Household mind and the ecology of the central Pyrenees in the 19th century: Fathers, sons, and collective landed property

Abstract

In this regional case study of the département of Hautes-Pyrénées in the 19th century, we focus on two Pyrenean villages in two different geographical contexts where a strong stem-family system prevailed. While Marsac, located in the lowlands of the département, had little communal land, Laborde, located in the highland hills of the Baronnies and remote from urban centers, had control over large collective property. Collective land and forest played a prominent part in socioeconomic production as a result of their flexible contribution to rural community development. This explains historical struggles over their use. Our hypothesis is that confrontations between the privileged heir and other siblings were fewer in the agropastoral communities of the highlands because of the many agricultural tasks that required cooperative efforts. Relationships in the family sphere as well as in the collective sphere in the lowlands were likely to differ from those of upland communities, where the rearing of cattle and flocks was the predominant activity and imposed strict segregation and social enclosures within communities. Thus, ecology might have played a role in improving the quality of relationships within the domestic group.