The Local Historian Volume 11 Number 4 November 1974

By Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie

A major article by the distinguished French social historian, first given as a paper at the 1973 annual meeting of the Standing Conference for Local History. Ladurie analyses the numerous, widespread and often large scale uprising and revolts in provincial France during the century before the Revolution, considering possible causes of these protests but noting that in comparison with the massive peasant wars and insurgences of the period 1548-1675 the frequency and scale had diminished. He notes that this was perhaps because i) the tax system had become less burdensome and less inequitable; ii) provincial administration had improved; and iii) the religious issue of Catholic v Protestant had largely disappeared. Even so, protest remained frequent and it is argued that during the 18th century new causes appeared, including the actions of the seigneurs in promoting agricultural improvement and reorganisation; difficulties with fluctuating commodity prices; a liberalisation of society in general which allowed an increase in rural expectations; the role of the rich farmer; and growing discontent with the place of the Church in rural society. Regional patterns are again described and there is much coverage of specifically local factors such as traditions, customary payments and the variable impact of the wider changes noted earlier.

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By Dennis Mills

Discussion of the concept of 'peasant' in the context of English rural society, beginning with a review of the arguments often put forward that the peasantry had disappeared in England by the end of the 18th century. The article then assesses how peasants may be defined or categorised, including the suggestion that they were not limited simply to cultivation of the soil but included, for example, those engaged in dual occupations. The next section is entitled 'Where were the peasants' and uses some statistical and specific mid-19th century evidence drawn from Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, several Midland counties, and Kent to argue for the survival, in a reduced and somewhat altered form, of peasant families in many localities in this period. It is suggested that there are connections between this phenomenon and that of closed or open villages: Mills uses the term 'peasant villages' to describe those in which the survival rate seems notably high and distinctive. The article discusses possible economic and social factors involved in the continuation of peasant communities and includes an explanatory diagram of the 'peasant system' in 18th and 19th century England.

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By Grete Maar

Originally a paper delivered at the 1972 meeting of the Standing Conference for Local History, this article discusses the background to the province of Burgenland, an artificial frontier region allocated to Austria after the peace treaty of St Germain in 1919 divided the older province of that name and gave the greater part of it, and the historical provincial capital of Oldenburg [now called Sopron], to Hungary. The great majority of the article (contrary to its title) is a very detailed exposition of the history of the Burgenland, beginning in the prehistoric period and ending in the mid-20th century, in the context of the fierce nationalist passions which were generated by the turbulent history of this borderland. A tone of anti-Hungarian feeling pervades the text and there is almost no reference to the problems of historical research.

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By Rolf Fladby

After a brief description of the particularly Norwegian concept of community as it relates to the very long-lived administrative units known as kommuner, Fladby discusses the development of local history in Norway, considering early literature and more recent publication of urban and community history. He then discusses the origins and work of the Institute for Local History, founded in 1955, its constitution and its journal Heimen, the equivalent to The Local Historian. The importance of local government as sponsor of local history research is noted. There is a description of major types of sources available in Norway, including the publishing of material by the Institute, indexes for all Norwegian maps, the holding of conferences and study programmes, and interaction and cooperation between amateur and professional historians. Finally, the article considers the keeping of local records, the educational relevance of local history, and several research projects currently (1975) in progress.