RHN 160/2024 | Call, EURHO
Organisers: Gérard Béaur (CNRS/EHESS, Paris), Laurent Brassart (Université de Lille/CNRS, IRHIS/CRH), Rosa Congost (Universitat de Girona)
Session at Rural History 2025, 9–12 September 2025, Coimbra, Portugal
Deadline for paper proposals: 20 January 2025
Call for Papers
Agrarian Dynamics and State Initiatives in Napoleonic Europe
Session at Rural History 2025
Curiously, historians were not very prolific on agrarian issues during the Napoleonic period, after the avalanche of works focused on the Revolution. Although they have not been totally ignored, and there are a number of high-quality works that have focused on them, historiography has not made them a priority. The aim of this session is precisely to try and partially fill this regrettable gap for two reasons. The first is that, far from being static, agrarian systems underwent major transformations, if only because of the effects of the conquest and the disproportionate extension of imperial influence. Secondly, it would be wrong to think that the Empire paid only discreet attention to these issues. On the contrary, they were at the heart of the State's action within the framework of the 130 departments, in the satellite states and beyond in the states invaded or attracted by the reforms undertaken in France. The aim of this session is precisely to help fill this gap, which is regrettable for two reasons. The first is that, far from being static, agrarian systems underwent major transformations, if only because of the effects of the conquest and the disproportionate extension of imperial influence
Two priorities guided the Napoleonic State's action in agrarian issues. A financial priority: The redefinition of property rights, the redistribution of land, agrarian reforms and the reorganisation of the tax system, which was largely based on the taxation of land, were all aimed at finding the resources needed to implement a policy of expansion for France and recovery for other countries. An economic priority. The aim of encouraging innovation and putting a lot of pressure on farming and technical experimentation was to create the conditions for growth and agricultural progress to satisfy the demands of the population and businesses.
It is therefore the different aspects of this intervention from the State (or the states that are aggregated with it), and the ways in which they are managed in the agrarian field, that this session sets out to examine. We welcome proposals that will highlight these perspectives on the scale of the Napoleonic Empire or of all the territories that made it up.
Please send your proposals to Gérard Béaur (gerard.beaur@ehess.fr), Laurent Brassart (laurent.brassart@univ-lille.fr) or Rosa Congost (rosa.congost@edg.edu).