Spanish Agriculture The Long Siesta, 1765–1965

Spanish agriculture: the long Siesta, 1765-1965 is the first major study in English of Spanish agrarian history. James Simpson examines how traditional agriculture responded to population growth and the integration of commodity markets, emphasising both Spain's regional variations and its context in Europe. Simpson argues that decisive changes in farming techniques only occurred at the start of this century, leading to rising labour productivity and the start of the rural exodus. Development was interrupted in the 1930s and 1940s, only resuming in the 1950s. He rejects arguments that slow growth can be explained by poor resources or inefficient farmers. Indeed, farmers were quick to change when they had market opportunities (as was the case with olive oil, oranges and rice). By contrast, change was slower in those areas such as cereals where traditional technologies remained profitable. Simpson concludes that there were strict limits on absorbing labour in Spain's dry lands, and labour was retained in agriculture because of government policies.

Spanish Agriculture: The Long Siesta, 1765–1965, first published in 1996, is a major study in English of Spanish agrarian history. James Simpson examines how traditional agriculture responded to population growth and the integration of commodity markets, emphasising both Spain's regional variations and its context in Europe. Using statistical data as well as his wide knowledge of the recent secondary literature, Simpson argues that decisive changes in farming techniques only occurred at the start of this century. He rejects arguments that slow growth can be explained by poor resources or inefficient farmers. Indeed, farmers were quick to change when they had market opportunities, but development was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War and subsequent short-sighted government policies, only resuming in the 1950s. This comprehensive study will be of relevance to students and scholars of historical geography and agrarian history, as well as economic history.

1. The relative backwardness of Spanish agriculture; 2. Traditional technologies and market opportunities, 1765–1880; 3. The limits to technical change, 1880–1936; 4. Markets and institutions, 1880–1936; 5. The state and the end of traditional agriculture; 6. Spanish agriculture in a European context.

This major study of Spanish agrarian history examines how traditional agriculture responded to population growth and the integration of commodity markets, and explains why growth was so slow over two centuries.