beginning of the end of the traditional agrarian system, the agrosystem of the “agras” (openfields), which has ceased to be an active cultural landscape to become simply relics. An explanation will be provided for the underlyng logic of landscape management by peasants. Our final goal is to prove its environmental sustainability and rationality, both at them broken due to the success of the colonization project, which meant the transition (in a controlled and abrupt way) from an organic agriculture to another based on fossile energies.