The silent purchase. Cash tenancy, tenant stability and improvements in Eastern Spanish farming (1850–1930)

Authors

  • Samuel Garrido Herrero
  • Salvador Calatayud Giner

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1698-6989(07)70202-3

Keywords:

Cash tenancy, Improvements, Agrarian contracts, Land ownership, Contemporary Spain, N53, Q15, R14

Abstract

n the 19th century, Eastern Spanish “huertas” witnessed a dramatic growth and intensification of their output, which was achieved by means of an agrarian development model based on a peasant economy and the cash renting of small plots. This paper looks at characteristics and longrun implications of that model. On the one hand, tenants were able throughout the second half of the century to remain on their farms for an increasingly longer period, and often they were eventually reimbursed by the improvements they had introduced. Because of that, agrarian production increased and improved, what allowed landlords to obtain a higher rent. But, on the other, landlords lost capacity to control and manage the tenant holdings. As a result, tenant farmers consolidated their position, becoming first “semi-owners” of the land they cultivated and, very often, legal proprietors afterwards.

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How to Cite

Garrido Herrero, S., & Calatayud Giner, S. (2019). The silent purchase. Cash tenancy, tenant stability and improvements in Eastern Spanish farming (1850–1930). Investigaciones De Historia Económica, 3(8), 77–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1698-6989(07)70202-3

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Section

ARTICLES