The Case of the vanishing Bourgeoisie. A reinterpretation of social and economic development in the Mezzogiorno in the early 19th century

Abstract

John A. Davis, The Case of the vanishing Bourgeoisie. A reinterpretation of social and économie development in the Mezzogiorno in the early 19th century, p. 845-874. It is generally assumed that the years between 1815 and 1860 witnessed the emergence of a new agrarian bourgeoisie in the Italian Mezzogiorno. Recent studies of the late 18th Century and the period of French occupation throw considerable doubt on the fortunes of this class. Evidence for the period after 1815 suggests even more strongly that this was a time of real crisis for southern landowners, and in particular for the smaller landowners. The prevailing agricultural slump, together with the economic policies of the Bourbon Administrations, gravely damaged the interests of the landed classes, and created a series of downward pressures which prevented the formation or emergence of any new group of capitalist farmers. Sample studies of individual new landowners also indicate the strength of traditional attitudes, techniques and patterns of behaviour. The collapse of the Bourbon Kingdom should then be seen in terms of the Bourbons' failure to satisfy the needs of traditional sectors of southern society, not those of a new and aspiring agrarian bourgeoisie.