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Farming the North Sea Coast, 900-2000
Managing Water, Reclaiming the Land
Sprache:
Englisch
Veröffentlicht/Copyright:
2025
Über dieses Buch
"A brilliant and provocative synthesis of a thousand years of coastal farming." Tim Soens, University of Antwerp, Belgium.
The fascinating story of how the North Sea coast has been farmed is ever changing. Long before the industrial revolution, the inhospitable fens and marshes of the low-lying coastal wetlands on both sides of the Sea had been transformed into one of the most productive agricultural regions in Europe. Agriculture in the coastlands reached its apogee during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as is witnessed by the many impressive farm buildings established then. However, more recently, it has become clear that lowland farming and even the physical existence of the lowlands are in jeopardy, owing to rising sea levels and problems of drainage.
This book offers a history of farming and water management on the North Sea coast, assessing the forces driving - and inhibiting - agricultural progress more broadly. It examines the ways in which farmers in the past dealt with the two main constraints on their decision-making: the natural environment and the human environment of institutional rules and customs regulating behaviour. It looks in particular at how setbacks were overcome, and how farming practices were improved which then raised the money with which to finance the maintenance of dykes, canals, and sluices.
The fascinating story of how the North Sea coast has been farmed is ever changing. Long before the industrial revolution, the inhospitable fens and marshes of the low-lying coastal wetlands on both sides of the Sea had been transformed into one of the most productive agricultural regions in Europe. Agriculture in the coastlands reached its apogee during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as is witnessed by the many impressive farm buildings established then. However, more recently, it has become clear that lowland farming and even the physical existence of the lowlands are in jeopardy, owing to rising sea levels and problems of drainage.
This book offers a history of farming and water management on the North Sea coast, assessing the forces driving - and inhibiting - agricultural progress more broadly. It examines the ways in which farmers in the past dealt with the two main constraints on their decision-making: the natural environment and the human environment of institutional rules and customs regulating behaviour. It looks in particular at how setbacks were overcome, and how farming practices were improved which then raised the money with which to finance the maintenance of dykes, canals, and sluices.
Information zu Autoren / Herausgebern
Contributor: Piet van Cruyningen
PIET van CRUYNINGEN is a Senior Researcher in the Economic and Environmental History Group at Wageningen University & Research.
Rezensionen
This ambitious work uses a comparative approach to examine the relationship between water management institutions and economic development and productivity across diverse regions. Synthesizing insights from agricultural and environmental history with theory from political science, economics, and geography, 10 richly sourced and clearly written chapters reflect the author's "nine years of voracious reading" described in the introduction.
Fachgebiete
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Frontmatter
i -
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CONTENTS
vii -
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ILLUSTRATIONS
viii -
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PREFACE
xi -
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GLOSSARY
xiii -
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Introduction
1 -
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1 The Great Reclamation: Transformation of the Wetlands, c. 900–1300
19 -
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2 Pioneering in the Wetlands: Water Management and Agriculture, c. 1100–1300
54 -
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3 Sinking Land and Disastrous Floods: Water Management, c. 1300–1550
79 -
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4 Surviving in Times of Adversity: Agriculture in the Late Middle Ages, c. 1300–1550
112 -
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5 The Second Reclamation: Urban Capital in the Countryside, c. 1500–1700
137 -
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6 Risen from the Waves: Agriculture after the Second Reclamation, c. 1550–1700
166 -
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7 State and Steam: Water Management, c. 1700–1880
192 -
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8 The Apogee of Lowland Farming, c. 1700–1880
221 -
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9 Nature Tamed? Water Management, c. 1880–1980
245 -
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10 The Indian Summer of Lowland Farming, c. 1880–1980
260 -
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Conclusion
281 -
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Epilogue: The North Sea Lowlands after 1980
290 -
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Bibliography
294 -
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INDEX
330
Informationen zur Veröffentlichung
Seiten und Bilder/Illustrationen im Buch
eBook veröffentlicht am:
18. Februar 2025
eBook ISBN:
9781805435754
Seiten und Bilder/Illustrationen im Buch
eBook ISBN:
9781805435754
Zielgruppe(n) für dieses Buch
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
