Economic Historiography Research Articles

Considerações sobre um campo disciplinar: os principais modelos explicativos da economia colonial

O presente artigo tem como objetivo fundamental trazer, de forma balanceada, os principais teóricos e teorias acerca das características essenciais da Economia Colonial e da Formação Econômica do Brasil. O leitor terá a oportunidade de conhecer, mesmo que introdutoriamente, parte da historiografia econômica brasileira do século XX até os dias atuais e perceber os aspectos mais relevantes de cada modelo explicativo. Ao dispor-se a examinar a evolução do pensamento interpretativo da economia brasileira sob o ponto de vista da historiografia, esse artigo também se propõe em colocar-se enquanto instrumento auxiliar no processo ensino-aprendizagem dos cursos de graduação em História e Ciências Econômicas, principalmente para as disciplinas de História do Brasil Colônia e Formação Econômica do Brasil.

Forced loans in the Spanish Empire: the first requisition of American treasures in 1523

AbstractThis article describes the policy of forced loans, employed in Spain by Charles V to solve the principal financial crises of the Royal Treasury and to fund the main military campaigns of the Habsburg Empire. Specifically, this study is focused on the first requisition of private American treasures—the earliest case of this in European history—which were expropriated in 1523 by the Casa de la Contratación (House of Trade) of Seville to finance the campaign of Fuenterrabía against the French army. The analysis of exceptional archival sources provides details of all the forced loans imposed on the holders of remittances (primarily gold) and the conditions for extinguishing the debts without causing harmful consequences to Atlantic traders. The article challenges the widespread view of the confiscations as an attack on property rights and overly simplistic ideas about the supposedly ‘highly absolutistic’ or predatory policies attributed to the Crown of Castile in some of the economic historiography.

La desigualdad regional, económica y social durante el siglo XIX. Investigaciones para un viejo problema

An open and developing field in economic historiography is constituted by studies on inequality. Searching for its origins, identifying the periods of the highest percentage, recognizing the factors that explain its increase or decrease, encouraged a series of investigations that originated, not coincidentally, at the beginning of the 2000s. We propose to take a tour of the studies dedicated to this problem from a double cut. On the one hand, we will select a series of publications whose authors are historians and, on the other, we will focus on those that have been dedicated to the study of inequality during the nineteenth century in some of the regions that make up the current Argentine territory: Buenos Aires and the coast. In the analysis of the selected publications we intend to identify regions and periods addressed, issues raised, methodologies used, sources used and finally we propose to observe whether to explain inequality include political factors or if only variables and economic factors are taken into account.

El pensamiento económico de Adolfo Meisel Roca: los desequilibrios económicos y sociales regionales en Colombia

Uno de los campos menos desarrollados en la historiografía económica de América Latina y aún menos en Colombia es el de los ensayos biográficos. Este tipo de ensayos iluminan las circunstancias en las que se forjaron los trabajos más influyentes de ciertos autores, las influencias que fueron permeando su labor y las motivaciones intelectuales y políticas que impulsaron su obra. En este ensayo nos hemos basado en una extensa entrevista concedida por Adolfo Meisel Roca, quien es uno de los historiadores más influyentes de Colombia en la actualidad, no sólo por haber contribuido a iluminar muchos de los rincones poco explorados de la historia económica, sino por su liderazgo y participación en estudios sociales y económicos de las regiones olvidadas del país.

Whereto land fragmentation–land grabbing in Romania? The place of negotiation in reaching win–win community-based solutions

The present study seeks to discuss and advance the understanding of land fragmentation and land grabbing within Romania's economic historiography landmarks, depicting how the origins of the land property issues are deeply embedded politically, socially, and culturally in history and still strongly exist in today's collective mind. Scientific evidence on the perceptions and behaviors of land owners regarding land grabbing was obtained through a non-probabilistic survey. The data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire, which was applied through face-to-face interviews to a sample of 52 Romanian land owners from various regions of the country. The results show that in the land owners’ perception, if land is sold to foreigners, national security is the most vulnerable aspect. Regarding the preference for the nationality of the land buyer, the majority of the people investigated prefer to sell to a Romanian buyer, thus making a clear statement in favor of the Romanian ownership of the land. The empirical results are placed in the context of a bottom-up approach—negotiation, with a high potential, unexplored in Romania, for implementing win–win agricultural solutions. Negotiation is valued as part of the answer to land fragmentation–land grabbing, a “back and forth” matter. The study recommends several measures for land use policy, tailored according to specific Romanian conditions, such as using an open access electronic registry of foreign land acquisitions, establishing a threshold for these acquisitions, and securing the preservation of the agricultural destination of land. In a political and economic context where land fragmentation and grabbing are two realities that are hard to deny and separate, a significant implication of the research is the enrichment of knowledge related to the sources of the “chronical” nature of fragmentation and to land owners’ attitude toward land grabbing, thus contributing to the design and implementation of future integrative land use solutions.

Revoluciones y crisis del siglo XVII

Este texto busca trazar la relación entre crisis y revolución. Estas dos categorías fueron vistas, por una historiografía más economicista y social, como elementos necesarios y fundamentales para la superación de las trabas sociales tradicionales y del siglo XVII como un periodo potencialmente revolucionario. Sin embargo, se pretende, proponer una nueva asociación entre ambos términos, de los cuales no se enfatiza los aspectos económicos, sino la ruptura de los lazos de fidelidad, lo que desorganizó las jerarquías y compromisos de obediencia. Por lo tanto, es necesario reflexionar sobre como los actores del siglo XVII percibían y reaccionaban ante la crisis, como “revolución” fue un importante vocabulario que dio la legitimidad necesaria para efectuar los cambios en la sociedad y como el sentido político y secular del término entró a Inglaterra, durante el periodo de la denominada “Revolución Inglesa”.

The making of the ancient Greek economy: institutions, markets, and growth in the city-states

This comprehensive introduction to the ancient Greek economy revolutionizes our understanding of the subject and its possibilities. Alain Bresson is one of the world’s leading authorities in the field, and he is helping to redefine it. Here he combines a thorough knowledge of ancient sources with innovative new approaches grounded in recent economic historiography to provide a detailed picture of the Greek economy between the last century of the Archaic Age and the closing of the Hellenistic period. Focusing on the city-state, which he sees as the most important economic institution in the Greek world, Bresson addresses all of the city-states rather than only Athens. An expanded and updated English edition of an acclaimed work originally published in French, the book offers a groundbreaking new theoretical framework for studying the economy of ancient Greece; presents a masterful survey and analysis of the most important economic institutions, resources, and other factors; and addresses some major historiographical debates. Among the many topics covered are climate, demography, transportation, agricultural production, market institutions, money and credit, taxes, exchange, long-distance trade, and economic growth. The result is an unparalleled demonstration that, unlike just a generation ago, it is possible today to study the ancient Greek economy as an economy and not merely as a secondary aspect of social or political history. This is essential reading for students, historians of antiquity, and economic historians of all periods.

The Liberal-Radicall Debate in South African Economic Historiography

This short paper reviews the historiographic distinctions between 'Liberal' and 'Radical' camps when they analyse South African economic activity. I demonstrate how theoretical traditions and their methodologies influence the knowledge that they generate.

A industrialização brasileira antes de 1930: uma contribuição sobre a evolução da indústria de máquinas e equipamentos no estado de São Paulo, 1900-1920

Resumo O objetivo do presente trabalho é trazer luz para a divergência da historiografia econômica sobre a produção, investimento e lucratividade da indústria de máquinas e equipamentos brasileira e paulista no período da Primeira Guerra Mundial por meio do exame da evolução dessa indústria entre 1900 a 1920, utilizando fontes primárias originais. As principais fontes são os contratos, alterações e distratos arquivados na Junta Comercial de São Paulo para o período de 1911 a 1920. Esses contratos são os registros de constituição de empresas em sociedades de empresários de todo ramo de atividade econômica do estado de São Paulo. Os principais resultados dos efeitos da Primeira Guerra Mundial para a indústria de máquinas e equipamentos de São Paulo foram queda do investimento, aumento da produção, com aumento da demanda doméstica devido à queda das importações, e aumento da lucratividade das empresas que resultaram em um ambiente de incentivo para a fundação de novas pequenas empresas (oficinas mecânicas). Algumas dessas empresas ampliaram seu investimento no período pós-guerra.

As brechas ao capital nacional: a liderança da casa J. F. de Lacerda & Cia. sobre a exportação cafeeira em Santos na década de 1880

Resumo A ascensão econômica da província de São Paulo no século XIX assentou-se sobre a expansão da lavoura cafeeira no Oeste Paulista e sobre a formação de um complexo econômico com atividades paralelas vinculadas à exportação do produto. Dentre estas atividades, o comércio de importação e exportação era uma das mais importantes, sendo que a maioria das casas exportadoras de café em Santos eram firmas estrangeiras, o que levou a historiografia econômica a relegar o capital nacional nesta seara. Todavia, a principal casa exportadora de café em Santos na metade da década de 1880 era a J. F. de Lacerda & Cia., uma empresa familiar pertencente aos Lacerda Franco. O artigo investiga o funcionamento desta firma, que era uma casa comissária e exportadora, por meio da análise de suas demonstrações financeiras e, ao mesmo tempo, apreende sua estratégia que se baseava no tripé café, capital e uma rede produtiva em municípios cafeeiros paulistas.

Economics and Anti-Semitism: The Case of Maffeo Pantaleoni

The relationship between economics and anti-Semitism has always been a controversial subject. The question is complex by nature: to describe an author as an anti-Semite means to cast a shadow over his thought, with consequences that are much more serious when there is a limited amount of documentation and firsthand accounts. In this article we examine the case of Maffeo Pantaleoni, one of the most influential Italian economists of the nineteenth century and at the same time an intellectual who was among those most closely involved in anti-Semitic propaganda. In the case of Pantaleoni, it is not necessary to ask the question of whether and to what extent his anti-Semitism could be defined as “mild” or “ambivalent” and therefore in line with that expressed by a large part of Western culture during the first half of the twentieth century. In this study we document a clear and open anti-Semitic attitude that, however, has remained ignored up to now by economic historiography. In this article we discuss the possible relationship between Pantaleoni’s anti-Semitism and his work as a theoretical economist, within a methodological framework inspired by Pierre Bourdieu’s philosophy and sociology of science.

West versus Far East: early globalization and the great divergence

This paper addresses two important topics in recent economic historiography: globalization and the great divergence. We first present a search for statistical evidence in the Far East of an “Early Globalization” comparable to the one ongoing in the West since the mid-eighteenth century. Moreover, we analyze the extent of the integration of rice markets in Central southeast China and Japan during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and its functioning in comparison with Western countries. Finally, the relevance of our findings for the debate on the great divergence is discussed. Our primary conclusions are as follows: (1) in contrast to the West, no international integration of the grain markets existed in the Far East during the Early Modern Era; (2) significant levels of domestic market integration were reached in some Far Eastern countries; (3) integration of the domestic grain markets may be reached through various combinations of agents and policies with dissimilar effects on long-run economic growth, which are better in the West and worse in the Far East. We suggest that the absence of an “Early Globalization” in the Far East reveals the existence of certain economic and institutional limitations in this part of the world that may have made contribution to its “Great Divergence” with the West from at least the eighteenth century.

The Advent of Marxist thoughts to Iran: The Formation of Economic Historiography in Iran

The oldest document obtained regarding the arrival of Marxist thoughts to Iran is the one which in was published in written form in Akhtar Newspaper in Istanbul (March 1906) and also it was published by Iran Newspaper. The publication of these thoughts later continued by the publication of multiple articles about socialism thoughts in the famous newspaper Iran-e-Now) which was the official publication of the Democratic Party of Iran. However, new socialist thoughtssince one or two decades before the Constitutional Movementgradually entered thoughts, history and literature of Iran and influenced some of the modernist intellectuals such as Mirza Agha Khan Kermani, Talebov, Akhundzadeh and other scholars of the realm of politics. These thoughts caused that in the field of historiography there would be formed a movement and Iranian writers, influenced by Marx's thoughts, create some works in the field of historiography whose dominant forms were society and economy. By exploiting Marx's theories in two axes, Feudal mode of production and Asiatic mode of production of Iranian society and history are investigated and analyzed sociologically.

The Economic Historiography of the Dutch Colonial Empire

Colonial possessions were a source of substantial revenue for the Dutch economy for over three centuries. The histories of Dutch trading companies in the East and the West, the Cultivation System and the Dutch Atlantic slave trade have engaged dozens of historians, some of whose work belongs in the select library of the world's most significant historical literature. The way in which economic historians have dealt with the key themes of Dutch colonial history, and the evolution of their perspectives, forms the subject of this overview. In the conclusion, the present fragmented state of the economic history of the Dutch colonial empire is addressed.

Zamyšlení nad několika otázkami naší novodobé hospodářské historiografie a poznámky ke dvěma podobným recenzím stejné publikace od A. Doležalové

The article is the authors' polemic against the review of their book Economic and Social History of Czechoslovakia, Volume II 1945-1992, which was published by Antonie Doležalova in Politicka ekonomie No. 3/2012. In this context, the article also deals with general issues of economic historiography, particularly with the development and object of investigation of economic history, periodization of the economic development of Czechoslovakia after World War II, external and internal impacts on the economy, construction of statistical data and terminological problems.

Quale storiografia economica? Chiose su "Depressioni"

The theses on the depression of the 1880s expressed in the author's Depressioni are restated and enriched with new pieces of evidence. Sources bear strong witness to the fundamental role of the demand for growth. Fenoaltea's denial of a depression in the late nineteenth century and objections to Depressioni are rejected; they do not discriminate, and are contradicted by major elements. Federico's new estimates on an ever growing agricultural production (and added value) during the depression are criticized: the estimates are based on untested assumptions, on an imperfect relationship between dependent and independent variables, and on an unsound proxy for the independent variable, and differ radically from what sources witnessed. A similar estimation procedure can be found in Fenoaltea's work. This stream of economic historiography leads to the danger of writing a subjective history that substitutes highly subjective estimates for evidence, and of disseminating flawed historical data

Contested Energy: A long-term Perspective on Opposition to Renewable Power Developments in Scotland

The Scottish Government's decision in January 2010 to approve the construction of the Beauly-Denny power line brings an end to a long-running public dispute. 1 The decision, the Public Inquiry which preceded it, and the proposal to build the 220 km, 4C0kV transmission line through some of Scotland's most revered mountain scenery, have all focused attention on two of the key questions of Scottish economic historiography: what and who are the Highlands for? Written off as economically uninteresting and

Marxism and the ‘Dutch Miracle’: The Dutch Republic and the Transition-Debate

AbstractThe Dutch Republic holds a marginal position in the debate on the transition from feudalism to capitalism, despite its significance in the early stage of the development of global capitalism. While the positions of those Marxists who did consider the Dutch case range from seeing it as the first capitalist country to rejecting it as an essentially non-capitalist commercial society, all involved basically accept an image of Dutch development as being driven by commerce rather than real advances in the sphere of production. Their shared interpretation of the Dutch ‘Golden Age’, however, rests on an interpretation of Dutch economic history that does not match the current state of historical knowledge. Rereading the debate on the Dutch trajectory towards capitalism in the light of recent economic historiography seriously challenges established views, and questions both major strands in the transition-debate.

A crise Baring e a crise do Encilhamento nos quadros da economia-mundo capitalista

O final do século XIX foi marcado, para Brasil e Argentina, por crescimento e instabilidade na economia. Neste período, ocorreram duas importantes crises econômicas, que ficaram conhecidas como crise Baring (na Argentina) e crise do Encilhamento (no Brasil). Este artigo tem o objetivo de apresentar as conexões existentes entre essas duas crises e a conjuntura da economia-mundo capitalista das últimas décadas do século XIX, enfatizando o problema da dívida externa e da política econômica, e re-organizando algumas contribuições da historiografia econômica por meio da metodologia da "encompassing comparison" e da teoria dos ciclos mundiais de endividamento. O artigo mostra que ambas as crises estiveram condicionadas pela dinâmica da economia-mundo capitalista, especialmente pelos fluxos mundiais de capital, não sendo resultados exclusivos de políticas econômicas nacionais.

The significance of the minerals-energy complex in the light of South African economic historiography

Fine and Rustomjee's conceptual project of the minerals and energy complex as a way of understanding power and key networks in the development of the modern economy of South Africa tends to be taken as read and respected. Here their work is conceptualised and placed in the larger economic history of South Africa. The radical critique of apartheid, the understanding of the limitations of apartheid in developmental terms and the arrival of so-called heterodox economic assessments have all played their part in opening the way to this form of thinking. In today's climate the ruling party may also be more inclined to listen to structural critiques of the historic biases of the economy which still play an important part in shaping policy after the end of the apartheid system.