The Egyptian agro-ecosystem at the end of the eighteenth century — An analysis based on the ‘description de l'Egypte’

Abstract

The results of the detailed survey of Egyptian agriculture made by Napoleon's savants during 1799 and 1800 are analysed to provide estimates of the human and animal work inputs and crop yield outputs of the Egyptian agro-ecosystem before the Nile flood was brought under control. The estimates were found to be internally consistent. In terms of human food production per unit land area, the system was outstanding, exceeding that of western Europe at that time. The food output per unit human labour input was high and the large draft animal population was shown to be an important element in maintaining the fertility of the system. The estimate of human carrying capacity, 4.5 per hectare, was used to calculate the population of Egypt and the estimates were compared with those from historical demographic studies.