Προίκες, φόροι, σταφίδα, και ψωμί: Οικονομία και οικογένεια στην αγροτική Ελλάδα του 19ου αιώνα (review)

Abstract

Reviews 355 information about the worlds of Greek women and men and of their inter-relations during the last three quarters of the 19th century. The lack of a unifying theoretical thread holding the facts together is characteristic not only of this particular work but of most studies in the new field of sociological history. Jane Lambiri-Dimaki Law Faculty, University of Athens Dimitri Psychoyios, Πϕοίκες, φόϕοι, σταφίδα, και ψωμί: Οικονομία και οικογÎ-νεια στην αγϕοτική Ελλάδα του 19ου αιώνα. Athens: National Center of Social Research. 1987. Pp. 203. This book considers why 19th century Greek peasants became producers of commodities and why they were subsequently obliged to emigrate to America (p. 11). Part I describes some of the basic features of the 19th century economy of the Old Kingdom (Central Greece, Euboea and the Péloponnèse): land uses and distribution, the tax system and the three production models (pastoralism, gathering and agriculture) are some of the topics treated. In parts II and III problems such as household structure, consumption models and economic relations between family groups are analyzed. There are some limits to the Psychoyios' venture. The author sets out to study the 19th century rural economy of a particular area: central Greece and the Péloponnèse, that is, mainland communities of the Old Kingdom. Thus, the first drawback is that the author's model of the "pre-capitalist rural economy" applies only to a small territory. This is due partly to the fact that the statistical data and economic studies of the period are particularly rich for this region. Another reason to select this region, according to the author, is that those communities have the same kinship structure (complex family households and patrilocal residence) and the same process of reproduction of the household (equal inheritance between sons and dowry to daughters). These assumptions are based, however, on rather frail data. Folk songs and piece-meal interpretations of statistical documents are put forward so as to arrive at the desired "model." The patrilocal residence rule is deduced, for example, from the abundance of folk songs describing the bride going to live in the house of the groom's father (p. 105). As for the extended family model, Psychoyios proposes it after a long comment on the inconclusive nature of dem- 356 Reviews ographic data. He argues that a small mean household size on the national level (4.4 and 4.7 in the 1861 and 1879 census) may not indicate the statistical abundance of nuclear-type households, as demographic historians suppose. These small households may just be extended families living under particularly harsh demographic conditions (early deaths and lack of males in the families). Oral tradition and field reports are more reliable: indeed, most travelers and government experts in the 19th century report that old parents live with one of their married sons. These reports reflect the "declining patriarchal family," while the "ideal type" has remained until the 1950s the co-residence of married brothers until the father's death (p. 11 In). To support this argument, the author brings in selected ethnographic evidence from pastoral communities of northern and central Greece. Another problem is the limited applicability of the author's model. It refers to mainland communities, but seems to have in mind only land-locked villages with a mixed agro-pastoral, self-subsistence economy. Gathering, which is treated separately as one of the basic activities of the traditional economy, is in fact analyzed as a complementary occupation of the farmer or the herder in continental communities . This model has no place for islanders, coastal villagers, small plain farmers, fishermen or tradesmen. As a result, the author does not consider markets, or the circulation of money until the late 19th century (cf. pp. 185-195). One of Psychoyios' interesting points concerns the relation between the different types of economic activities, especially the discussion of the equilibrium between pastoral and agricultural activities: it thus seems that in many areas in Greece, pastoralism gives way to intensive agriculture during the 19th century, while the limited number of oxen made small farmers turn to the production of raisins, as the vines only need to be tilled with a hand-pick. Agricultural techniques , land distribution and relations within the rural communities are treated in...