Désamortissement et mécanisation: la modenisation de l'agriculture sévillane au XIX s.

Abstract

Abstract The auction sale of Church lands, of uncultivated fields and of commons (the Desamortizaciones of 1836 and of 1855) in the region of Seville was accompanied by sharp advances in mechanized farming. In the vanguard of that movement Ignacio Vázquez Gutierrez, Mayor of Seville and President of the Provincial Board of Farmers, played an essential róle. Using the capital amassed by his ancestors in trade and industry, he acquired 6.300 hectares, which he cultivated directly. As such, he was the first plebeian taxpayer in the whole province. He also organized a seiies of agricultural competitions, experiments and ambulant trade shows that were widely reported in the press. These served to interest the great Sevillian landowners in the use of farm machinery imported from England, namely the mechanical harverster (1859) and steamer threshing machine (1864).