The social history of agriculture : from the origins to the current crisis / Christopher Isett and Stephen Miller.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Isett, Christopher Mills, author.

Miller, Stephen, 1968- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Agriculture--History--Case studies.

Agriculture.

Agriculture--Social aspects--History--Case studies.

Agriculture--Social aspects.

History.

Genre:

Case studies.

History.

Physical Description:

xvi, 389 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield, [2017]

Summary:

This innovative text provides a compelling narrative world history through the lens of food and farmers. Tracing the world history of agriculture from earliest times to the present, Christopher Isett and Stephen Miller argue that people, rather than markets, have been the primary agents of agricultural change, exploring the actions taken by individuals and groups over time. Analyzing their activities in the wider contexts of markets, states, wars, the environment, population increase, and similar factors, the authors emphasize how larger social and political forces inform decisions and lead to different technological outcomes. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Settled Agriculture: The Ancient Origins of Community, State, and Empire 7

The Founding of Agricultural Societies 8

The Sumerians 12

Ancient Rome 17

Han China 26

Notes 32

2 From Antiquity to the Eve of Agrarian Capitalism: Peasants and Dynastic States 35

Feudal Europe 36

Andean Farming in the Time of the Inca 47

Pre-colonial West Africa 59

Notes 72

3 Agrarian Capitalism in the Early Modern World: Divergence in Eurasia 73

England 74

Tokugawa Japan 83

Notes 92

4 Malthusian Limits in the Early Modern World: Peasants and Markets 93

Early Modern France 95

Late Imperial China 104

Notes 119

5 The New World: Planters, Slaves, and Sugar 121

Notes 142

6 American Farming: Agrarian Roots of U.S. Capitalism 145

Notes 168

7 New Imperialism: Colonial Agriculture in the Age of Capitalism 171

Africa 172

British India 191

Taiwan 198

Notes 207

8 Socialist Agriculture: Collectivization in Three Countries 209

Soviet Collectivization 210

People's Republic of China 224

Cuba 240

Notes 255

9 Late Development: State-led Agrarian Change after World War II 257

France 258

Taiwan 267

Notes 280

10 Corporate Agriculture: Comparing Brazil and the United States 283

Brazil 284

The United States 302

Notes 321.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Isett, Christopher Mills, author. Social history of agriculture

ISBN:

9781442209664

1442209666

9781442209671

1442209674

OCLC:

953708626