Le pin de la discorde : les rapports de métayage dans la Grande Lande
Institution:
Paris, EHESSDisciplines:
Directors:
Abstract EN:
Till the middle of the nineteenth century "la grande lande" , heart of the forest of the landes, used to be a country where heathland predominated and economy was based on agricultural and pastoral life. Then occured a methodical planting of pinasters which modified the landscape to a considerable exent and the economy and the social system as well. The already existing share-cropping system, used as a way of development, tended to be extended and, to be, principally, changed with the tapping of the resin. This new resource in raw materials added to the gulf that seperated the forest-owners from the share-croppers. The money rent, which governed the share of the resin, grew markedly prevailing. The combined effect of those two factors led to the point where inter-personal relations between the social partners and the old paternalism gave way to very contrasting and increasingly conflicting relations between these social classes. A very working-class looking trade-unionism helped the resin share-croppers organize themselves over the whole forest. So, the originality of the share-cropping system in the "resin-tapping landes" lies in the fact that the monetarisation generated a great change in the producers' political behaviour and turned the farm-labourers they used to be into all-but-workers. Such is the direct consequence of ancient agriculture based on food-crops and essentially meant for self-subsistence being wiped out by a new economy based on industrial lumbering and essentially meant for the market.
Abstract FR:
La grande lande, coeur de la foret landaise, etait jusqu'au milieu du dixneuvieme siecle un pays ou dominait la lande rase et ou fonctionnait une economie agro-pastorale. Un boisement systematique en pin maritime intervint, qui modifia considerablement le paysage, mais aussi l'economie et le systeme social. L'exploitation de la resine tendit a developper et surtout a transformer le metayage, deja existant comme mode de faire-valoir. La nouvelle richesse accentua les clivages sociaux entre proprietaires forestiers et metayers. La rente en argent qui presidait au partage de la resine devint nettement dominante. Sous l'effet conjugue de ces deux facteurs, les rapports inter-personnels entre les partenaires sociaux et l'ancien paternalisme cederent la place a des rapports de classes tres contrastes et de plus en plus conflictuels. Un syndicalisme au profil tres ouvrier organisa les metayers resiniers sur l'ensemble du massif. L'originalite du metayage dans les landes resinieres reside donc dans le fait que la monetarisation des rapports de production a engendre un changement profond dans le comportement socio-politique des producteurs eux-memes, qui de paysans sont devenus des quasi-ouvriers. C'est la le resultat direct de l'effacement de l'ancienne agriculture essentiellement vivriere et visant l'autosubsistance par une nouvelle economie forestiere a caractere industriel orientee principalement vers le marche.