Productivity in arable farming in the sixteenth century: evidence from the Eastern Mediterranean*
This paper focuses on a perennial subject in agricultural history: land and labour productivity and how they evolve during periods of demographic growth. It provides per capita, per worker, and per hectare output estimates from a region in the pre-industrial Eastern Mediterranean and
investigates whether the demographic growth of the sixteenth century brought about a subsistence crisis in Ottoman Anatolia, as many historians have argued. As observed in this study, the evolution of output per worker and per sown area in the Western Anatolian district of Manisa in the early-
and late-sixteenth century lends support to the Boserupian view by revealing a negative association between land and labour produc- tivity. Arable acreage remained largely stable in Manisa over the sixteenth century, but agricultural output nevertheless expanded considerably. While labour
productivity declined as population grew, land productivity increased, facilitating output levels that could sustain a relatively high population density in the region.
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 June 2021
- Agricultural History Review is the leading journal for the publication of original research in all aspects of agricultural and rural history. First published in 1953, the Review reflects the diversity of approaches which are possible in rural history. Its editors welcome submissions in any aspect of the history of agriculture, rural society and rural economy over the past millennium. Whilst it is not concerned with current policy debates, it is interested in considering discussions of the historical dimensions of current problems in rural society and food supply. The Review is especially strong in British rural history, but actively seeks submissions in European and American rural history and has no bar on submissions concerning the remainder of the world. It is also the journal of record for book reviews in the discipline.
Agricultural History Review has an international editorial board. The current editors are Professor P. S. Warde, University of Cambridge, UK, who is responsible for articles, and Dr J. E. Morgan, University of Bristol, UK, who serves as editor for book reviews. The Review is fully peer-refereed.
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