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Spanish agriculture: the long Siesta, 1765-1965 is the first major study in English of Spanish agrarian history. James Simpson examines how traditional agriculture responded to population growth and the integration of commodity markets, emphasising both Spain's regional variations and its context in Europe. Simpson argues that decisive changes in farming techniques only occurred at the start of this century, leading to rising labour productivity and the start of the rural exodus. Development was interrupted in the 1930s and 1940s, only resuming in the 1950s. He rejects arguments that slow growth can be explained by poor resources or inefficient farmers. Indeed, farmers were quick to change when they had market opportunities (as was the case with olive oil, oranges and rice). By contrast, change was slower in those areas such as cereals where traditional technologies remained profitable. Simpson concludes that there were strict limits on absorbing labour in Spain's dry lands, and labour was retained in agriculture because of government policies.
List of contents
1. The relative backwardness of Spanish agriculture; 2. Traditional technologies and market opportunities, 1765-1880; 3. The limits to technical change, 1880-1936; 4. Markets and institutions, 1880-1936; 5. The state and the end of traditional agriculture; 6. Spanish agriculture in a European context.
About the author
Growing up in the aftermath of the Video Nasties, during the late eighties and early nineties, James Simpson is from a small town in the North East of England where talking about grisly horror flicks was the norm in his school playground. For the last few years, he has written about cult cinema for several magazines and websites as well as running his own-now-defunct site: Infernal Cinema. He has interviewed horror stars Emily Booth, Barbie Wilde, and the legendary Lloyd Kaufman, amongst others, during this time. He appears in the Jason Impey documentary: VIPCO: The Untold Story. This is his first book. His favourite VIPCO movie is Spookies.
Summary
This major study of Spanish agrarian history, first published in 1996, examines how traditional agriculture responded to population growth and the integration of commodity markets, and explains why growth was so slow over two centuries.
