Aspects of animal husbandry and meat consumption in Southern Moldova (the second half of 18th century) case study: domain of Boyars Conachi.

Abstract

Modern zootechny, one of the important domains of economy with implications on sustainable development and availability of food resources is the result of knowledge accumulation and development over the centuries in terms of general principles, strategies and technologies regarding animal husbandry in the Romanian area. This paper outlines some aspects of the problem of livestock farming in south Moldova in the second half of the 18th century, presenting as a case study the domain of the great boyar Costachi Conachi and his sons, Constantin, Manolache and Gavril, who was constantly concerned with increasing herds on his lands for export and also for meat production. Another issue discussed in this paper refers to meat supply for domestic consumption of his family and servants. In order to illustrate these aspects we used documentary sources, specific to historical research, such as testimonies of foreign travelers, mentions of chroniclers, but the main material of study consists in unpublished historical documents like household registers calculations, kept by the boyars Conachi, which are found today in the collection of manuscripts from the library of the Romanian Academy in Bucharest.