The role of natural resources in contributing to stable economic development is of growing interest to economists and politicians. In evaluations of the prospects for development of a given country it was once assumed that rich natural resources and a vast territory provided favorable conditions...

The aim of this paper is to show an estimate of the Spanish cattle in the year 1799, based on the data contained in the Censo de Frutos y Manufacturas. Firstly, the figures have been made homogeneous (frequently we only know the number of a sort of bovine, the calf). Then, some of the regional...

The following paper presents original tithe series for the province of Guadalajara in New Castile. The series include the four main grains, wheat, barley, rye and oats and their evolution during the eighteenth century. The series complete previous estimations of grain production for New Castile...

The marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile in 1469 began the process of the eventual unification of Spain. Over the ensuing decades, Spain finally conquered the Muslims at Granada in 1492 and completed the Reconquista. Spain then began a period of imperial expansion with...

The regional diversity of communal persistence in 19th century Spain has been well documented by historiography. Although the explanation of this divergence has been attributed to the social and environmental context, together with the prevailing market incentives that characterized the...

The massive land privatization that took place over the 19th century deeply transformed the Spanish economic landscape. Nevertheless, the outcome of the process was quite different, both in pace and impact, depending on the geographic area we analyze. The explanation for this regional diversity...

The Mesta was the association of the migratory shepherds of Castile, controlling fine wool production between the thirteenth and the nineteenth centuries. Its royally granted privileges have often been blamed for the stagnant Spanish agricultural productivity during the Early Modern period. I...

Women have played an important role in fishing communities all over the developed world and they also play an important role in developing economies. Our analysis focuses on this role. The purpose of this article is to look at the role of women in the Spanish fish canning industry. To do so, our...

In places like the Valencian Region, where the climate is arid, the flow rate of the rivers is irregular, and irrigation is essential if agrarian returns are to increase, the way water was distributed among irrigators often gave rise to clashes between them. This paper begins with an analysis of...

It is usually taken for granted that the existence of water markets allows economic efficiency gains to be achieved at the expense of equity losses. This paper addresses the issue by analysing the functioning of the irrigation communities in pre-1950s eastern Spain. While in some of them the...