Society for Comparative Studies in Society and History

Rural Manufacturing in the Rouergue from Antiquity to the Present: The Examples of Pottery and Cheese Author(s): Dick Whittaker and Jack Goody Reviewed work(s): Source: Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Apr., 2001), pp. 225-245 Published by: Cambridge University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2696653 . Accessed: 23/10/2012 07:29
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in RuralManufacturingtheRouergue The to from Antiquity thePresent: and Examples Pottery Cheese of

DICK WHITTAKER AND JACK GOODY
Cambridge University at of of In looking theproduction pottery cheesein thesouthwest France, and the that had we wantto suggest overthelongterm region a muchmorecomrural of than predominantly economy plicated history production itspresent, with The manufacturing processes werelinkedsymbiotically might suggest. working agriin carried by"peasants" out other local activities, wereoften and for of culture a goodpart theyear. on parts over Some ofthese wereexported a largescale to distant products but a longperiodand wereproduced onlyon a commercial, with not pottery a scale. Our data came from local regionin rural approaching industrial an to attempts layout but that both Europeandelsewhere France, they suggest for in a periodisation theeconomy, of of especially terms an age ofmanufactures has too and andwhat beencalledproto-industrialisation, beenmuch rigid have needtobe rethought. has that by Theregion beenaffected thefact theadvanceofindustrialisation led ofthe inthetwentieth has century paradoxically tothede-industrialisation of So in migration itsworkforce. thismanufacregion, resulting thecontinual in a is sense.Whileit dissector hardly proto-industrial chronological turing of associated the producwith idea ofproto-industrial playsmany thefeatures but as example it tion, has to be seennotsimply a forerunner as a widespread in that ofmanufacturing evenindustrial and activity needstobe considered its and centuries. the was a long ownright that Certainly region goes backmany has beenpinned it. on subsistence labelthat often agriculture-a wayfrom a term A recent on by symposium proto-industrialisation, invented Mendels of industries in as this proexpansion domestic only 1969,defines concept "the of tookplace in many non-local markets which parts Europe ducing goodsfor not the and centuries. Often, although always, between sixteenth thenineteenth suchindustries arosein thecountryside, where werepractised they alongside the For this covers period phase, agriculture."' Mendels proto-industrial which
1 OgilvieandCerman 1996:1. $9.50 (? 2001 SocietyforComparative Studyof Societyand History 0010-4175/01/225-245 225

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and for inMarxcalled"theage ofmanufactures," preceded prepared modern dustrialisation. which the There a more is precise ofproto-industrialisation, includes diuse in of out,"orprorect interventionmerchants production means "putting of by and the (looms) viding rawmaterial example, the (for yarn) possibly machinery it whoproneeded produce finished to the goods.Meanwhile, was theweavers and The system "putting-out" a noof was videdthelabour theplace ofwork. to of contablefeature pre-industrial Europebutwas byno meanslimited that for of or tinent, thatperiod, beingcharacteristic exampleof theproduction in in economies practhis printed cottons India.Indeed, advanced pre-industrial for the ticeis an ever-present possibility supplying market. of use which coversvirtually form Thereis another, wider of theterm any of is or Such postdomestic evenlocal manufacture. activity a feature many displays highly a teleoBronzeAge societies, to call thisproto-industrial and to activities of logicalapproach history, to rather referring thegathering like in societies "proto-agricultural." as longrunthey can hunting Perhaps thevery contexts concept less than is helpful. be so regarded, in most but the where suchactiviWe wantto suggest thisis thecase evenin Europe, that of of segments therurtiesgo backa longwayandarecharacteristicsignificant of activities the in al scene.In this paperwe examine types manufacturing two of show these characteristics but countryside southwest France, which both just backin one case to thetwelfth, in theother and which also extend process the marked a purely by peastothe first century Forthis C.E. countryside never was alone,butwas always antsubsistence economy basedon domestic production and commercial. morecomplex, more that French the The argument touches was countryside uponTilly'sthesis national and even international heavilyinvolved production regional, in for He of markets theendoftheeighteenth by century.2 sees theprocesses popuand consolidation necesas lationgrowth, industrialisation, urbanisation state has old His by sarilydissolving ruralsolidarities. argument been criticised of in and to Jones others, region thesouthespecially relation themountainous ern for well MassifCentral, where consumption prevailed production domestic intothenineteenth and networks werelargely limited the to century market it to not was short range.3 Cottage industry,is claimed, an adjunct agriculture, vice-versa. for In this of paperwe engageboth points view.On theonehand, somerurand al products and (wine,cheese,pottery, silver)commercialisation interbackto theRomanandMedievalperiods; can later national exports be traced of from development coal and smelting theAubinbasinnear in the on, apart insilkworm Decazevillein thenineteenth century, there was theprosperous the of in and theCevennes, wineproduction therich dustry theBas Vivarais
2

Tilly1979.

1 Jones 1985:56.

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Villefranchethe Marcillac, silverminesaround of merchants Rodez around and ribbon- laceas and de-Rouergue theLot valley, well as thecommercial for in of employment making theVelay.The lace merchants le Puyprovided and on thousand country workers theeve oftheRevolution, perhaps about fifty handmuchofthiswas On 130,000by 1855; silkoccupiedas many. theother periods cottage the industry. later In of in part, least,theproduct a cottage at of production woollensand canvas,was directed industry, principally textile yarn and but consumption, someworsted mainly local andindeedpersonal at in and interin centres marketed cloth produced thevillagewas finished larger wereexof By nationally. theendoftheancienregimethefabrics theregion the coloniesandCanada.In a to Italy, ported Switzerland, theLevant, Spanish would textile production fewlocalities there weresome signsthatdomestic into of withtheprospect a take-off industrialisation, dominate economy, the Howeverthe shrank thelocality. to butthatdid nothappenand themarket concentrated usedquasiand near production Millauwas more Roman pottery and for pottery export local use, producing methods. workforce, The industrial to appear have establishments individuals, most and the poorest included very or either singly in seasonally, beenshared quitemodest artisans, operating by and The of like smallcooperatives.4 dangers usingterms "industrial" "manude artisans" stressed JacobandLeredde, are by facture" "unmonde petits for their butthescale oftheoperation seemsto warrant use nonetheless.5 from annual transhumance theplainstothemountain Eventhelongstanding of and grazing allowedproduction ryeon the that summer pastures provided from hillswere the farms tookon a commercial aspect.The fatstock lowland the anfor In taken thecitiesofthelittoral slaughter. addition, transhumant to far milk be turned cheese,which couldbe exported and imalsproduced to into "domestic" between proagricultural wide.Therewas a constant symbiosis various of and as aspects commercial duction theexport trade, wellas between the throughout region. activity of MassifCentral a mountainous "theroof theworld," is area, The southern in and has was underpopulated theeighteenth which century, which longbeen in Aveyron presBut (the to plateau, the economy. belowthe marginal thewider is morevibrant. name the the entdepartmental for Rouergue), economy much of Aveyron theSecondWorld after one War, writing the Nevertheless, observer, subsistence ofa agrihasremarked productive uponthetransformation "barely with smallholdand "subsistence culture" thedepartment's economy," peasant Thatstatement needs from smallbitsofpoorland.6 erseking a livelihood out of tobe qualified a recognition therise(andsubsequent decline)ofthethree by and industries-coalmining steelat Decazeville,andleatherworkimportant
4 Vertet on recorded of 1974; Favory1974:100.Amongthehundreds namesof Gallicpotters or benefactors merof dignitaries, not on graffitti, a singleone appears theinscriptions municipal 1974:106). chants (Goudineau andLeredde1986:23. 6 Rogers1991:58,52. 5 Jacob

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of cheesemanufacture Roqueingat Millau-as well as of thelongstanding yearsalongwithagriculture in expanded recent whichhas significantly fort, agriculture did subsistence notcome from But generally. formanyfarmers, employment. by had on own alone:work their plots tobe supplemented outside "in period, in area of As has beennoted theneighbouring ofQuercy an earlier their familandto support ownedenough few century, peasants theeighteenth as heirs."Some worked hiredhands. for lies, muchless to provide all their .workedas weaversforMonmany.. artisans; "Some were also part-time ownedorrentof Only merchant-manufacturers.a minority peasants tauban's werevery suchactivities words, In other self-sufficiency."7 ed enough landfor has Whileagriculture alwaysplayeda predomiof livelihood. part their much the since have in role,developments manufacture also influenced region nant a has in of antiquity, a wholevariety ways.The southwest longknown mixture in scalethat developed theninelarge and not ofmanufacture agriculture, onthe for relations theworkers symbiotic but century, on one whichentailed teenth activities themselves. the and andfor artisanal manufacturing characterishad In thesecommunities, manyactivities twointerconnected then If weresymbiotic. a job was seasonal, wereseasonaland they tics;they for neededto occupythemselves therestof theyear.Sometimes theworkers and other occupations on farms pursued part worked ofthetime their peasants of in Thatis true thesouthwest Francetoday;one farmer therestof thetime. anand to from neighbours takeitto thedairy; willuse histrucks collectmilk Formerly, when workin theoff-season. will engagein some building other weremorelocallybased, occupations and farms weremuchsmaller specialist Manyvillageshad their and opportunities morepressures. weregreater there local people;smallchalkand or employing (tuileries) tannery owntile-factory in deposits thebanksoftheLot and Saint-Perdoux, gravel coal minesaround for work a work part-time forsomeandfull-time provided andtheCele rivers or for with smallholdings thus unemployment peasants up mopping rural few, had until father retired. the on sonsnotrequired thefarm The activities. longSuch occupations might giveriseto somelarger-scale was of Saint-Perdoux developed by exploitation coal around standing peasant richentrepreneurs Figeac andParisin theearlydecadesof thiscentury, from minesof in and it is paralleled earlyactivities whatbecametheextensive by kilometres thesoutheast to alongthesamecoal seam. sometwenty Decazeville, did of area often notgrow the In theeighteenth century local peasantry that on to for ownneedsand"depended trade makeup thedifenough grain their for In digging for hemp. addition, raising grapes wineandcultivating ference," of somepeoplefrom land dying coal on their ownora neighbour's "prevented the of resisted advent external capSome "peasant-miners" strongly hunger."8 of led in italto themines, which the1820seventually to thebureaucratisation
7 Darrow1989:212-3.
8

and by mines havebeenstudied Tayrac Bouyssie(1996). Reid 1985:10.St-Perdoux's

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in work that locality the and growth anindustrial of proletariat. miners The were in supported their resistance thecarters boatmen, and by whowereneededto export limited the amounts coal produced theminers of by downthevalleyof theLot toBordeaux, where was known "Cahorscoal." it as It was also possibleforthosewithtoo little land to work, or temporarily for permanently, wageson other as or farms, artisans, in manufacturing establishments. appliedto bothsexes.The women This whoappear, from archaeologicalevidence Lezoux (Puy-de-Dome) Sallelesd'Aude,to havepreat and dominated theRomanpottery must at sites havebeendrawn from local farms, justas happened in later, the"caves"where Roquefort cheesematured. latIn erperiods, many young menandwomen went serveas "life-cycle to servants," as inEngland. paidlabourer as essential thelarger The was to farm thefarm as wastothesurvival thesalaried of of latter even worker, though many the owned their ownland.9 Etienne in Samson, wholivednearMontauban the1820s,was forced work to part theyearon neighbouring of farms becausehis ownholdingsweretoo smallto enablehimto meettheannualpayments an hy(as that potheque) he hadto maketohisretired in of father-in-lawrespect thelatter'sfarm, use of whichEtienne the had acquiredthrough wife.10 his Even there sharecroppers are today or in (me'tayers) smallholders work thenewwho erfactories Bagnac-sur-Cele farm thesametime.11 of and at Despitethelegislationof 1946-designed to encourage end of sharecropping giving the by a workers greater of in proportion produce, addition assistance takeover to to theland theyfarmed-owner-occupation remained has low and thesize of in farms small, particularlythesouthwest, thereby smallholders seek forcing to other employment.'2 In thepastthere moreof thisnon-agricultural in rural was work areasthan has beenallowedforin many of discussions "subsistence agriculture" "the or modeofproduction." factis often domestic That concealedtoday becauseof local de-industrialisation. Tilemaking tanning, example, and for rewerefirst gionalised, then placedon a national international or footing. Around Figeac, for the of example, local specialist operations earlier century this gave wayto a bigtilemaking outside city. plant nowfallen ruins, the The has into plant and tilesarebeing manufactured a yet on scaleinSpainandItaly. theothOn larger
I Laslett, 1965.InFrance the in mid-nineteenth century, were there four hundred thousand farmersand twohundred thousand sharecroppers, overninehundred but thousand day-labourers and abouttwomillion "live-in" workers (Moulin1991:59-60). Darrow1989:210ff. l In theeighteenth century around Montauban was thesharecroppers worked it who mostof landbutofcoursethey to dividetheproceeds had with landlords the (Darrow1989:213).Peasant of ownership landinthis period lower was nearthetowns, where non-farming landlords couldfind sharecroppers easily. more The units they worked wereonlya fewhectares, evenwhenpuband, lic landwas distributed theRevolution, plotsweresmallandoften poorland(Moulin after the on 1991:12,37). 12 Today theyoung dynamic and either increasingly choosepart-time farming (Moulin1991:198) orthey thelandofthefast-disappearing rent in peasant occupier order takepart agro-industrial to in production (Enjalbert Cholvy1987:480). and

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erhand, successful in a engineering factory it developed thetown; madepropellers during SecondWorld the Warand now makesparts Airbus for Indusin tries Toulouse, which sellsitsproducts throughout world. that But the factorydemands full-time, long-term commitment specialist to work, rather than of part-time employment theearlier kind. Whilesomespecialist work was donebyfarmers, bysurplus or labour from thefarms, other work a seasonaltype of involved individuals shifting one from form employment another. thispaper, of to In however, areconcerned we not so much with interdependence the ofjobsundertaken anindividual houseor by hold (and decisionswereoften based on theneeds of thelatter) of the but symbiosis between different in in occupations thesameregion, which prothe duction thematerial of is outputs interconnected. explore We theseinterrelain tionships two occupational sectorsin the southwest France,oneof thepottery industry La Graufesenque flourished thefirst second at that in and centuries-long sincedisappeared, other-themanufacture cheese,of the of undetermined antiquity, together therelated with leather industries-continuBothbuilt a large ingtoday. up export trade-indeedto someextent were they from export-oriented thebeginning-and hencedependent morethan on subsistence as production wellas on long-distance transport. For theearlier instance stress size andcomplexity whatcouldbe we the of as regarded themanufacturing which couldbe perceived a kindof process, as in proto-industrial production to (referringourfirst definition) Bronze-Age societies, evenifthere often is considerable ignorance aboutthesocial andeconomicrelationships between in producers owners theancient and world.13In thecontemporary instance themanufacture cheese, focusattention of of we on thesymbiotic nature theactivities; of these canshowfor later the we alperiod, we on for though canonlyspeculate them theearlier All ofthese one. activities tookplaceintheenvirons thetown Millauinthepresent Department of of day de l'Aveyron, the The formerly Rouergue landoftheancient (the Ruteni). earwhich was never of in ly siteitself, the was granted status a town, known Romantimes Condatomagus, "market theconfluence," as the of where Tarn the andtheDourbierivers on of meet, thecrossroads atleasttwoage-oldtranshumanceroutes.
POTTERY

for The evidence theindustrial of Millaugoes back production pottery around to thefirst secondcenturies Beginning and C.E. after Roabouta century the manconquest, flourished somehundred it for years, beingone oftheSouthern
13 Nevertheless production this was morethan workshop as manufacturing,Soviethistorians, under influence Marx,insisted describing "Factory" thenameproposed Woolthe of on it. was by ley (1963) andhis successors theNear-East for temple palace societies, itis nowrecognized and in Mycenaeanpalace production during second millenium the B.C.E. In the classical GrecoRoman world, large-scale production always was basedonthe domanial resources rich of landowners,ofwhich Romanemperors the in werethemost conspicuous, collaborated a variety rewho of lationships free with artisans slaves. and

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red ware;thiswas the centres making bright Samianor sigillata for Gaullish distributed the from at produced Arezzoin Italyandhas beenfound originally 14 class ofRoman part of to of north Britain thesouth India. Itforms ofa wider La in of regions Gaul,including developed several wareswhosemanufacture Red of before gave wayto imports African Slip Warein the it Graufesenque, some of in was The secondcentury. pottery manufactureda widerange forms, designs. impressed with decorated ofwhich wereelaborately the tallies of bearing La have From Graufesenque comea number workshop made.Tens of and as namesofpotters wellas thenumbers types vesselsthey in together thesamekiln,which of of thousands plainvesselscouldbe fired are potters Stampsof some six hundred wouldbe used by up to tenpotters. there some are tallies(of which from graffiti judging overthecentury known livingin relawerewell-off, Some oftheproducers fragments). twohundred more but livedmuch luxurious mosaicsandpaintings, most houseswith tively weresmall(onetotwocuwhich villagekilns, In to modestly. contrast normal fire)the "GrandFour" at La in withonlyan external bic metres capacity, had of has which beencloselystudied, a capacity somehundred Graufesenque, of thousand pieces on each firing, from to forty ten cubicmeters, providing Theremayhave been as couldhavebeen sometwelvea year.15 whichthere piecesat thousand twenty-five on as kilns, eachproducing average many fifty to appears havebeenrunby a cocomplex a single The firing.'6 hugepottery factory-type of of with operative bigandsmallpotters, no evidence anyoverall 17 Assisted limited doing slavelabour by structure. or organisation bureaucratic trade a cenfor ware the mass-produced for export theheavy work, potters the and armies Germany Britain; of orders from northern the filling possibly tury, comparative with madeitpossibleto fulfil suchorders thescale ofoperations 18 speed. MediterThe industry based on theItalianmodelofArezzo.Although was B.C.E., as as century the first ranean products reached Rouergue early thesixth of B.C.E. larger quantities Italiangoods,among century from mid-second the the whichwine predominated, began to flowin through portsof southern there existed long, a as other Galliccentres, Gaul.19AtMillau,where, inmany by possibly potintroduced, were new of making, moulds localtradition pottery so the improved that temfrom and techniques ters Italy, aboutC.E. 5 firing the needed imitate to of perature thekilncouldbe raisedabovethe950 degrees
1991:117-9. a map Europe. 15 Vernhet with distribution for Vernhet 1993:112, in piecesproduced forty of by estimated Vernhet six million Vernhet 1991:36.The figure All kiln. of similar that thegreat to kilnsofa capacity a firings yearin fifty assumes twelve years production. constant near-maximum and guesswork assumes this educated is 17 Marichal (1974:100) Favory stables." were "communaut6s that potters not stresses the 1986:19, in of notes mobility potters theEast Gallicworkshops. the 18 Middleton in of after C.E. 120 is explicable terms the declineof demand 1979.The abrupt (1980:190)believes but potteries, Middleton and of contracts Central EastGaullish to transfer state at silver mines Ceilheson theedgeoftheCausses,with of thecluemaylie in theclosure thestate facilities. in reduction transport consequent wineis Tchernia 1986. 19 Gruat of 1993:54-6. The classicstudy Italian
14 16

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followed a Within decadethere Italy. ware of finish Arretine from high-quality fairly aboutC.E. 70 and declining achieving zenith its trade, a mass export as cametoan end,apparently which a after abruptly C.E. 120into localpottery in century. a result a flood, thethird of was to what was Oncethedemand established, allowedtheindustry takeoff with illite, together adethe of an amplesupply good claycontaining mineral the as to the transport bring woodneededfor kilns, wellas plenty quatewater La around wereavailablein abundance All itself. these for ofwater thepottery from couldbe drawn amplewater Clay Graufesenque.20 lay on thedoorstep; the to of and the theDourbie theTarn; largequantities woodrequired fire poton wereto be found thesurin centres theregion at teries Millauandat other upfrom hillsides the the to served transport pinewood hills. rounding TheTarn wet but of at stream, a distance up to some sixtykilometres, onlyduring in to water theriver allowthelogstobe floatthere enough was when seasons, for processing Thiswood was also required artisans rapids. ed overthemany lead and alongthevalleyof theTarn;thatis, gold,silver, themetalsfound into weredistilled branches needles and small In the iron.2' addition, pinetrees' The and shoemakers apothecaries. winegrowers, by much prized sailors, resin overanareaofabout have for by potsneeded woodsmen distillation beentraced Millau.22 around thousand hectares forty the existed between two occupations.23 A measure "complementarity" of months when the during winter from to worked November March, Woodcutters from the April whereas kilnsworked was high, thesap was low andthewater someofthesame to it to September, that wouldhavebeenpossible employ so and but of the not, course, specialists, thelabourers slaves. force: labour MillauandAlbiin thesummer between navigable TheTarnis notnormally ware sigillata centre producing another smaller season,although production cena past down at further theriver Montans, fewkilometres thewine-growing to and at treofGaillac,existed thesametime, was able touse theriver export Engthe including of facing Atlantic, itsproducts parts theRomanempire to South the for land.Theyalso madeamphorae transporting local wine.Other navibut river centres on theGaronne system, restricted Gaullish lay pottery had in roadsusually while meant logscouldbe transportedwinter, that, gability the the the pots. tobe usedtotransport finished Thatwas always case when pots both for ports, export to neededto getoverthewatershed theMediterranean overtherivthe bridge Millaupossessed onlystone and eastwards westwards. Mediterranean the of roadacross plateau Larzacandthe the er;itcarried Roman
20 wareone needed a that (1991:13) estimate to produce kiloof finished and Ambert Vernhet of and twokilosofclay,tenlitres water fivekilosofwood. 21 Ambert Vernhet 1991:12. et 22 of hectares woodwouldhaveprovided that 1993a:117-119,estimated tenthousand Vernhet provethat whilepaleobotanic studies forty years, kilns Millaufor of all enough woodto fire fifty thousand hectares. an theCaussepinecovered areaofaboutfifty 23 1991:13. and Ambert Vernhet

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of export kilometres all. The long-distance in one ports, arduous hundred an on went sigillata ware,therefore, by a land routeto Narbonne theMediterport of or to the it ranean, Fromthere followed sea routes connected theriver for Like therequirement wood, to route theRhone.24 up Arles, join theinland for employment transporters created enormous transport system thisoverland was the industry; likethepotteries, work seabut, as a spin-off thepottery from At traffic. thesystem's the sonal,sinceinthewinter roadscouldnottakemuch kilnsmust of to the of peak,thenumber carts required carry products all fifty numerous moreover, as as havebeenstaggering-perhaps many fivehundred; were to stablehands, and carpenters time-keepers required service muleteers, other roads from Roman the MillauovertheLarzacplateau, roadfrom Apart town westwards the to regional the to through Ccvennes, went eastwards Nimes just in Aubrac. Excavations south Javols the ofRodezandnorthwards towards of haveprovided evidence a Romanroadbuilt ofMillauon theLarzacplateau widened of restored, C.E. century and subsequently at thebeginning thefirst with times several 150 between and250 C.E. Thisunusuandcovered gravel up, warehaveturned wasclearon fragments sigillata of road, which allyrobust of left the for lyconstructed transporting "millions vases"that La Graufesenque of the Just for ports.26 south thesediscoveries sameroad bycart thesouthern Rodez andMillauto theRhonevalley off thereby linking branched to Nimes, andProvincia (Provence). from the pottery. exThe Wecanreasonably other usesfor roadapart expect are by of and the (of from Ruteni Rouergue) documented Roport leather silver carts returning to that suggested many but manwriters, it has beenplausibly the and Millaufrom Languedoc thevalleyoftheRhonewerealso loadedwith for of wouldhavebeenneededin largequantities theconservation salt,which is doubt thesaltroutes leadthat There little periods.27 cheese, itwas inlater as in Roorganised the to Rouergue wereas highly ingfrom Mediterraneanthe the in we prove Although cannot manperiod they werelater theMiddleAges.28 as south finished cheeseswerealso carried is from Millau,there a celebrated that of reference theElderPliny(Natural XI, History 240) to theexport cheese by
Albenque1948:51. piecesofpotthat 111,whoestimates onethousand Vernhet 1993b: from Thesefigures derive a hundred load offifteen and madeup a cart pounds (490 kgs)pulledbytwomules, that kiln tery needed for of the to It each thirty totransport firing. is difficult imagine number carts carts required one On (50 twicea month x 30 x 2 = 3000), as he proposes. thisreckoning, kilnsfiring all fifty day season,anditwouldhaverequired carts hundred wouldhavehadtobe loadedevery ofthedry One graffito the on trip or number theroadto complete round to Narbonne. four fivetimes that in and 1980:188). the (Middleton notes use ofslavesengaged someofthetransport marketing 26 Sillieres 1985. andVernhet 27 Ronan1974;Dausse (1993) givesa general in of in account commerce theRouergue theRosee manperiod. thesaltroute, below. For 28 Thomelin 'salins de Peccais" atAigues-Mortes the 1998:44and49. By tradition important 1998:47). C.E. of century (Thomelin after Peccius,a Romanengineer thefirst werenamed
24 25

them.25

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from Nlmes, which camedownfrom LozereandtheGevaudan the (LesureGabalicoque pagis) intheMassifCentral. Thesecouldhavearrived thecity at either directly downthedrove roads(drailles), which almost date certainly back to thesixth century B.C.E., or from Millau.A Romanmilestone found the at important junction Severac-le-Chateau, north Millau,in 1979 marks of just of theroadlinkwith Gevaudan-Aubrac. the
CHEESE

Cheesehaslongbeenanimportant of product thenorthern ofthe shore Mediterranean, where had someofthesamemarket it characteristicspottery. was as It valuednotonlyfor taste as a wayofconservingseasonalfoodintothe its but a winter and making months, for possible transport other to its areas,suchas the vine-growing regions. There, pastoralism less prevalent cheesecould was and be exchanged wineandother for products. present, region's At the representativeproduct thesheep'scheeseofRoquefort, is production which of constitutes themajor of Aveyron, industry the reaching eighteen tons thousand in 1990and soldineighty different countries. Sheep'smilk particularly is valuable because of itsrichness butterfat, number extractions ricotta in the of of (recuite, curd cheese)which be madefrom whey itsrelative can the and scarcity milk (the of twenty sheepbeingequal in volumeto that one cow). In addition, of there is themultipurpose character theanimal, of which provides woolas wellas hides. Bothmaterials wereneededforclothing, in especially morenorthern climes, andthey formed important an in or export therawstate as wovencloth. of The tradition cheesemaking thearea of theLarzac was certainly in preRoman,theevidencebeingfragments faiselles,theholed containers of for and straining pressing cheese.29 the Whilesuchvesselsmayhavehadalternativeuses,there no reason doubt antiquity cheesemaking thearea, is to the of in including sheep'scheese.Making cheeseis largely Mediterranean steppe a and India phenomenon. preserves consumes) milk yoghurt intheform its as (and or ofghee;theChineseusedlittle no milk, or exceptforthenorthern nomads.30 The cheesesof theNearEast are often closerto yoghurt, whilein Africa the and of making butter cheeseis marginal: in indeed the"earlier" ofcattle set cultures, milk cowswas scarcely the of usedatall,andthat thecase today is among many agricultural It peoplesinWest Africa. was around Mediterranean the that cheesebecamean important ofdietanda method, with item as of butter, pre29 Albenque, a 1948:260, provides brief reference "lo fasello," Occitan to the wordfortheceramic strainer todrain pressthe used and fourmes fromages, there beenlittle de but has systematic study faiselles antiquity, of in which easilyconfused are with passoirsorcolanders. (later) The pottery faiselles Roquefort for weremainly madeat St Jean Bruel,a villagein thevalleyofthe de DourbieaboveLa Graufesenque. complete A Romanpottery faiselle from Rodez is illustrated in Dausse (1993:106). 30 Gouin evidence dried of (1990) produces milkpellets from Indiainantiquity. Chiexported In na,whether a cause or effect thelack ofmilkin thediet, as of are many individuals intolerant of milk products.

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milkthrough winter, serving the whensupplies wereshort. other In words, its manufacture linked thedistinctive was to seasonality European of farming and herding. cheesemaking notonlya question preservation local But was of for it item in consumption; was an important oftrade. The fact that antiquity Romanwriters called attention cheesesfrom general to this area,whether they camefrom or meant thecheeseshadtobe transported that Roquefort not, long of distances. ifthey And werestores valueinthis couldserve meas sense, they dia ofexchange, wellas items exchange, muchthesamewayas cloth as in of served Africa silkandteain China.31 in or is The ElderPlinyalso talksof a goat'scheesefrom asGaul,which often soft known sumedto be "cabecou,"a smallround, usually cheesesometimes Whilethere nomention sheep'scheese, is perfectly is it as Rocamadour. of posto sible,according Albenque,thatsuch a cheese,even a blue cheese,was madein that region, advantage whichwouldhavebeenitslong-lasting the of the Nlmesmentioned Plinywas probably quality. However, cheesefrom by not Roquefort all but rather ancestor the "Laguiole" or "Cantal" at the of and associated withthesubalpine cheesesof theMassifCentral pastures of Aubrac. Thesearecheesesmadefrom milkofcows,formerly the"race the of a breed is the archaic French of d'Aubrac," small, vigorous that probably most in to In closest type theprehistoric longiferons.32 antiquity bos the cattle, being Aubrac was almost an certainly areato which cattle, sheepandpigsweredisfrom widearea,including for a and patched summer grazing Quercy Rouergue, the although practice first is documented in thefourteenth only century.33 Trathe started thejour Sainton de Urban ditionally migration (25th May) andlastAt of ed until 13th the October. thebeginning thetwentieth century sheepwere still than driven totheAubrac, up though fewer before, vineyards taken as had that oversomeofthepasture.34 havebeenimproved Indeed, pasture mayfirst for of suitable themoreprofitable catby thegrazing sheepbefore becoming tle,whilethepigsinturn werefattened thewhey("le petit on was lait")which in for the left overfrom cheesemaking.35 Meanwhile, return pasturing herds, into hard thesummer herders retained milk36, the which madenotonly the they cheese(tome)in theisolated cheesesmentioned above butintounfermented stonehutsor "burons"(also locallyknownas "mazuc"). That cheese was pureed with potatoes makethelocalspeciality l'aligot, dishthat eatto of a was en at weddings unlike was cookedoutside men.37 and, everyday food, by At thebeginning thenineteenth of theseshelters wereconstructed century, ofelmlogscovered with earth turf. about1850they or of By begantobe built
at was Marre1904:20.In the1980sthecooperative Bagnac-sur-Cele stillarranging send to thecattle local farmers of from Lot toAubrac truck the by during summer, the whenpasture was difficult hayandmaizeneededtobe conserved and until winter. 33 Marre 1904:22. 34 On sheep, see thereference 1345toPierre Bourbon, of de citedbyMarre1904:20. 3 Marre1904:94. 36 Marre1904:94. 37 Marre1904:94.
32

31 Albenque1948:258.See also Marre, 1904.

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and with chimney, stories a roof tiles.Nearby a two of werehuts (caves) stone, formaturing cheese(fturmes), the vaulted far possibleandfacing as as north. Todaythemilkor thetome sentto central is dairies be madeintothefinal to product. with As specialist cheesemaking equipment developed was Roquefort, the the overtime. thiscase thecontainers separating curdsfrom whey In for weremadeof wood,without holes.Though they carry nameofftuisselle, the they quite are different the from pottery containers thesamenamewith of holes, found around Roquefort.38 When Monteil published Description dcpcartment 'Aveiron 1802 his du de l in of hecalledthecow's cheeseofAubrac the the after town "Laguiole," nameby which was known thesouth that it in of region. was,he said,ofgoodqualiIt The Dutchcheeseshadbeenamong first the comparable that Holland. to of ty, that to be "industrialised," as wereforan overseasmarket was produced they In and served a very by largemerchant marine navy. Aubrac, too,thecheese of and has increased. numbers proThe became popular, production continually 147 to ducers rosefrom in 1848to294 in 1892,copying, according Crozes,the of which a cheese.39 Thisgrowth was techniques theCantal, produces similar the to achieved partly increasing number cattle by of relative sheepandgoats; in 1830there of and of weretwenty thousand theformer twicethat many the for latter. Cheesemaking provided quicker a return feeding than animals slaughuntil reached climax thebeginning thetwenit at of and rapidly a ter, expanded tieth century. often to eat whatwas left had Hereas elsewhere, producers the themselves overfrom the the making cheeseforexport, as wheatfrom neighbouring just of was often sentto Bordeaux whilethecultivators themdepartment Quercy the of or selves ate maize,buckwheat chestnuts; indeed, inhabitants Quercy wereoften known thepeopleofBordeaux "mangeurs chataignes." to as de This of was common of pattern consumption especially amongproducers sheep's valuedproduct. herders The themselves livedon thescrapings cheese,a more is off cheese"that madeby of (raclures) cheeseor alternatively the"cottage in rebarbe reor heating andsouring wheya secondtime up the (ricotta Italy,
cuite in France), as well as sometimeseating the whey (petit-lait)alone.40 Al-

a though wheywas then foodofthepoor, theendofthenineteenth by century of into itbecamevaluedbythewell-to-do whentheregion Aubrac developed for of a centre ("unestation verte") thetreatment thesick(especially children), on of as wellas for to catering thehealthy account itsgood airand milk products.41
see 3 Marre1904:100-1. On themiloluleforRoquefort Marre1906:97.On aligotsee Marre 1904:101-102. 3' Crozes 1987:30-31. 40 See Dumary thisprodr-icotta also used in southwest is Francefor 1982:179-80.The term uct. 41 Marre1904:28.

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Apart from milk, mainingredient the required cheesemaking salt.In for was themedieval periodsaltcame from salieresalongthecoastbetween the the and Of was Rhone Beziers. specialimportance thelarge-scale exploitation cenin tring thesalinebasinofAigues-Mortes theCamargues, Montpellier, in near which ownedpartly the was and by Templars partly the by Abbey Psalmody. of in It is notwithout relevance thatbefore mechanisation production the salt salinebasinsof theMediteffanean caffied virtually an agricultural was out as at activity smallpeasant by "battisseurs" theirregular periods permitted sea by conditions.42 saltreached This Roquefort wayofMontpellier, by Lodeve and then alongtheRomanroadovertheLarzac.43 The route was protected the by Benedictine AbbeyatAnianeandbytheTemplars theLarzacplateauuntil of thetraffic taken overbyPhilippe Bel, who,when disbanded Temle he was the plars, instituted hated profitable the but gabelle,orsalttax.Thissel d'affinage destined theconservation thefreshfourmes taken tothehigh for of was up pastures muleteers, brought by who backthecheesesalongthedroveroadsto be matured. suchroute between One MillauandtheGevaudan. ran Morerecently,salthas comefrom north boat,via Bordeaux up theLot to Enthe by and traigues. Thefirst definite mention Roquefort of cheesedatesfrom 1070when chara terconfirms donation a "cave" anda farm theseigneur Cornus the to of by of thegreat AbbeyofConques.Thatgift marked beginning a phaseofexthe of of pansion manufacture, during whichthemonks encouraged their vassalsto their a of improve techniques; number religious housesowned"caves" in the ruedes cavesatRoquefort itself. production cheesedeveloped only The of not for external but of One cheese exchange purposes, also forthepayment rents. was taken from eachlottransportedthecavesfor to maturing, be devoted to to local expenses and themaintenance thecastle,whichwas a defensive of outthe lierfor city Millau.In 1411a charter Charles allocated town of of VI the the first at weregranted the appelation d'origine. Similar privileges Roquefort to who Templars, hadestablished themselves La Couvertoirade theLarzac at on Plateauafter First the the and of Crusade, whocontrolled production sheep's milkuntil order was suppressed Philippe Bel at theend of thefourthe by le The to awarded their of teenth century. Kingthen privileges theKnights StJohn ofMalta,whocontinued exercise to them until eighteenth the century. Less reliable sources trace production sheep'scheesein theregion the to of wellbefore first the mention Roquefort theeleventh in A of tells century.legend oftheAbbeyofConquessending Christmas a to at present Charlemagne Aixof of cheesefrom en-Chapelle consisting twomule-loads "mouldy" Roquefort. of As we haveseen,in thefirst century Plinywrote thecheeseexported C.E. from Gevaudan Lozere,andGregory Tours the and a of reports paganceremostill in for cast ny, existing thesixth century C.E., inwhichfourmes cheesewere
42

Thomelin 1998:48.

Aussibal1983:63.Forthesaltroutes, Thomelin see 1998.

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Whether these and of intoa lakeon theborders theGevaudan theRouergue.44 but Millauis unknown, in theninea references cheeserepresentlinkwith to of werestill beteenth the century freshfourmestheLozereandtheGevaudan of process saltbiochemical caves for affinage-the ingsent theRoquefort to ingandmaturing.45 and in is seasonal, between August Cheeseproduction theregion distinctly which of is The during andNovember there no manufacture. length theperiod Around 1750itlasted overtime. has thesheepofLarzacaremilked increased Ist Towards endofthecentuthe for days, seventy-five from May to 15thJuly. and In into was extended August evenSeptember. 1900 rythemilking period moremilk As expanded, February. production themilkstarted coming during the and Aveyron from Pyrenwas needed. wasbrought It from wholeofthe the Thatincrease as Corsica,beginning earlyas December. nees,as well as from the seasonfor caves,was madeposin supply, which extended productive the of the however, mainSoci'te' siblebytheimproved Recently, system transport. ownlocal the producers milk maketheir of to has decided encourage distant to itin instead incorporating Roquefort.46 of sheep'scheeseintheareasoforigin, process, part labour-intensive oftheproduction Milking usedtobe themost of day;a herd on twiceevery of requiring participation everyone thefarm the milking drastiThe of twohundred neededeight milkers. advent mechanical needed.In 1876 an earlier had change established the callyreduced personnel milk rather making than increasingly brought their farmers laiteries, which to of thefresh cheeseson thefarm, todaytheproduction cheeseis entirely and centralised. fear was While Shearing also labour-intensive. sheepdo notnecessarily the of On is for cold,warmweather better theproduction milk.47 theLarzac the mostmilktendto giveless wool.Theirfleeceswereshorn sheepthat provide Ist teamsof shearers; by and by oncea yearbetween June 25th July travelling beenreplaced the having by cloth, 1900thewool was soldonlyfor"country" and for commercial purposes. finer wool ofAustralia America most of the of In earlier times, milking, making cheeseandtheshearing sheepalMilkwasproduced from herds either seasonallabour. belonging waysrequired treatmentthefarms at tofamily farms kept landowners; preliminary or after by out of was or laiteries, fullmaturing thecheese(affinage) carried by the the The was provided by of cavesinRoquefort itself. labour proprietors individual themany whomovedintothecaves as paid labour cabaniersand cabanieres the Onlyin 1842 did somesmallpropriAprilto June.48 during seasonfrom this La cometogether a larger into Civiledes CavesRe'unis; unit, Socie'te' etors was followed others. by pattern later
century. continued until nineteenth the (1948:260) claimstheceremony Albenque around of Roquefort cavesandtheregion of Marre1904:22.The antiquity theoccupation the and (Aussibal1983:17). is attested prehistoric Romanremains by 46 Rance 1989:181;Enjalbert andCholvy1987:483. Marre1906:68. 4 Aussibal1983:47and78. 4
44 45

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Just theimproved as Romanroadshadbeen essential theexport potto of tery, itwas therailways enabled production Roquefort expand so that the of to inEurope. Thecheesetravelled evenfurther afield sea. In theUnited by States somemigrants from Rouergue the the demanded cheese,thussupplementing theinternal market. 1840thecavesproduced In sevenhundred fifty and thouin sandkilosa year; 1900itwas six anda halfmillion. consumers The grew in number that so bothin France andelsewhere cheeseceasedtobe a luxury the availableonlyto therichandpowerful. sameperiod The saw newinvestment of capitalin production, extending enormously capacity thecaves in a the of process hadbegunwith founding theSociete. that the of Itwas therailway, that too, enabled much theRouergue shift of to from cultivation rye(which of gave itsnameto theSegala region) wheat, means to by ofthemasstransportationchalkformaking of limeandlater chemical of fertilisers. what beenpoorfarming So had country changed with enormously the of improvement pasture theproduction higher-grade and of cereals.49 More livestock, couldbe kept becauseofthebetter The sheepas wellas cattle, grass. milk theformer usedfor of was Roquefort, ofthelatter thecheesesasthat for sociated withtheMassifCentral theblue cheesesof theCausses around and Millau.Roquefort becamea globaldelicacy.
WOOL, MEAT AND LEATHER

Theanimal with the associated also herding cheesemaking involved local proof of cessing theassociated products wool and leather. and Weaving tanning hadbeendonein local communities millennia evidence earlyspinfor and of dlesandloomweights commonplace theRouergue. centres spein are But of in cialisation gradually emerged the region.Plinysays thatin his day the and he the Rouergue Quercywerenotedforweaving, though onlymentions of production flaxsail cloth. in had Montauban Quercy a textile industry from atleasttheMiddleAges,importing exporting and wool alongtheTarn. the In seventeenth the fell Enunableto compete with century industry intodecline, but a glish fabrics, in theeighteenth were century experiments madewith new and woollen cloth calledcadis,which was successfully in Brittany Canasold da up until loss of Quebecin 1763.The further the mechanisation English of production the led during Industrial Revolution to a finaldecline.However, the Castres Mazametunder Montagne and Noirin theHaut-Languedoc, and near retooled followed English and the Saint-Affrique Millauin theRouergue of weavers whohadworked Montauban.50 at model, employing many therural The sheepofthelimestone the plateauofLarzac fedthosemillsuntil coming ofmerino woolfrom Australia. was for of Millauitself a centre theprocessing wool from Languedoc going
49 On theroleof therailway thedevelopment agriculture theSegala, thetransport in of of in limefrom Carmaux theintroductionwheat clover, Crozes1986:67ff; theneighof for and and see bouring see Haute-Garonne, Amann1990. 50 Darrow 1989:33,51.

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woolsofMilblackandwhite the century; famous backtoatleastthefifteenth of the throughout fairs medieval and lau, Saint-Affrique Severacwereknown (draps) covers from 1408,produced regulated who Local weavers, were France. wool;both untreated from brown, woolandburrels from white calledblanquets as weresold as farafield Burgundy.51 of types covers were the from hidesofthesameanimals, werederived goods,which Leather has Leatherworking obviously of mainlocal commodity thisperiod. theother sincethefounof centres theRouergue, at beeninexistence Millau,as inother owntanhad and Manytowns villagesin theregion their of dation thesite.52 and century, in theMiddleAges theleather downto thetwentieth neries right of the which ofMillauandSaint-Affrique, was usedfor binding booksamong of and merchants Like to was exported Montpellier.53 makers other things, for working them-leatherworkfullers those and the cloth-including dyers, of and by wereattracted Calvinism madeMillaua centre artisans ersandother was allowed the Like NlmesandMontauban, town in ProtestantismFrance.54 of and under its tomaintain fortifications theEdictofNantes hada measure inthey when that Edictin 1685.From date, of until revocation that dependence the to turned manufacture, richProtestants many from publicoffice, werebarred to Protestant this largely remain factories of andtheowners theleatherworking to has though workforce reverted Catholicism. the day, with a of The produce theLarzac developed specialconnection themaking of of of ofgloves.The flocks sheepkeptforwool or meatconsist adults both to malesaresurplus requirements. milk thedesired is product, sexes,butwhere inof a malesmeant supply softskinsfortheleather of The slaughter young the to a there finds reference tanning one century in Already thetwelfth dustry. that master a of kids,andan ordinance theyear1656 declares skinsofyoung to rabbit; tan how"tocutandlinea coatofwhite needs leatherworker toknow falas rabbits hares wellas tomakeglovesfor and of martens, theskins lambs, deHowever, of with skins smallanimals. the work This conery."55 is delicate the of and this spite expertise theexistence guildsandcorporations, disruption became meant Grenoble that of causedbytheRevocation theEdictofNantes in of The development theindustry for themaincentre glove-making. great for when century, themarket suchitems in placeonly theeighteenth Millautook to attachment "la mode."In 1750Anthe with bourgeoisie's rapidly expanded the and introduced latest from Grenoble elevenworkers toineGuy brought of of At techniques. thesametimetheexpansion thecheeseindustry Roqueavailable. of the increased number lambskins described earlier, fort, These of the from abattoir Saint-Affrique. weremostly obtained Lambskins
52 at the among Romanremains Rodez (Dausse werefound Pieces ofsheep'sorgoat'sleather Gaul to from of to with Pliny'sreference theexport leather 1993:106),whichmaybe associated IX, History 14). Italy(Natural 53 Delmas 1993:132. 5 (n.d.):4. 1990:32. 55 Baillou 1989:14;Jonquet Frayssenge

51 Frayssenge 1990:26;Delmas 1993:133.

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in(megissiers) and by werepurchased a courtier sold to theleather-curers in litres water itsproof twothousand one by stalled theriver, skinneeding was reputation based on the skinsof very Millau's international cessing.56 about weighing at which wereslaughtered onemonth, the lambs, regord, young The suppleskin.57 glovesweremadebothin their exceptionally tenkilos,for to peoplepreferred have somecountry and thefactory inthehomeas outwork; This in reside thetowns. them than work homerather letting at their daughters evenbut the season, thefactory in labour started April after lambing domestic women and work women machines; year-round for to managed provide tually an that proletariat tookpart cameto form industrial this background with rural early in someimportant strikes. of the century manufacture glovesat MillauhadexpandBy thenineteenth of hides.By thebeginning thefolto ed sufficientlyuse all ofitslocally-cured pairs of the lowingcentury production gloveshad risento fiveor six million fifteen million processed and each year, whilethetanneries themegisseries for of the than camefrom lambskilled theproduction Roqueskins-farmore of number lambsbornlocallyeach yearwas onlyabout fort cheese.The total three hundred of less owners), which than (to half million sometenthousand a The skinswereimported. finished skins.The remaining thousand provided Europeand to theUnited to throughout exported Britain, werethen products over thousand in but a States, from peakof 150ganteries 1950,employing five few female outworkers), nowremain. hundred thirty-five workers (including in has in Leather glovesareno longer suchdemand; anycase,production shiftand still are Tanneries megisseries process and ed elsewhere thefactories silent. in any is but leather manufacturedtheregion longer.58 hides, little deserves mention. a of by-product sheep'scheesewhich Thereis one other of three is quarters thelambsthemselves where Roquefort made, In theregions days weredisposedof within twenty-five as agneau de lait.These animals, them who and exby mostly males,werebought local butchers, slaughtered to in of baskets groups twenty, especially the the ported carcassesin wicker This the someweresoldwithin region.59 though and Languedoc theBordelais, is to known locallyas agneaugrisorpascallamb, similar thefamous delicacy, of Romandish of agnello romanoor abacchio,whichis a by-product the with their whenthey descend cheesemadebytheAbruzzi shepherds pecorino howmonths. Production timetables, to flocks thecampagnaoverthewinter of lambs.In 1976,in them marketing surplus the and havechanged, with ever, Janucollected milkbetween the companies villageofSte-Foy, Roquefort thQ up. after the which ewe's milkwas allowedto dry The animals aryandJune, in A in and lambed lateautumn. fewlambs wereinseminated latesummer they meat but are areraisedto replenish flock, therest sold as high-priced after the
56 A me'gissier one whotanstheskins smallanimals. The location MillaubytheTarn of of is was ideal. 58 Enjalbert andCholvy1987:487. 59 Marre1906:58. 57 Baillou 1989:45.

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in beingallowedto feedfora month. that time averagefarm thecomthe At munesoldthemeatofaboutonehundred lambsa year.60 and their Thekilling eating young of malelambs, of processing thehidesinto gloves,thetransformation milkintocheeseare,together themakofthe with ingofwoollen textiles, andparcel theextensive part of of development theproduction Roquefort, of whosecaveslie close to theopenexpanses Larzacon of theone handandtotheancient townofMillauon theother. manufacture The in ofthischeesehas becomethelargest its industry theAveyron; products are exported and wide,and itsconsequences yetmoreextensive, far are feeding intotheproduction glovesandtherealm gastronomy. of of that Thispaperhashadtwoaims.Firstly, indicate evena region apparto as "rural" the as is ently Aveyron today beenmuch has more than centre "suba of sistence" sincetheRomanperiod. agriculture of Large-scale production variof ouskinds involved export goodssuchas pottery cheesetodistant has the and At overmany centuries. thesametime, localactivity anartisanal parts of kindincluding quarrying, mining, weaving transport-has and givenemployment, sometimes to in seasonal,sometimes part-time, peasants theregion, of many of whomgetsomeexperience paid employment either thefarms in the on or of was to workshops others. Production notconfined the"domestic mode," but handitwas rarely on theother the completely separate from land,where work haditsseasonal In there a symbiotic was relation rhythm. other words, between thevarious activities which individual in an tookpart. A similar existed between symbiosis somemajormanufacturing activities; in forexample, Romantimes between the of pottery, wood-cutting, distilling resin theconstruction roads.We knowfrom and of graffiti La Graufesenque at its that pottery production probably associated and were transport confined to six summer months (Aprilto September), muchofthelabourfree leaving for ruralactivities, of including possiblythe making cheese or the tanning of the leather, during rest theyear. of Certainly a later at period another ofinset terrelated activities centred of uponthelarge-scale production sheep'scheese, whichwas accompanied thebutchering very of by young lambs,theproductionofwool andwhich, around Millau,led tothegrowth leatherworking, of at for first partly bookproduction, forglovemaking clothing. later and of The histories thetwoindustries verydifferent. large-scale are The proof for in duction pottery flourished a coupleofcenturies this takregion; having en overitsprominent from role it Arezzo, eventually waytoNorth Africa. gave thatshift Doubtless was due to relative costsof labourand transport, which wouldhavebeenreduced Gaul and againin North in where commerAfrica, cial sea transport provided thegrain was by the ships;after fallofRome,when theseimports Africa ceased,thepottery tradefrom was no longer viable.61 Roquefort that cheese,on theother hand,was a uniqueproduct couldnotbe
60

Rogers1991:65.

61

Wickham 1994:97.

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of depending itdiduponthesupply sheep'smilk, as manufactured elsewhere, growing in but uponthespecialmoulds themanufacturegloves, specifically of sheep'smilkcould to although thecaves.It was impossible moveproduction, a Roquefort cheese from afield. Originally luxury product, be imported further Western Europeand the but circulated onlythroughout region throughout not medieval times the to preindeed world, a network the in which developed from sent day. virtually the Meanwhile coal mining Decazevillehas collapsedwith the of in costsandthe wholeoftheindustry Western Europe, a result escalating as of more fuels. of craft production tiles of convenient, Locally, availability cheaper, the so nowadays andleather also givenwayto large-scale has industries, that than productively it once countryside seemsin somewaysless differentiated has to has farming disapwas. Largeindustry tended moveaway.Subsistence into to ones,leading a with smallfarms the beingincorporated larger peared, loss ofpopulation every yearoverthepastcentury. and into On onehandthemanufacture pottery cheesewereintegrated the of and to but related morewidespread local artithey export trade, on theother In emoften sanalandcraft activities. earlier times pottery- cheesemaking and werenotdetached the ployed local labour a seasonalbasis,so that workers on changed nathe however, suchemployment from land.At thesametime, the ture relationships theland,andthenature local agricultural of to of production. of or see as One might theseactivities classicexamples proto-industrialof in section. But theperias manufacturing production, discussed theopening to is Theseactivities notsimply are forward industriodisation wrong. looking in for not in alisation. own centuries, only theearTheyexisted their right many in Marxsawtheage ofmanufacturesbeginning themiddle as lymodern period. The ofthesixteenth lasting and until lastthird theeighteenth the of century.62 of Industrial Revolution with invention a spinning followed, beginning Watt's and in the of industry theuse of machine 1735,which heralded birth modern too from We these datestobe much as tools.63 haveshown machinery, distinct manufacture of the and we lateandtoo Eurocentric; find developed complex in characterised massproduction at by pottery la Graufesenque theRouergue, of and to inelaborate well-organised transport export thecorners theRokilns, the from first the C.E. manempire, century onwards. Andwe find production to from Arezzoto La Graufesenque then North and of sigillata wareshifting on Africa especially uponthecostoflabourandtransdepending themarket, of that about much the It process hasbrought port. is precisely continuation this in in times. ofthede-industrialisation we find theregion recent that in any sense.Muchin Thisproduction notproto-industrial meaningful was mostofthelabour force. theregion remained probably including agricultural, in industrial its to One is tempted call thelarge-scale commodity production
62

Das Kapital336.

63

Das Kapital371.

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Let with technology. us stick a advanced but wouldsuggest more ownright, that with the at "manufacture,"thesametimeas emphasising continuity theterm on industrialisationthe and fully-fledged on production theonehand, with craft other.
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