Julio Escalona, Orri Vésteinsson and Stuart Brookes (Eds.) Polity and Neighbourhood in Early Medieval Europe Turnhout, Brepols, 2019, XVIII + 430 ...
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Historia Agraria, 83 Abril 2021 pp. 261-302 DOI 10.26882/histagrar.083r09b © 2021 The Author(s)
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Julio Escalona, Orri Vésteinsson and Stuart Brookes (Eds.)
Polity and Neighbourhood in Early Medieval Europe
Turnhout, Brepols, 2019, XVIII + 430 pp.
T
his edited volume marks the cul- teenth century. In total it contains three
mination of a long-term collabo- contributions by the editors (a short intro-
ration between many of its con- duction [pp. 1-9]; a dense but valuable dis-
tributors over the course of over fifteen cussion of “Polities, Neighbourhoods and
years. Two previous volumes contain papers things in-between” [pp. 11-38]; and a con-
that represent earlier phases of this collec- clusion [pp. 407-14]), and thirteen arti-
tive, interdisciplinary effort aimed at ex- cles. The fact that the volume includes sev-
ploring various interactions between social enty-five figures is a testament to the
organisation and physical landscapes in volume’s focus on archaeology and geog-
earlier medieval western Europe (Davies, raphy. A glance at the contents page of the
Halsall & Reynolds, 2006; Escalona & book suggests there are no sub-sections
Reynolds, 2011). The project, or projects, and this reflects the editors’ view that the
have involved a changing cast of historians papers do not warrant separation into dis-
and archaeologists whose regional spe- tinct strands. At the same time the editors’
cialisms have been varied but the prepon- introduction explains the logic of the order
derance of them have worked on the (pp. 5-8); it reflects connections between
Iberian peninsula and England between the contributions, and that there are three
400 and 1100. This volume includes con- rough sections.
tributions on northern and western Iberia, The title of the editors’ co-written essay
the Netherlands, Italy, Norway and Ice- includes a nice play on words, managing to
land, the last of which takes the chrono- allude to different levels of socio-political
logical scope of the volume into the thir- organisation, and þing (thing), the Old
261Crítica de libros
Norse-Icelandic word for an assembly or archetype of political centralisation and
parliament which might often categorise therefore the kind of place where there was
the temporal and geographical level at royal intervention at the level of the indi-
which localities and leaders interacted. vidual estate. Astill is sceptical of some
Here they outline what they see as the pur- claims that changes in field systems and set-
pose of the book: as a collection of discus- tlement patterns were the result of, first,
sions of the nature of political organisation Mercian and then English kings seeking to
for places and levels of organisation that do micromanage production. Instead, to bor-
not receive enough attention, that is, sec- row his terms, royal lordship was more
ondary states, or peripheries of the Frank- likely to be extensive rather than intensive,
ish core (p. 12), in an era after and before and shaped by local socio-economic net-
states are more readily observable. The dis- works. Astill’s paper reminds anyone unfa-
cussion is wide-ranging and thought-pro- miliar with the historical scholarship, in-
voking but might have benefited from more cluding, as he notes, many archaeologists,
discussion of the Carolingian polity/polities that the strength of the Anglo-Saxon state,
which, as is noted, was seen or used as a even in the eleventh century, should not be
model by contemporaries (p. 15), but is it- assumed. Different localities experienced
self the subject of debate. In the light of this, different forms of settlement reorganisa-
it is interesting to see that a very recent ar- tion, sometimes quite frequently.
ticle actually proposes that a Carolingian Margarita Fernández Mier’s contribu-
king might have partly justified the need for tion foregrounds the potential contribu-
men to perform fortification duties with ref- tion of archaeological work focussed on
erence to English precedent rather than the settlement patterns for understanding
other way round (MacLean, 2020: 38-39). wider socio-political changes in Asturias
The book’s first main section includes (Spain). The two case study settlements
four papers on social complexity as viewed discussed, one in an upland setting (Vi-
from the localities. Grenville Astill’s paper, gaña), one in a wider valley (Villanueva),
“Understanding the Identities and Work- though both still inland, show some settle-
ings of Local Societies in Early Medieval ments being abandoned and others grow-
England, AD 800-1100”, sensibly comes ing in the period 700 to 1200, but in dif-
first because it reviews the arguments for ferent ways. Fernández Mier is cautious as
the impact of the state for England. Astill to the causes of these changes, but specu-
notes the diversity of local experiences of lates that they were not simply impositions
settlement and field reorganisation in the by new, monastic landlords. The arguments
light of significant recorded political presented here felt like they needed more
changes, including viking raids (and sub- space to do them justice, particularly as
sequent Scandinavian immigrations), po- the results presented are part of a much
litical centralisation and the Norman con- wider project.
quest. England has often been seen as an Alexandra Chavarría Arnau’s “The To-
262 pp. 261-302 Abril 2021 Historia Agraria, 83
■ ■Crítica de libros
pography of Early Medieval Burials: Some rarely, if ever, include the remains of the
Reflections on the Archaeological Evidence buried individuals or grave goods –acidic
from Northern Italy (Fifth-Eighth Cen- soil conditions probably causing the human
turies)”, is quite distinct from the previous remains to decompose completely– making
two. It shows just how much new archaeo- archaeological dating difficult. Martín Viso
logical data there is for northern Italy, both neatly sets out the varied nature of the ev-
for urban and rural sites. It makes a good idence for the burial material, both in terms
case for the incredible diversity of burial of cemetery sites and situations and ceme-
forms in northern Italy in this period being tery layouts, which suggests these kinds of
a symptom of political upheaval and weak- graves and the cemeteries of which many
ened political control. Written and archae- were a part served communities at different
ological evidence suggest greater stability scales. Here, as in some of other case stud-
before and after this period in Italy as, af- ies, the twelfth century is witness to new
ter c. 800, it too underwent some of the documentation recording what might be a
same processes of settlement change seen new level of control by elites, in this case ec-
in England and the Iberian peninsula. The clesiastical control of cemeteries in what
author is, in my view, too eager to associate had become the Astur-Leonese political net-
the appearance of certain new kinds of fur- work (p. 141).
nished burial with the intruding elites of the The next section begins with Frode
Ostrogoths and, especially, the Lombards. Iversen’s “The Thing and the King: The
The full range of archaeological evidence Formation of the Norwegian Medieval
could be interpreted without such ready re- Kingdom” which examines the role of as-
course to ethnic explanations, as the article semblies in a region of south-west Nor-
otherwise demonstrates. way, the Gulathing. Using later legal texts
By contrast, ethnicity or religion are he suggests that assemblies were gradually
barely mentioned in the next paper, Iñaki sidelined by increasingly powerful Norwe-
Martín Viso’s study of rock-cut graves in gian kings because of the declining num-
central-western regions of the Iberian bers of representatives notionally required
peninsula. It centres on a region poten- to attend them. The archaeological evi-
tially contested by Arab/Berber rulers and dence of local assemblies, in the form of
Christian ones, just south of the Duero abandoned so-called courtyard sites (small
river. Rock-cut graves are difficult to date clusters of regularly-arranged booths) would
accurately but many in this region date to seem to match that progressive disenfran-
the period c. 700-c.1100 and occur either chising of the (male) population.
as isolated graves or in cemeteries com- Alfonso Vigil-Escalera Guirado’s paper
prising only rock-cut graves or also includ- on “Meeting Places, Markets, and
ing cist burials, and sometimes laid out in Churches in the Countryside between
what might have been family groupings, as Madrid and Toledo, Central Spain (c. AD
segmented rural cemeteries. Rock-cut graves 500-900)” makes simple but effective ar-
Historia Agraria, 83 Abril 2021 pp. 261-302
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263Crítica de libros
guments for the exchange of goods (rotary gian rulers, and the Church. The forts did
hand querns, iron, tile and pottery), and, not form part of a defensive system, as has
through the isotopic analysis of human been argued. It is hard to do justice to the
skeletal material, women. It is speculated detailed arguments set out here but, as Ten
that churches that seem to have been iso- Harkel puts it, the forts’ significance linked
lated were in fact established at places that to different identities existing at different
were already meeting places for multiple scales, and varied across time (p. 257).
village communities. Stuart Brookes’ and Andrew Reynolds’
Orri Vésteinsson‘s paper is of a different “Territoriality and Social Stratification: the
character to most of the others because it Relationship between Neighbourhood and
considers the mindset of medieval Ice- Polity in Anglo-Saxon England” takes a
landers in relation to Norway, a geograph- long-term view of the roles and significance
ically remote polity of which Iceland was ar- of boundaries and how they were marked,
guably a part. He contends that Icelandic successively, by sentinel burials, execution
politics cannot be understood without ap- cemeteries, and what are known as minster
preciating just how much leading Icelanders churches. Boundaries had different roles
were involved in politics in Norway and at different scales of political centralisation,
how much Norway involved itself in Ice- some of which might have a relevance for
landic society, even if the king posed no understanding weak polities in pre-indus-
real physical threat to Iceland. In his view trial societies more generally, while others
Icelanders actually readily acquiesced in are specific to the trajectory of early me-
the idea of Norwegian royal authority and, dieval English history. The paper is under-
notwithstanding the issue that the written pinned by an evolutionary model of polit-
evidence for this is twelfth-century at the ical development, suggesting three phases
earliest, that this was the situation in the of scaling-up of political organisation. Such
tenth century, relatively soon after the start a view develops one of the major lines of
of the settlement of Iceland in the late ninth. thinking about the development of Anglo-
Letty Ten Harkel considers the roles of Saxon kingdoms.
three circular fortifications (ringwalburgen) Wendy Davies’ “Regions and Micro-
on the island of Walcheren in Frisia, mostly Regions of Scribal Practice” uses an alto-
for the ninth and tenth centuries. She ar- gether different way of getting at regional
gues that the superficial similarity in the distinctions, specifically by using the c.
physical appearance of these forts masks 2750 surviving charters –records of prop-
differences in the local circumstances under erty sales or ownership– of mostly tenth-
which they were built and the ways in which century date from the whole of northern
they may have been perceived in the context Iberia, excluding Cataluña (p. 305). Care-
of the fluctuating political and military sit- ful analysis of charters has been a hallmark
uation involving Scandinavian raiders and of Davies’ significant contribution to early
lords, local people, more distant Carolin- medieval history. Here she uses variations in
264 pp. 261-302 Abril 2021 Historia Agraria, 83
■ ■Crítica de libros
the use of certain formulaic phrases to iden- property transactions. Ironically the exis-
tify regional scribal practices. The analysis tence of this knowledge, Escalona suggests,
is nuanced, showing an appreciation for is best demonstrated when a charter is
date, provenance, location of the property vague about boundaries; this knowledge
being exchanged, and the secular or eccle- was in people‘s heads and only rarely writ-
siastical beneficiary. Davies suggests that ten down.
until the mid-tenth century some regions The volume returns to England with
saw local scribal practice outside of monas- Alexander James Langlands‘ “Local Places
teries which was conservative, deriving from and Local People: Peasant Agency and the
late antique practices. [H]ereditary learned Formatio of the Anglo-Saxon State”. Lang-
persons were likely vectors. This practice lands gives a useful overview of the evolu-
was eventually replaced in the tenth century tion of charters as a document type in Eng-
as monastic influence rose at the expense of land but his main contribution is the idea
practices inherited from the Roman state. of what he calls simply a locus. He finds ex-
Álvaro Carvajal Castro examines char- amples of loci which were names of rivers or
ters from León of the ninth to eleventh valleys which he argues are how local peo-
centuries to try to address the difficult ple referred to the landscape rather than
question of what the word villa, or as it is those imposed on the landscape by the
spelled here, uilla. The word clearly had di- needs of charter writers.
verse meanings and cannot be easily de- All-in-all this volume is a significant
fined. The paper‘s conclusion is that it contribution to debates about the way local
meant a unit of rent and tributary man- societies functioned and the way they con-
agement, in other words it was a conve- nected with the larger polities of which they
nient label for remote landlords to use to were a part. It provides routes into the
conceptualise a property. It had none of the many separate, regional historigraphies to
neat spatial, economic or legal sense we which individual papers contribute. The
might like to see. authors are keen to stress the known un-
Given how often Julio Escalona‘s notion knowns provided by their material, not least
of Dense Local Knowledge (DLK) is re- with the eternal problem of archaeological
ferred to in earlier papers, it was good to fi- dating. Not everyone will agree with all of
nally get to read it. In “Dense Local Knowl- it but it demonstrates the vitality of inter-
edge: Grounding Local to Supralocal disciplinary approaches to early medieval
Relationships in Tenth-Century Castile” western European history and the benefits
Escalona argues for the importance of of sustained, comparative approaches
DLK, this being the sort of local, collective which overcome the limitations of national
memory of the landscape and its tenurial historiographical traditions.
history needed for a local community to ex-
plain in writing where a plot of land was. It Chris Callow
could be drawn on by non-locals making University of Birmingham, UK
Historia Agraria, 83 Abril 2021 pp. 261-302
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265Crítica de libros
REFERENCES Exploring Landscape, Local Society, and the
DAVIES, W., HALSALL, G. & REYNOLDS, A. (Eds.) World Beyond. Turnhout: Brepols.
(2006). People and Space in the Middle Ages, MACLEAN, S. (2020). The Edict of Pîtres, Car-
300-1300. Turnhout: Brepols. olingian Defence against the Vikings, and the
ESCALONA, J. & REYNOLDS, A. (Eds.) (2011). Scale Origins of the Medieval Castle. Transactions of
and Scale Change in the Early Middle Ages: the Royal Historical Society, (30), 29-54.
Rebecca J. H. Woods
The Herds Shot Round the World: Native Breeds and the British
Empire, 1800-1900
Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 2017, XIII + 233 pp.
n The Herds Shot Round the World,
I
The book is structured around close
Rebecca J. H. Woods sets out to trace studies of sheep and cattle, in Part 1, within
the rise and fall of British breeds of Great Britain, and in Part 2, in the Ameri-
sheep and cattle in the long nineteenth cen- cas and Australasia. The first three chapters
tury, to explore the concept of native types trace how breeds which developed in par-
of these animals as it changed over time, to ticular localities in Great Britain, often be-
understand their roles in imperial ecologies ing given county names such as Cornish
and economies and to reveal the new sheep or Devon cattle and considered to be
meanings bestowed on what were viewed as native to those places, were “improved”
heritage breeds from the 1970s. This ap- through the eighteenth century. The aim
proach is innovative. As Woods points out, was to meet the demands of new markets as
most studies of animals and imperialism Britain became more urban and industrial,
operate only at the level of species, exam- in particular for more and better quality
ining aspects of the lives and deaths of mutton and beef. Improved breeds like the
generic cattle, sheep, pigs, or chickens. By New Leicester Longwool, developed in the
drilling down to sub-species or breed, eighteenth century by leading agricultural-
Woods is able to draw out the influence of ist Robert Bakewell (1725-95), are followed
culture on how animals were redesigned to as they were taken up across the country,
serve imperial interests, in this cleverly writ- breaking the traditional connection between
ten account. Her explorations of native place and type. The final two chapters ex-
breeds take her from the isolated St Kilda amine these animals as they were exported
Islands in the North Atlantic, to the verdant to Australasia and the Americas, demon-
fields of the English and New Zealand mid- strating how they were managed in novel
lands to the rangelands of northern Aus- climates and topographies to ensure that
tralia and the American West, following the they would continue to meet the expecta-
pathways created by and for British breeds. tions of British consumers for wool and
266 pp. 261-302 Abril 2021 Historia Agraria, 83
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meat. Sustained attention to Merino and Woods shows that these debates reveal
Corriedale sheep and Hereford cattle pro- the tension at the heart of the idea of breed-
vide family histories of the breeds which of- ing as a practice: that the very variability
fer fascinating insights into how opportuni- which enables the creation, or improve-
ties and constraints made these particular ment, of a breed through artificial selection
breeds dominant in specific colonies and also means that that breed will continue to
former colonies, even though they did not change, despite the best efforts of those
enjoy the same level of esteem in Britain. with an interest in keeping it static. This was
Breed was a relatively new term at the important because the stability of a breed
beginning of the nineteenth century, used was central to its desirability and the eco-
to denote a group of animals with particu- nomic value of its members. The example
lar characteristics and containing the con- of Hereford cattle, in which white faces
notation that those shared features were and red sides were successfully entrenched
transmitted in the blood from parent to by the 1840s, demonstrated the value of a
offspring. Woods teases out the complexity clear visual signal of breed, even if other
of beliefs and practices around the respec- characteristics continued to shift. In con-
tive roles of environment (including factors trast with this careful delineation of change
such as soil, climate, temperature, terrain, in British breeds in the nineteenth century,
predation and competition) and heredity in in the text almost all of the images are
making a breed, along with the anxieties of taken from David Low’s Breeds of the Do-
contemporaries about the new “artificial” mestic Animals of the British Islands and
breeds they created. Desirable characteris- show the animals as they were portrayed in
tics like early maturity or fine wool could be a single year, 1842 (this date must be
developed through cross breeding followed sought in the bibliography), rather than
by in-breeding, but could they be fixed capturing change over time.
through the generations or would the breed Demonstrating the book’s wider signif-
need constantly to be topped up with in- icance, Woods suggests that the attention to
puts from the originating types in order to breed in sheep and cattle can be read in
avoid degeneration? If the highly valued parallel with emerging ideas of race in the
features of local breeds emanated from English speaking world of the nineteenth
their experience of place, expressed in the century. She emphasises that the term na-
maxim that every soil has its stock (p. 30), tive when applied to particular breeds was
would they be lost if these animals were not done innocently but always had a po-
reared in new locations? Woods does not at- litical dimension. What it meant to be na-
tempt to provide definitive answers to these tive varied over time and place, and ac-
questions, but reports on contemporary cording to who stood to gain from a beast
discussions, in which equally adamant pro- being considered native or non-native.
ponents of contrary views gave their opin- Early in the period, the concept of native-
ions, based on their practical experience. ness was deployed in Britain to refer to the
Historia Agraria, 83 Abril 2021 pp. 261-302
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267Crítica de libros
livestock of a place which were understood tity posed by waves of immigration from
to have been created there by nature and the former Empire, the protection of her-
were more or less ripe for human interven- itage breeds formalised in the Rare Breeds
tion to improve them. In contrast, in the Survival Trust (est. 1973) allowed for an
new worlds, native was applied to carefully open discussion of the sense of loss and
designed new breeds. Woods takes up the nostalgia for earlier forms of Britishness
example of the Corriedale sheep developed which were not permitted with regard to
in New Zealand from the 1870s, consid- humans. That the Trust was established in
ered a native although their forebears had the same year as Britain’s entry into the Eu-
arrived just decades earlier, and included ropean Economic Community opens the
the Merino, which was suspect in Britain possibility that it could also be a reaction to
because of its Spanish ancestry. Hereford concerns raised by the increasing domi-
cattle were so changed while living in nance of continental breeds such as Hol-
northern Australia and western North steins and Limousins which Woods shows
America as to be referred to as native. Sig- were favoured from the mid twentieth cen-
nificantly, these “native” animals (as well as tury for their suitability to intensive, high
other introduced breeds) played a key role yield production of milk and meat.
in displacing the true natives, the original Reading this book from the position of
human and non-human inhabitants of the an animal-human historian, while animals
Americas and Australasia. were mentioned on each page, I found it to
While in some settings, the term native be primarily a cultural history. Woods did
was reserved for First Nations peoples, in not aim to convey the animal experience of
others, including Australia, it was appro- being part of a breed chosen to feed or
priated by settler colonists, as in the 1870 clothe an empire, but she did show how re-
Australian Natives Association. Woods vealing dealings with animals can be of the
demonstrates how attitudes to nativeness in nature of society. Class was a factor in the
animals were entangled with similar ideas development and adoption of particular
about humans. Just as some believed that breeds, with endorsement from the landed
changes in exported British breeds in new gentry providing higher standing to breeds
locations inevitably meant deterioration, such as the Merino sheep, but not being
there was also a concern that adaptations to sufficient to ensure its widespread adoption
place led to a loss of esteemed British qual- in Britain or the acceptability of its meat.
ities in human emigrants and their descen- Technology is also granted its role, with
dants, even a “creolisation” paralleling the perhaps my favourite section being on how
mongrelisation feared by animal breeders, steamships with onboard refrigeration cre-
if mixing with other peoples occurred. ated temporal proximity, which enabled dis-
Jumping ahead to the late twentieth cen- tant producers to bring their animals’ meat
tury, Woods suggests that in a context of a to the British market, with particular at-
perceived threat to the British cultural iden- tention to New Zealand lamb and mutton.
268 pp. 261-302 Abril 2021 Historia Agraria, 83
■ ■Crítica de libros
Even simple innovations, such as the use of tion with regard to the centrality of meat,
barbed wire for fencing in the American they do not reflect the national diet in the
west in the late 1880s, are shown to have nineteenth century, studies of which have
their impact in permitting greater control of shown that the regular consumption of
the contact between cows and bulls, allow- meat remained out of reach of much of the
ing for more strategic breeding. working class. Woods attributes enormous
There are some assertions made in the power to these British meat consumers,
book which needed tempering or addi- arguing that their tastes shaped sheep and
tional support. Woods opens by saying that cattle breeds elsewhere. This seems likely
British breeds had conquered the world by for New Zealand, still a colony with all of
the end of the nineteenth century, then re- the British investment this implied and
fines this to include only the now developed where, as Woods states, there was only a
world (p. 4). The claim is then further lim- small local market. But even there, al-
ited to indicate that she treats only the An- though Woods prefers to emphasise taste
glo neo-Europes where British breeds and culture rather than economics, she
could thrive (p. 15), rendering their domi- credits the New Zealand and Australian
nance a foregone conclusion. There were Land Company with developing the Cor-
many parts of the British world where riedale sheep. Based in Edinburgh and with
British breeds were unviable because of cli- Scottish principals, their decisions were
mate, disease and pests and others beyond more likely based on profit than any other
it where they were not given a warm wel- motive. That British tastes informed deci-
come because of the same ties of tradition sion making by the American beef industry
and familiarity Woods traces for the British is a greater stretch, with their home market
world, as readers of this journal would be of 76 million by 1900, compared with un-
well aware. der 40 million in the United Kingdom.
Another underpinning assumption of Britain was an important market for the
the book is that the British were particu- United States –Specht (2019: 130) reports
larly large and discerning consumers of that 50 million pounds of beef was ex-
meat, and that this was an essential aspect ported to Britain in the late 1870s– but as
of the national identity. This sets up such with the overall level and distribution of
an unwavering focus on meat that Woods meat consumption, some statistics on the
states that when refrigeration enabled the trade and analyses of them were needed
export of meat, the British Empire was re- rather than just scattered individual asser-
cast as a vast apparatus for feeding Britain tions. While agricultural gazettes, mem-
(p. 6), overlooking the key role of imperial oires and handbooks have been thoroughly
foodstuffs from fish to grain to sugar in harvested to capture the ideas in circula-
feeding Britain over previous centuries. tion, secondary sources which would pro-
While Woods was able to provide many vide context for these particulars could
contemporary claims to support her posi- have been better used.
Historia Agraria, 83 Abril 2021 pp. 261-302
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269Crítica de libros
Overall, The Herds Shot Round the and will be a very useful reference for oth-
World is a valuable addition to the small but ers seeking to explore the hoof-soldiers in the
growing body of historical writing on the great agropastoral expansion of the British
emergence of the global meat industry in Empire (p. 3).
the nineteenth century. Its particular con-
tributions are to recognising the impor- Nancy Cushing
tance of breed in this process, and to un- orcid.org/0000-0003-1204-9840
packing the politics around the use of the University of Newcastle, Australia
term native, as it was deployed to deni-
grate animal types as archaic, to use them REFERENCES
to make claims on new territory and fi- SPECHT, J. (2019). Red Meat Republic: A Hoof-to-
nally to assert an organic connection to Table History of How Beef Changed America.
place tinged with nostalgia. Woods’ work Princeton: Princeton University Press.
constitutes a significant advance in the field
Eve E. Buckley
Technocrats and the Politics of Drought and Development in
Twentieth-Century Brazil
Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 2017, 280 pp.
he acclaimed book Technocrats
T
from it, passing through the creation of a
and the Politics of Drought and government agency specifically to mitigate
Development in Twentieth-Century its effects, the Inspetoria de Obras Contra
Brazil, from the specialist in the history of as Secas (Federal Inspectorate for Works to
science, medicine, and health, with em- Combat Droughts, IOCS) in 1909, and
phasis on Brazil, Eve Buckley, seeks to dis- concludes with the 1960s and the civil-
cuss how the state bureaucracy has instru- military coup, a moment of political-social
mentalized scientific discourse in response rupture that brought other challenges to
to the social problems of northeastern Brazilian society. The narrative of changes
Brazil, and to what extent science can be a in this organization is the thread that leads
solution for the miseries of this impover- to the investigation of how positivist and
ished region. scientific agendas passed through the state’s
The starting point of her work is the sieve, which coordinated the actions of the
Great Drought (1877-79), which, due to its men of science, the technocrats, in this
severity, brought the topic of drought into modernization process. Therefore the
the national debate for the first time. It ad- northeastern area, the so-called sertão, was
dresses the Brazilian northeastern climatic a frontier and a target for the nascent re-
instability and the social problems resulting public’s projects.
270 pp. 261-302 Abril 2021 Historia Agraria, 83
■ ■Crítica de libros
In the first chapter, “Climate and Cul- military status as if they were noble titles. At
ture: Constructing Sertanejo Marginality in the center of this characterization is the
Modern Brazil”, the author analyzes the in- question about the nature of drought: was
tersections between the climate of the it a natural or social phenomenon? The an-
sertão and its culture, investigating how the swer to this question given by the Brazilian
discourse of marginality and poverty con- state was that it was a natural phenomenon.
cerning its populations, the sertanejos, was Consequently, it could be solved through
built. Her work brings together information science without any change in social strat-
about the great droughts, specific climatic ification, and that is where the root of the
and ethnic data, and local culture; offering problem addressed by Buckley lies. How-
the reader information about novels, pop- ever, if drought can be solved with mod-
ular music, and poetry, placing the figure of ernizing initiatives, why has the cycle of
the northeastern man and his attachment poverty been perpetuated? The key is her
to the land even in situations of scarcity and analysis of the federal organ, the IOCS,
hunger at the center of attention. The and professionals involved in attempts to
paradox between coastal elites and the im- mitigate the effects of droughts in the
poverished sertanejos takes shape in the dis- sertão, in a narrative that brings together
cussions of racial whitening and modern- sanitarians, engineers, agronomists and
ization of the country at the turn of the economists, the intersection of natural and
twentieth century, together with the begin- social factors that conspired to marginalize
ning of the republic. This adds a new layer the sertão’s landless poor in negotiations for
to the stereotypical view of the sertão peo- state and environmental resources (p. 44).
ples as obstacles to modernity and the an- In the second chapter, the author in-
titheses of the project for the future envi- vestigates the speeches of the sanitary doc-
sioned by the dominant strata of society. tors about the sertão, with emphasis on
The sertão was conceived as culturally and Belisário Penna and Wickliffe Rose, of the
climatically doomed. Rockefeller Foundation. These researchers
Buckley’s analysis then moves on to the disagreed about the degree to which race
literature and impressions that Euclides da was a determining factor in the region’s
Cunha’s book Os Sertões printed on underdevelopment. Penna argued in favor
Canudos and the sertanejos episode to again of a public health project to reduce the gulf
take up social-political analyses of the coro- between levels of society and the redistri-
nelismo phenomenon and how this system bution of land encamped by the state,
perpetuated inequalities in northeastern claiming that disease was not purely a bio-
society. Coronelismo is a system perpetu- logical fact but rather a reflection of social
ated by the elites; the powerful men were evils that made the impoverished sertanejos
then named coronéis, reminiscent of the more vulnerable. Rose, conversely, pointed
Guarda Nacional Imperial (Imperial Na- to racial explanations for regional differ-
tional Guard) that awarded local oligarchs ences in the country. For him, poverty and
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271Crítica de libros
backwardness were directly related to color, changes in sertanejos’s working regime. The
so the state should favor immigration of sertão population was then perceived by
Europeans for whitening, instead of pro- the organ and its professionals as partisans
moting a project aimed at the mixed-race of the law of minimum work and unwilling
populations of the sertão. to change during the rainy season. How-
Chapter three brings up the proposals of ever, funds for irrigation initiatives were
engineers to deal with the problem of not as large as they should have been, as the
drought. Buckley argues that the main ini- independence of the sertanejos and the dis-
tiative of these professionals was linked to tribution of small properties threatened the
the construction of dams to accumulate domination of the coronéis and large
rainwater that would be used in episodes of landowners; they were also members of the
drought. However, instead of improving political elite and therefore blocked these
the lives of the sertanejo, the author points enterprises. In the end, there was a double
out that these projects concentrated even resistance to change, both from the ser-
more power in the hands of local oli- tanejos who opposed attempts to imple-
garchies, which had even more land and ment irrigated farming and intensive culti-
water resources. The response of engineers vation, and from the elites who barred
to the sertanejo region’s problems did not attempts to redistribute land, so the re-
touch the power structure of society; they sponses of agronomists to the problems of
did not confront the current order and thus the sertão did not have the success or the
contributed to strengthening it. In order to expected acceptance. The hegemony of the
maintain political elites’ support for the agronomists was not uncontested, there
drought agency, the power game did not al- was still a dispute between engineers and
low engineers to propose initiatives that agronomists. Nevertheless, the result of the
would inconvenience the local coronéis. battle was already given beforehand by the
There is also the profession’s intrinsic ques- leading engineers, advancing in the engi-
tion, with reservoirs and roads at the cen- neering works as the first response to the
ter of the discussion. This framing makes drought problems.
engineers the professionals, par excellence, Chapter six deals with economists’ in-
best suited to solving these problems. Still, terpretation of the issue, thus Celso Fur-
if social injustices were placed at the fore, tado and his proposals for reparation of
their activities would consequently be of historical social injustices that relegated
secondary importance. poverty and helplessness to the sertanejo.
In the early 1940s, engineers lost their The focus then shifted from building dams
hegemony in the organ, and agronomists or establishing irrigated settlements to in-
took their place; that is the theme of chap- dustrialization. For the economist, the most
ters four and five. The author analyzes ini- viable way to correct regional asymmetries
tiatives such as the creation of irrigated was industrialization in the Northeast,
colonies and attempts to implement which would offer new employment op-
272 pp. 261-302 Abril 2021 Historia Agraria, 83
■ ■Crítica de libros
portunities and regional balance in the from the vulnerability of the sertanejos. Un-
country. However, the project was not car- fortunately, the situation has not changed
ried out; Furtado’s plans were mowed in recent decades. Brazil’s political class
down before they were realized, interrupted has declaredly concentrated between two
by the civil-military coup of 1964. and four million hectares of land in the
It is interesting to point out that, besides country (Castilho, 2012). Power and land
presenting an analysis of technocrats and have an intimate relationship that has been
policies concerning the drought, the au- perpetuated for centuries in Brazil.
thor demonstrates how the sertão and the
sertanejo were portrayed in novels, songs, Patricia Aranha
and anecdotes. The research on the ser- orcid.org/0000-0003-3344-2051
tanejo culture blends closely with the po- Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil
litical discourse and initiatives of profes- Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
sionals dealing with the mitigation of the
drought effects. Thus, even the reader not REFERENCES
versed in the culture of this region has a CASTILHO, A. L. (2012). Partido da Terra: como os
complete idea of how national interpreta- políticos conquistam o território brasileiro. São
tions of the sertão affected public policy Paulo: Contexto.
and vice versa. CUNHA, E. DA (1902). Os Sertões. Rio de Janeiro:
When reading the book, the popular Laemmert.
saying the road to hell is paved with good in-
tentions always springs to mind. Sanitarians,
engineers, agronomists, and economists
generally had a genuine desire to improve
the living conditions of the sertanejos. How-
ever, they were barred by the bond be-
tween social stratification, politics and land
ownership, the profound social inequali-
ties, and interests linked to their social class
and profession. After all, these men of sci-
ence were distant from the impoverished
population of the sertão. Science could un-
doubtedly have beneficial effects for the
improvement of life, but removing its po-
litical character also emptied its potential.
Buckley’s analysis ends up highlighting that
drought, more than a climatic or natural
fact, was a political project to maintain the
power of local oligarchies, which profited
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273Crítica de libros
Kristy Leissle
Cocoa
Medford, Polity Press, 2018, 228 pp.
T
his book offers a comprehensive ney from an isolated Mesoamerican crop to
overview of the cocoa and choco- one of the globe’s most heavily traded com-
late trade. By combining fifteen modities. The first section discusses co-
years of personal research and fieldwork, coa’s early history and relies on the writings
with a wide sampling of multidisciplinary of previous studies like Clarence-Smith
scholarship and critical insight into the in- (2000), and Coe and Coe (2013). Building
dustry itself, Leissle has crafted a masterful of these scholars, Leissle describes how co-
narrative that explores the history, socio- coa’s taste, preparation, consumption, and
politics, economics and science behind one religious, economic and social meanings
of the world’s most beloved, and at times were forever altered once the beans en-
controversial, commodities. Leissle’s cen- tered European society. The chapter also
tral purpose is to take a close look at power provides detail about the rise of bulk in-
relationships […] across the supply chain to dustrial processing, and how the creation of
show that neither “global” nor “cocoa”, nor chocolate candy in the nineteenth century
“trade” has a sole definition or meaning (p. led to the further alienation of cocoa from
2). Building on this theme, the book’s eight its geographic and social origins. Finally,
chapters collectively argue that commodity Leissle explains how Europe’s increasing
markets are not simply value-neutral eco- demand for cocoa and desire for cheap
nomic channels through which raw mate- market prices fostered rapid cultivation in
rials pass; but also socially constructed en- West Africa during the late nineteenth and
tities that reflect and shape hierarchies, twentieth centuries. Here Leissle’s personal
norms, and identities on issues like gender, connections, and professional knowledge,
race, age, class, nationality and ethnicity regarding Ghana and the Ivory Coast, al-
(p. 3). The book is largely successfully in ac- low her to daftly unpack the ways that co-
complishing these ambitious goals due to coa altered nearly every aspect of these so-
Leissle’s thought-provoking questions on cieties (patterns of land distribution, labor
several micro and macro level topics in- practices, gender relationships, business
cluding the crop’s Mesoamerican origins, transactions, etc). In sum, this chapter
imperial legacies, child labor, farmer shows how historical events shifted and so-
poverty, grinding monopolies, genetics, lidified cocoa’s status from a culturally sig-
market liberalization, environmental sus- nificant object in its own rite to a raw ma-
tainably and Fairtrade, organic, and flavor terial primarily associated with industrial
certifications. chocolate production.
Chapter two (which follows the intro- Chapters three examines both historical
duction) examines cocoa’s historical jour- and contemporary factors that help us un-
274 pp. 261-302 Abril 2021 Historia Agraria, 83
■ ■Crítica de libros
derstand why […] cocoa exporting countries chocolate goods, is a vital process in the
–and the farmers within them– have been supply chain, but that the companies in-
alienated from the processes that turns cocoa volved are relatively unknown outside of
[…] into chocolate (p. 47). Here Leissle un- the industry. She then proceeds to build a
packs the expensive, complex and multi- convincing argument that the invisible sta-
stage process needed to prepare cocoa for tus of these grinders is part of a deliberate
chocolate manufacture; and how inconsis- strategy to avoid public criticisms over con-
tences can create anomalies in color, flavor, troversies like child labor or farmer poverty,
and texture that reduce market value or while also remaining true power players in
consumer appeal. The chapter also dis- the trade (p. 76). This chapter also shows
cusses the colonial origins of tariffs and how weather patterns, military conflicts,
taxes and how they continue to impact the futures trading, and even unexpected
geography of value addition and industrial events like Brexit, influence yearly cocoa
manufacturing. Indeed, Leissle suggests supply and demand, and by proxy market
that much of the contemporary spatial con- prices. Finally, Leissle turns to her own re-
figuration of cocoa processing is the con- search in West Africa and the outcome of
sequence of lingering imperial power dy- market liberalization on prices and trading
namics, which initially sought to keep raw patterns. In particular, she compares the
material production in the colonies and neighboring countries of Cote d’Ivoire (a
value-adding industrial processes within fully liberalized market with naked global
the metropole. prices), and Ghana (a partially liberalized
Chapter four continues to examine the market with Government subsidized fixed
intricate systems that enable so few com- prices). Through this comparative discus-
panies to control most of the industry by sion of two of the world’s largest cocoa
pointing out that no force operates in a vac- producing nations, Leissle reveals several
uum (p. 72). To contextualize this point, emergent consequences. One of the more
Leissle discusses the branding techniques fascinating results is the way that smug-
of Mars, Mondelez, Ferrero, Nestle and gling patterns change from year to year de-
Hershey. She argues that over time these pending on the prices available in each
companies have used creative and distinct country.
packaging, shapes, colors and flavors to In chapter five the book shifts its focus
create ubiquity between their products and to examine the impact that trading prac-
chocolate itself in the minds of consumers. tices have on farmers’ everyday lives, or
Moreover, the chapter exposes the near what Leissle calls economics on the ground
monopolization of cocoa grinding by three (p. 102). The exploration in this chapter is
major companies (Barry Callebaut, Cargill one of the book’s most important and in-
and Olam). Leissle writes that grinding, teresting contributions to the field. The key
which produces the cocoa liquors, pow- idea is that generalizations about average
ders, and butters used to make finished cocoa farmers simply do not reflect or ex-
Historia Agraria, 83 Abril 2021 pp. 261-302
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275Crítica de libros
ist in reality (p. 102). Instead, Leissle argues other market forces and players that are of-
for a vision of producer communities that ten equally to blame. Instead, Leissle seeks
take into account unique socio-spatial lo- long-term, holistic reforms, that consider
cations and conditions. These factors in- how a wide range of issues, from colonial
clude everything from cultural values and legacies, to the complexity of farming com-
practices, to the use of familial labor, sea- munities, to consumer demands for cheaper
sonal weather conditions at the time of har- and more abundant access to chocolate, all
vest, the quality of drying and fermenta- contribute to the conditions that breed un-
tion, the level of national liberalization, and free child labor in the first place. Moreover,
the manipulation of regional prices by pow- by using anthropologist Amanda Berlan’s
erful industry players. Given these com- extensive interviews with children in West
plex and varied situations, Leissle suggests, African cocoa production (Berlan, 2013),
that cocoa’s market price should move Leissle is able to show that the actual num-
away from western-centric reductionist cal- ber of unfree child laborers is frequently ex-
culations toward a system that accounts aggerated by journalists seeking to write
for multiple non-monetary inputs as well. sensationalized accounts. Here again,
To further prove her point, Leissle once Leissle warns that there are no simple an-
again includes her personal experiences swers to this complex dilemma, but that if
with West African farmers, including inter- any real progress is to be made, we must
views she conducted with Ghanaians. In first learn to differentiate between children
particular, her discussion on the ways that working of their own accord, or within their
gendered patterns of labor disproportion- extended family structures, and those actu-
ately disadvantage women in the industry, ally being illegally trafficked. The remainder
is a sobering but important subject. of this chapter explores the different ways
Chapter six continues to focus on farm- that free-trade, Fairtrade, and direct trade
ing communities through an analysis of four either contribute or lessen our ability to
specific terms surrounding trade justice: fight trade injustices. The discussion of each
unfree labor, free trade, Fairtrade, and direct of these terms, which address the compli-
trade. In keeping with the theme of the cated impact they have on farming com-
book, Leissle not only defines these terms, munities, should be mandatory reading for
but also historizes and complicates their anyone studying cocoa, or other globally
perceived benefits for producers. A partic- traded commodities for that matter.
ular bright spot in this thought-provoking Chapter seven focuses on the history of
chapter, is the discussion on Western Media cocoa classifications and genetics, as well
portrayals of child labor in Africa. Leissle ar- as the modern politics of single origin, fla-
gues that such coverage is often too sim- vor and fermentation certifications. The
plistic, which creates dichotomous images chapter begins with a section on cocoa’s
of powerful chocolate manufactures profit- initial division by the Spanish into three
ing off of slave children, while ignoring categories (Carrillo, Forastero, and Trini-
276 pp. 261-302 Abril 2021 Historia Agraria, 83
■ ■Crítica de libros
tario); and, how they eventually led to sep- doubles as a conclusion that ties the
arate bulk/flavor bean trades. After this in- books themes of complexity, account-
sightful lesson, Leissle discusses the largely ability, and connectivity with a call for
symbolic status of these categories today, continued reform moving forward. Over-
and how more nuanced classifications are all, Leissle argues that true sustainability
being developed. For example, one genetic in the cocoa trade will require every actor
study examined 1,000 cocoa trees and de- in the industry [to] convey [...] that all
termined ten distinct genetic clusters and types of labor deserve attention and ap-
thirty-six sub-clusters with five or more propriate compensation [...] [and] the
specimens (p. 165). This chapter also high- highest possible value on cocoa at every
lights the recent popularity of single origin step, from seed to taste bud (p. 188).
cocoa, flavor certification, and the growing The only real weakness I found in the
craft chocolate industry. On the positive book is, in fact, tied very closely to its
side, Leissle suggests that these initiatives strength –unpacking how each step of co-
invite shoppers to consider the socio-ge- coa’s massive commodity chain impacts a
ography of cocoa politics and economics; broad spectrum of societal elements, across
while also, providing significantly higher multivariant cultural, economic, sociopo-
premiums to farmers who are able to qual- litical and geographic spaces. While this
ify for origin and flavor certification. Yet, massive undertaking makes for a com-
Leissle is also quick to note the limited pelling read, at times the book can also
scope of these initiatives, due to the small move rather quickly from topic to topic as
size of most craft companies, and various a result. This is not to suggest that the text
political and corporate manipulations that feels incomplete; but rather, that there were
keep many farming communities from moments where I wanted to know more
meeting origin or flavor standards, regard- about the content in a certain chapter. For-
less of the quality of their beans. In partic- tunately, Leissle has pre-emptied my desire
ular she argues that Ghanaian farmers, de- for more depth, by including a ten-page
spite producing high quality and uniquely “selected readings” section. Beyond simply
flavored beans for over a century, have listing influential titles, Leissle also de-
been largely excluded as a result of push- scribes their importance to her own work
back from bulk buyers, who want African and place within the larger field. As a
cocoa prices to remain inexpensive. scholar with research connections to cocoa
Leissle’s contributions in this chapter are and chocolate myself, I was impressed with
highly relevant and particularly valuable the comprehensive and multidisciplinary
given the newness, and growing impact, of nature of this list, which acts as the perfect
single-origin and craft chocolate on the companion for the fast-paced nature of the
overall industry. chapters themselves. I will definitely be us-
The final chapter addresses the future ing this resource for years to come in my
of cocoa sustainability. This short chapter own work.
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277Crítica de libros
In sum, Cocoa is an informative and the relationship between markets, politics,
engaging study that is both complex and social dynamics and commodity trading.
deeply reflective of the ways that cocoa and
chocolate impact everyone connected with Ryan Minor
the trade, from farmers, to major manu- orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-5458
factures, to consumers, to the author her- University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
self. Moreover, given Leissle’s expert, yet
equally inviting tone, the book has appeal REFERENCES
for a wide range of audiences (specialists, BERLAN, A. (2013). Social Sustainability in Agri-
scholars, students, industry professionals, culture: An Anthropological Perspective on
and the general public). Finally, given its Child Labour in Cocoa Production in
multi-disciplinary approach, comprehen- Ghana, Journal of Development Studies, 49
sive content matter, and surprisingly con- (8), 1088-1100.
cise format (just over 200 pages in length), CLARENCE-SMITH, W. G. (2000). Cocoa and
this book is ideal for graduate and under- Chocolate, 1765-1914. London: Routledge.
graduate courses, across the social science COE, S. D. & COE, M. D (2013). The True History of
and humanities, that seek a text to unpack Chocolate. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson.
Juri Auderset and Peter Moser
Die Agrarfrage in der Industriegesellschaft: Wissenskulturen,
Machtverhältnisse und natürliche Ressourcen in der agrarisch-
industriellen Wissensgesellschaft (1850-1950)
Köln, Böhlau, 2018, 341 pp.
he agrarian question, debated so
T
ants into farmers. The authors identify
intensely ever since the late nine- agents, institutions and concepts in the de-
teenth century, continues to en- bates over agriculture, and argue that the
gage scholars trying to explain how one of production of knowledge –not technology
the most dramatic societal transformations or economic emergencies– lay at the root
–the shift from an agricultural to an in- of the revolution in agriculture.
dustrial society– took place across Europe In this densely written and carefully re-
without major political and social unrest. searched study, Moser and Auderset ex-
Juri Auderset and Peter Moser’s examina- amine the transformation of agrarian soci-
tion of the production of agricultural-in- eties into industrial states in regard to the
dustrial knowledge from 1850-1950 fills a production and transfer of knowledge. The
gap in our understanding of said process, study focuses on Switzerland, but the pro-
exemplified by the transformation of peas- cess can be applied with some variation to
278 pp. 261-302 Abril 2021 Historia Agraria, 83
■ ■Crítica de libros
other European countries as they devel- torization and mechanization of farm labor,
oped their industrial economies. The book advances in plant-breeding and the intro-
covers the period from roughly 1850-1950. duction of new reproductive technologies as
In the 1850s, discussions first emerged it relates to animal breeding. The book’s
about the backwardness of agrarian society structure follows a chronological under-
and the need for industrialization and standing of the transformation, since one
modernization. Around the turn of the change led to the other: improved book
century, actors and discussants agreed that keeping enabled the modernization of farm
agriculture followed its own laws and re- labor, which in turn allowed for increased
quired special protection. By the 1950s, profits and the investment in farm machin-
however, the discussion took yet another ery. Discoveries and debates in the field of
turn. Spurred by a dramatic increase in genetics around the turn of the century led
productivity, the era of industrialized agri- to experimentation in plant research and
culture posed new environmental and so- breakthroughs in animal breeding.
cial problems that needed to be addressed. Chapter one focuses on farm manage-
For the history of agricultural-industrial ment as the introduction of book keeping
knowledge the late 1950s thus represent a required and produced statistical data on
turning point. The authors’ periodization is farm work and production. Accounting
convincing and goes beyond the more fa- provided a new mathematical language to
miliar markers such as the agrarian crisis in describe agriculture and allowed others to
the late 1870s, the accelerated economic measure, understand and compare farm
transformation after Second World War or work in an increasingly urban and indus-
the beginning of a new European unified trial society. Numbers (not narratives) now
approach to agricultural policy in the late told the story of agricultural production
1950s. With an eye on Switzerland, the and, as its actors quickly realized, also con-
study looks at the actors of transformation, structed agrarian realities, forcing actors
at institutions and practices over time. The to adopt a calculative mentality. Profit mar-
establishment of schools, rural associations gins instead of the sustenance of the fam-
and interest groups in addition to the work ily unit started to define agricultural work,
of scientists and the agency of local and even though both concepts continued to
state players shaped the larger economic coexist in the rural world throughout the
transformation, a change that would not nineteenth century. Moser and Auderset
have happened without the advances of a argue briefly yet convincingly that because
knowledge society. of the new separation of the home economy
Audersen and Moser divide the history from the farm economy, of consumption
of agrarian-industrial knowledge into four and production, the role of farm women
chapters each tracing one major aspect of and their contributions to the family econ-
the transformation: the beginning of book omy became increasingly marginalized in
keeping and farm management, the mo- industrial society, a major change in the
Historia Agraria, 83 Abril 2021 pp. 261-302
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