bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Confronting Potential Breakdown: the Nigerian Redemocratisation Process in Critical Perspective
Authors: Uwazurike P. Chudi
Published: November 2008

One of the more perplexing problems of democracy in developing countries has to do with their potential for breakdown. In retrospect, at least three dynamics appear relevant in any consideration of how most come to atrophy: first, flaws in the pattern of instauration, involving the design and setting up of the modalities of the régime; secondly, a political process that tends to exacerbate entrenched cleavages such as class, ethnicity, and religion, given their relationship to the distribution of scarce economic and political resources; and thirdly, the events, internal and external, that lead to the onset of an ‘unsolvable’ crisis.
A Balance Sheet on External Assistance: France in Africa
Authors: Grey Robert D.
Published: November 2008

The situation of African states as they enter the 1990s is generally considered to be desperate. Extreme weakness in a number of forms characterises their politics, while their economies are either stagnant or deteriorating. It is not clear what resources are relevant to solving these problems, nor how they will be acquired, although increased external assistance obviously will be needed.
The African State in Academic Debate: Retrospect and Prospect
Authors: Doornbos Martin
Published: November 2008

Questions about the rôle and position of the African state are not new, but today they are being asked with increased emphasis. The reasons for this vary with the position and perspective of the questioner, but they often include a concern about capacity and performance, about styles and orientations of leadership, and about the measure of representativeness and legitimacy which African governments enjoy within the society at large. In short, a strong current of opinion believes that there is a problem with the African state, and this concern has recently led to much discussion as to what its proper rôle is or should be, as well as fostering a variety of proposed and actual interventions by international organisations and consultants to help ‘solve’ the problem.
Black Education and the Dialectics of Transformation in South Africa, 1982–8
Authors: Love Janice , Sederberg Peter C.
Published: November 2008

After yet another period of unrest and spreading resistance among the black majority, the Pretoria régime struck back in February 1988. Seventeen organisations that had manoeuvred precariously on the margins of legal toleration were summarily banned – that is, prohibited from ‘carrying on or performing any activities or act whatever’–many of their leaders were detained, while the survivors were harried underground.
Unities and Disunities in Zimbabwe's 1990 Election
Authors: Sylvester Christine
Published: November 2008

In 1985 the Zimbabwean national election presented voters with a drama of pretence. The Zimbabwe African National Union (Patriotic Front), known as Z.A.N.U. (P.F.), the party in power, issued a manifesto for ‘unity of the working people in the advance of a just Socialist Society’; meanwhile its candidates routinely cast aspersions on (working) people who supported the major rival party, the Patriotic Front–Zimbabwe African People's Union (P.F.-Z.A.P.U.). The latter defensively called for a unified effort to ensure that multi-party liberalism would prevail in Zimbabwe; it then implicitly endorsed most of the principles of social balance through growth with equity which its alleged ‘Marxist–Leninist’ opponents had instituted.
Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité: Aspects of the Eritrean Revolution
Authors: Pateman Roy
Published: November 2008

Eritrea is the site of Africa's longest war, the 29-year struggle for self-determination and liberation from Ethiopian occupation. Its people have the lowest income per capita in the world; but under conditions of great privation, they have built up a society that could prove to be a model for development. Almost all visitors to the areas under the control of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (E.P.L.F.) – land freed from Ethiopian rule for varying periods since 1970 – have commented on the egalitarian, fraternal, and sometimes libertarian nature of Eritrean society.
The Festive Year: Wole Soyinka's Annus Mirabilis
Authors: Wright Derek
Published: November 2008

It was in 1960, the year of independence and therefore a time of celebration and festivities in Nigeria, that Wole Soyinka, after just over five years in Britain (three at the University of Leeds and two at the Royal Court Theatre, London), returned to his native land. This was moreover, according to some sources, a period in which he undertook empirical research into festivities of a different kind, which subsequently supplied a specific input into the ritualism of his early plays.
The Division of Matrimonial Property in Tanzania
Authors: Mtengeti-Migiro Rose
Published: November 2008

For a long time, women's work has not been valued very highly, mainly because of the belief in many cultures that whatever is undertaken in the house is a natural duty and/or act of love for the husband and the family. Indeed, in many parts of subsistence Africa, the heavy duties performed by women in preparing, planting, weeding, and harvesting crops are regarded as ‘domestic’ commitments and hence not serious labour. This situation can hardly be said to be characteristic of only ‘non-developed’ societies, in which patriarchal attitudes are still dominant, since according to a 1985 study, although women make up more than half of the world's population and do two-thirds of the world's working hours, they receive only one-hundredth of the worl'ds property. This state of affairs, however, is now changing, because as women everywhere unite in order to achieve legal, social, and economic equality, the value attached to their work naturally increases.
Monitoring the Development of Democracy: Our Botswana Experience
Authors: Holm John D. , Molutsi Patrick P.
Published: November 2008

During the last four decades, few attempts to establish democracy have succeeded. Many new states in the 1950s and 1960s adopted democratic structures as they decolonised but soon shifted to civilian or military dictatorships. As the decade of the 1990s begins, there is a world-wide demand for democracy because of the poor record of all forms of authoritarian régimes.
Economics and Politics in The Gambia
Authors: Sallah Tijan M.
Published: November 2008

In this increasingly bloc-competitive world, small countries are generally overlooked. Unless, by dint of fortune, they have some strategic resource, or have leaders who are globally vocal and visible, or are able to link themselves to the fortunes of larger political units, they may very well stand to be economically disadvantaged. Located in the drought-prone Sudano-Sahelian region of West Africa, with a land area that spans only 4,361 square miles (11,295 sq km) and a population currently estimated at about 797,000, The Gambia represents the classic case of a small country. It is surrounded on all sides by Senagal, except for its short Atlantic coastline, and extends 484 km inland, varying in width between 24 and 48 km along the River Gambia. Apart from being a geographical Lilliput, it has few natural resources and lacks the type of controversial leadership that commands world attention.
Swaziland: Decolonisation and the Triumph of ‘Tradition’
Authors: Macmillan Hugh
Published: November 2008

Anyconsideration of the process of decolonisation must be primarily concerned with the question of to whom power was transferred. Who inherited the colonial state and how did they establish their claim? The basic thesis of this article is that in order to understand the nature of the post-colonial state in Swaziland it is necessary to look back at least as far as the 1930s, and to trace the roots of Swazi ‘traditionalism’, the ideology which triumphed over competing forms of African nationalism during the 1960s.
The Collapse of the National Road Haulage Company in Tanzania
Authors: Mwase Ngila
Published: November 2008

The post-colonial evolution of the Tanzanian economy has been strongly influenced by public policy, notably since the adoption of the Arusha Declaration in 1967,1 which established the following guidelines:

1. Self-reliance, albeit not self-sufficiency or autarky, since, at least in theory, selected foreign assistance may be the catalyst rather than the basis of development.

2. General social equality, aimed at regional, inter-personal, and rural—urban equity.

3. Socialist and co-operative economic activities, emphasising priority for rural development per se, with a bias towards co-operative work through communal ujamaa villages.

4. Public ownership and control of the ‘commanding heights’ of the economy.
Interpreting Constitutional Change in South Africa
Authors: Stultz Newell M.
Published: November 2008

For more than a decade, the South African Government has tried to suggest that a rethinking of some of the basic tenets of that country's race policy—apartheid—was not only possible, but was actually underway. Starting with the March 1973 appointment of the Theron Commission to look into the position of the then 2·3 million Coloureds of South Africa (persons of mixed-blood), there have by April 1984 been no fewer than three government-appointed commissions of inquiry, two parliamentary select committees, and three President's Council reports—all dealing with such fundamental matters, in addition to the position of the Coloureds, as trade-union rights for blacks, the movement of Africans into urban areas, and—repeatedly—constitutional change.
Ambiguous Consequences of the Socialisation and Seclusion of Hausa Women
Authors: Callaway Barbara J.
Published: November 2008

This article discusses the situation of Hausa women in the predominantly Muslim City ofKano, Nigeria, and speculates upon the possibilities for changes in their status and life options grounded in the realities of their social environment.

A strong trend in feminist scholarship focuses on the cultural aspects of the rôle of men and women, and relates their apparently universal asymmetries to the structural oppositions of ‘private’ and ‘public’ social spheres. In such studies, women are considered to be oppressed according to the extent that they are confined to a domestic life that excludes activities outside the home, which men control. Women are thus deemed to have gained stature, and to have realised a sense of their own value, only in so far as they are able to transcend the ‘private’ sphere and penetrate the predominantly male or ‘public’ world. In this context, a liberated society for women is posited as one in which men are routinely involved in domestic activities while women are free and able to participate effectively in public functions.
Are Things Falling Apart? The Military and the Crisis of Democratisation in Nigeria
Authors: Ihonvbere Julius O.
Published: November 2008

The return of the generals to power following the coup d'état of November 1993 has posed fundamental challenges to the survival of the nation. On the one hand, it has brought out the worst in Nigerian politics: repression, intimidation, violence, corruption, betrayals, and the manipulation of primordial loyalties. On the other hand, it has exposed the nature and extent of the Nigerian political rot, and provided the still weak and fledgling civil society with added strength and legitimacy. Could the resurgence of military rule in Nigeria have been predicted? Could anyone have foreseen that General Sani Abacha would become such an all-powerful President? Was it possible to anticipate the popular protests and bloody confrontations which culminated in the hanging of nine environmental activists in November 1995? What is the way forward for the contending political communities?1
Cecil King, the Press, and Politics in West Africa
Authors: Chick John
Published: November 2008

Therewas a close and continuing relationship between the press and nationalist politics in colonial British West Africa which acquired a new dynamic towards the end of World War II. As the imperial impluse faltered, a younger, more radical African leadership appeared which saw newspapers as a means of carrying their message to a wider political class than that addressed by the relatively conservative pioneers. It had for some time been true that ‘The spontaneous expression of grievances, against this tax or that bureaucratic decision, was built up by a handful of…journalists into a generalized protest against the fact of British authority.’1Now movers and shakers like Nnamdi Azikiwe in Nigeria and Kwame Nkrumah in the Gold Coast began to use the press in a frontal assault on their colonial régimes. Couched in terms ‘verging on joyful vituperation’, newspapers reached out beyond the elite of the cities to rural opinion leaders and the urban poor.2
The ‘Transformation’ of the South African Military
Authors: Kynoch Gary
Published: November 2008

SouthernAfrica has been at war since the 1960s. Following the capitulation of Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front and the acceptance of majority rule in Zimbabwe in 1980, the widely acknowledged root of most of the regional conflict has been South Africa. In defendingapartheid, the régime in Pretoria engaged in a systematic campaign of destabilisation designed to bring its neighbours to heel. Military invasions, raids, sabotage, support of dissident groups, and assassinations were all part of the National Party (NP) Government's ‘total strategy’ that employed violence as a key element in its regional policy to achieve economic, military, and political hegemony. P. W. Botha during his tenure as Prime Minister and President, 1978–89, ‘politically modified the role’ of the South African Defence Force (SADF), as explained by Herbert Howe, and ‘created the military-dominated State Security Council, which effectively replaced the Cabinet and became the centre of national decision-making and official power in the 1980s’.1The result was the militarisation of South African society and a swath of destruction across the southern part of the continent.
Parents, Private Schools, and the Politics of an Emerging Civil Society in Cameroon
Authors: Boyle Patrick M.
Published: November 2008

Whilescholarly cautions are needed as regards both simplistic dichotomies and the subtle rhetoric that converts ‘civil society’ into a new sacred depository for ‘a wide range of emancipatory aspirations’,1frequently pitted against that ‘predatory species’ we call the state,2the view from Yaoundé suggests that questions about social classes are likely to be helpful in any analysis of the complex relationship between state and society in contemporary Africa.
Prospects for the Development of a Black Business Class in South Africa
Authors: Randall Duncan James
Published: November 2008

Thegrowth of business classes in Africa has attracted much interest since the 1980s when, in the context of severe economic malaise, the impact of the state on development was subjected to critical reappraisal.1Out of this emerged a consensus that the abysmal economic record of the 1960s and 1970s could, to a large degree, be ascribed to the debilitating effect of an overstretched and swollen state. Official development thinking took this argument the furthest: at the core of the problem, it was asserted, was the expansion of the state's rôle from the preferred minimalist function of providing the legal and macro-economic regulatory framework for capital accumulation, to a more profound intervention in the productive process. As a remedy, the state would have to be restrained from usurping the primary rôle which the market's invisible hand ought to be playing.2
Relations Between Neighbouring States in North-East Africa
Authors: Woodward Peter
Published: November 2008

In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in international politics in Africa. After the initial post-independence discussion of pan-Africanism the international dimension seemed overshadowed by the concern to account for domestic developments in many new states, and it is this imbalance which is now being redressed. Indeed, it has recently been argued by Robert Jackson and Carl Rosberg that, contrary to the situation elsewhere, Africa's international politics have assumed an order which is sadly lacking in the domestic affairs of many states: ‘At the level of international society, a framework of rules and conventions governing the relations of the states in the region has been bounded and sustained for almost two decades.’ If the contrast between internal anarchy and international order seems somewhat exaggerated, the distinction between domestic and foreign politics appears both conventional and appropriate.
African Military Coups d'État and Underdevelopment: a Quantitative Historical Analysis
Authors: McGowan Pat , Johnson Thomas H.
Published: November 2008

TheAugust 1983 overthrow of Major Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo by Captain Thomas Sankara in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), the New Year's Eve abrupt termination in Nigeria of Black Africa's largest multi-party democracy, and the decision by the Guinean army in April 1984 to remove their party leaders after the death of President Sékou Touré, illustrate two of the most salient realities of contemporary African politics: (1) militarycoups d'étatare the principal form of régime change, and (2) they can happen under any type of political system–a functioning democracy, a personalistic civilian dictatorship, or an already existing military junta.1
Theories of the State in Tanzania: a Critical Assessment
Authors: Stein Howard
Published: November 2008

InFebruary 1967, Tanzania, formed from the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, declared its intention to purpue a policy of ‘socialism’ and self-reliance. In the famous Arusha Declaration, the Tanganyika African National Union called for the Government to exercise control over the means of production and move away from over-reliance on foreign assistance in development. It stressed the need to strengthen agriculture and thereby improve the lives of the majority of the population which earned their livelihood in this sector. Finally, T.A.N.U. called for changes in the party to ensure that it contained only committed socialists. Closely linked to this was a leadership code for senior officals in ministries and parastatals which prohibited them from owing stock or holding directorships in private corporations. Renting out house was also declared impermissible.
The Nature of Afrikaner Nationalism
Authors: Goldberg Melvin
Published: November 2008

Afrikaner nationalism has been analysed from broadly-speaking two perspectives. In the main, the literature has focused on the evolution of a movement rooted in a common history, language, and religion,1 and has traced the roots of a nation-in-the-making back 300 years in South African history,2 before the inevitable flowering of Afrikanerdom in the twentieth century. In contrast to the growth of European nationalism which is linked to the rise of the bourgeoisie, studies of Afrikaner nationalism have tended to neglect the class dimension by emphasising ideology as a unifying force and organising principle. An alternative approach has been attempted by Dan O'Meara who locates Afrikaner nationalism within the dynamic of capitalist development in South Africa, explaining its ideology in terms of its class character, and although his study often lacks subtlety, it stresses factors that have been neglected by the more usual idealist accounts.3
The National Union of South African Students: a Case-Study of the Plight of Liberalism, 1924–77
Authors: Kline Benjamin
Published: November 2008

Liberalism in South Africa has had a history of importence because of its failure to adhere consistently to the belief that when the ‘loss of liberty for non-whites’ occurs, it ‘inevitably meant [the] loss of liberty for whites as well’. Instead, the predominantly English-speaking South Africans who backed this movement have attempted to promote liberal ideals while maintaining their white prerogatives, and have subsequently found the two to be ‘incompatible’.1 As a result, neither the uncompromising Afrikaner Nationalists nor the demanding Africans and revolutionaries have supported liberalism, and those South Africans in the middle have been discouraged by its vacillating nature. The National Union of South African Students is an example of a liberal organisation's inability to solve this dilemma. Initially Nusas concentrated on academic needs, following a ‘students as such’ policy, and then later transformed its ideals into a ‘students in society’ view, becoming socially active in defiance of the Nationalist Government.2
Pirate Capitalism and the Inert Economy of Nigeria
Authors: Schatz Sayre P.
Published: November 2008

Twothese are presented in this article. The first is that since the great surge in oil revenues during 1973—1974, there has emerged in Nigeria an intert economy. By this I mean an economy which has reacted passively to the increased revenues, but which has had no growth-generating power of its own outside of the crude oil-producing sector. The other-than-oil economy has not had any internal ebgine of growth. In support of this thesis, I shall make three points: (1) the growth of Nigeria' economy, apart form oil, has been strikingly small, give the huge increase in oil revenues; (2) even the linited growth rate has been dwindling; and (3) the pattern of the growth that has been achieved suggests a passive response to an exogenous stimulus.
The Rural Development Challenge to the Universities: Safety in Theory or Danger in Practice?
Authors: Belshaw Deryke , Thomas Ian
Published: November 2008

Theuniversities often may seem remote from rural communities, but they continue to draw a proportion of their students from the villages and small towns and, increasingly, a concern for the welfare of the rural inhabitants informs and directs the teaching, applied research, and theoretical debates of many members of staff.
The Anatomy of Japan's South African Policy
Authors: Morikawa Jun
Published: November 2008

What is Japan's basic policy towards South Africa? According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo:

Japan, which firmly supports the self-determination of the African people and strongly opposes racial discrimination, has earnestly desired a solution to the problems in southern Africa.

Japan strongly condemns the continuation of racial discrimination in South Africa and has demanded that the Government of South Africa abolish such discrimination. From this standpoint, Japan maintains no diplomatic relations with South Africa and has prohibited such direct investment as the establishment of joint ventures by Japanese firms in that country. Furthermore it has imposed restrictions on cultural, educational and sport exchanges between Japanese and South Africans, respecting the relevant United Nations resolutions.
The Marxist Origins of Qadhafi's Economic Thought
Authors: Hajjar Sami G.
Published: November 2008

My aim is to provide an exposition and a critical analysis of Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi's economic theory as derived from Part II of his Green Book, and since it is basically an essay of conclusions, sweeping generalisations, and ‘final’ or ‘ultimate’ solutions to man's political, economic, and social problems, my primary interest is to examine his intellectual sources.
Political Money and Party Organisation in Zambia
Authors: Scott Ian
Published: November 2008

Ithas long been recognised that political money is a critical variable affecting the organisation of mass parties. These are dependent on the collection of dues for their survival and vitality, for the payment of their officials, and for the fulfilment of the r^les they aspire to play within their communities. Yet the relationship between political money and party organisation has not been widely studied. In Africa, with one or two provocative exceptions, the field has been barely touched. The reasons for this hiatus are fairly obvious. Parties — and, perhaps, particularly those in Africa — are notoriously secretive about their finances, and even when figures are released, scholars treat them with often-justified suspicion.
Analysing the Ethiopian Revolution: a Rebuttal
Authors: Koehn Peter
Published: November 2008

The Africana section of The Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. XIX, No. 4, December 1980, pp. 685–91, features a ‘cautionary tale’ written by John M. Cohen that is devoted to a critique of published treatments of the Ethiopian revolution. In particular, Cohen purports to show that important data on post-coup food production had neither been consulted nor considered in a previously published study of the impact on the nation's agricultural sector of the radical legal and policy measures introduced by the Derg. He further introduces estimates of food-grain production based on Ethiopian Government and U.N. F.A.O. sources which he finds ‘probably more reliable’ than those cited in the earlier article. On the basis of these official statistics, Cohen then disputes the conclusion that the Derg carried out sweeping land reforms without inducing a short-run decline in domestic harvests. He concludes with a call for ‘more thorough research in government and donor archives’.
Internal and External Forces Acting Upon Disparities in Sierra Leone
Authors: Riddell J. Barry
Published: November 2008

The investigation of African economies has been dominated by two perspectives. On the one hand, the neo-classical or diffusionist position views third-world nations as essentially repeating the same development path as occurred during the historical experience of the now-industrialised nations. This paradigm indicates that the barriers to the advance of these undeveloped economic systems are essentially internal, and that they include issues such as shortages of labour, limitations in infrastructure, and lack of capital savings. On the other hand, while recognising the constraining influences posed by such factors, the dependency or neo-Marxian perspective argues that the constraints posed by the peripheral position of these economies in a world system is of pre-eminent importance. Such contrasts, although greatly simplified, dominate the explanations of the economic difficulties facing African nations.
Muslim Segmentation: Cohesion and Divisiveness in Accra
Authors: Pellow Deborah
Published: November 2008

This is a study of feuding and conciliation, fissioning and fusing, among the constituent segments of Accra's Muslim community. It articulates the argument of legitimacy – to build a new mosque, to choose a new leader, in effect, to direct the group – and in so doing, politically delineates the principle that by excluding rivals it is feasible to gainsay power for one's own group.
Coping with Drought in Botswana: an African Success
Authors: Holm John D. , Morgan Richard G.
Published: November 2008

Since African states began to obtain their political independence almost three decades ago, drought has exacerbated critical problems of social equality. In domestic politics, élites have used their control over food aid to enhance their power vis-à-vis those suffering from declines in agricultural production. Two scholars recently concluded that ‘food-relief programmes…have helped to widen the gap between rich and poor in virtually every country in which they operate’. Internationally, the industrialised states have taken advantage of drought to impose policy directions on affected African states. Often the general public has had to bear the brunt of changes in, for example, the prices of consumer goods and wages.
Running out of credit: the limitations of mobile telephony in a Tanzanian agricultural marketing system
Authors: Molony Thomas
Published: November 2008

Poor farmers often lack credit to purchase agricultural inputs, and rely on their buyers to provide it. This paper considers the effects of mobile phones on traders of perishable foodstuffs operating between Tanzania's Southern Highlands and Dar es Salaam's wholesale market, with a particular focus on the importance of credit in the relationship between potato and tomato farmers and their wholesale buyers. It argues that the ability to communicate using these new information and communication technologies (ICTs) does not significantly alter the trust relationship between the two groups. It also suggests that farmers, in effect, often have to accept the price they are told their crops are sold for – irrespective of the method of communication used to convey this message – because their buyers are also their creditors. In this situation, many farmers are unable to exploit new mobile phone-based services to seek information on market prices, and potential buyers in other markets. Doing so runs the risk of breaking a long-term relationship with a buyer who is willing to supply credit because of their established business interaction. It is suggested that, under a more open system than currently exists in Tanzania, mobile-payment (‘m-payment’) applications should target these creditor-buyers as key agents in connecting farmers to the credit they so often require.
Leaving home and the process of household formation in pre-industrial England
Authors: Wall Richard
Published: November 2008

Le focus de cet article est centré sur le processus selon lequel les enfants quittaient la maison paternelle et s'il existait chez les filles une tendance à partir plus tôt et en plus grand nombre que chez les garçons. Des résultats détaillés sont exposés quant aux caractéristiques du cycle de vie dans deux communautés agricoles et deux communautés proto-industrielles, recensées à des dates variant entre 1599 et 1801. Une enquête plus large indique qu'il était assez rare, quant aux habitudes anglaises, que les fils restent dans leurs maisons paternelles plutôt que les filles. Par rapport aux filles, et à partir du dix-huitième siècle, plus de garçons restent dans la maison paternelle que ne l'était le cas précédemment.
Crime in later medieval England: some historiographical limitations
Authors: Post J. B.
Published: November 2008

On a récemment tenté d'appliquer les techniques modernes de l'analyse sociale à la criminalité et aux criminels des siècles précédents. Cet article expose certains des problèmes démontrés par de telles approches. En particulier, il souligne les dangers de se fonder sur des interprétations insuffisamment critiques des dossiers; il insiste sur le besoin d'effectuer des recherches sur un vaste éventail de sources et de recours légaux, plutôt qu'uniquement sur les dossiers de cas criminels dans les principaux tribunaux royaux; et il préconise un certain scepticisme dans la lecture de l'appareil statistique quelquefois complexe, fondé sur des données éparses et inconsistantes.
Growing old in an urban environment
Authors: Johansen Hans Chr.
Published: November 2008

La structure familiale découvert e dans les premiers recensements danois suggère que peu de vieilles personnes vivaient avec leur conjoint. La plupart des personnes âgées soit conservaient leur propre maison une fois que les enfants avaient quitté le domicile ou bien s'installaient dans des pensions. La vie des individus retraçée et reconstruite grâce à des bases de données, concernant la population d'Odense au dix-huitième siècle, indique qu'il existait également peu de contracts sociaux entre les générations et que les dernières années d'une longue vie pouvaient s'avérer difficiles et pénibles pour ces citoyens qui n'appartenaient pas aux classes plus privilégiées.
In search of agrarian capitalism: manorial land markets and the acquisition of land in the Lea valley c. 1450–c. 1560
Authors: Glennie Paul
Published: November 2008

L'auteur examine l'ampleur et la signification des différences économiques et sociales parmi les métayers d'une région au caractère commercial dans le sud de l'Angleterre au début de l'expansion économique moderne. II relève les tendances quant à l'utilisation des terres, des baux, des loyers, de la rentabilité, de la propriété ainsi que du volume, de la nature et des effets des différents transferts foncièrs. Ensuite l'auteur suit les carrières des acquéreurs de biens fonciers par le détail. Des changements à la fois structuraux et qualitatifs de la propriété foncière se manifestent, souvent sans rapport entre les deux. Les relations entre les différences économiques et socio-culturelles sont complexes. L'auteur suggère que l'évolution récente de la théorie sociale, cherchant à incorporer la multidimensionalité de la vie sociale dans l'Interprétation des changements sociaux à long terme, est de grande utilité pour les médiévistes.
Witchcraft and women in seventeenth-century England: some Northern evidence
Authors: Sharpe J. A.
Published: November 2008

Cet article tente de relancer le problème pourquoi, dans les procès de sorcellerie, tant d'accusations sont portées contre les femmes. Cette connexion sur laquelle notre attention fut vigoureusement attirée par les auteurs du mouvement féministe des années '70, a connu de nombreuses interprétations. Le but de l'article est un examen du problème ‘du bas’, par l'utilisation de témoignages tirés d'un échantillon de dossiers de procès qui donnent des détails sur les accusations dans le Yorkshire pendant le 17è siècle. L'argument majeur est que, même si le régime patriarcal de l'époque livre un contexte pour les accusations et la croyance è la sorcellerie bon nombre de ces accusations de sorcellerie naissent de la friction entre femmes et se rapportent spécifiquement ou globalement à des problèmes féminins, tels l'aire sociale de la femme, son pouvoir et les tensions et jalousies qui se créent è propos de l'éducation des enfants.
Poor children as apprentices in Colyton, 1598–1830
Authors: Sharpe Pamela
Published: November 2008

L'étude présentée ici combine la documentation concernant l'apprentissage des pauvres dans la paroisse de Colyton (Devonshire) et la reconstitution des families de la paroisse pour décrire I'âge et les conditions familiales des enfants pauvres de la ville. Les types d'apprentissage des pauvres correspondent aux circonstances locales, tant de l'offre que de la demande. Jusqu'à la moitié du 18è siècle les enfants étaient mis en apprentissage suite au décès d'un des parents, mais, plus tard, parce qu'ils appartenaient à une famille nombreuse. Le demande d'apprentis change également. Au 17è siècle ils étaient embauchés par des artisans ou des entreprises familiales, mais ensuite, de plus en plus, par les gros fermiers.
Rural family life in La Huerta de Valencia during the eighteenth century
Authors: Pérez García José Manuel
Published: November 2008

Cet article étudie la relation entre la composition des ménages, l'héritage coutumier et l'évolution de la situation démographique dans une région rurale aux environs de Valence au 18e siècle. Une analyse longitudinale des ménages révèle que dans une large mesure le ménage devient tôt ou tard complexe à cause, surtout, de la cohabitation de parents ou d'enfants mariés. La situation économique de la famille est l'élément qui détermine si le ménage devient, oui ou non, complexe. Cependant tout au long du 18e siècle la proportion des ménages complexes augmente, suite à une plus forte fertilité et à la durée plus longue des mariages et cela conjointement à l'échec de l'augmentation du nombre de maisons parallèlement à l'accroissement de la population. Les coutumes de l'héritage, soit sous forme de priorites (en préférant un enfant aux dépens d'un autre), ou sous forme de donation entre vifs encourage également la formation de ménages complexes. A la fin du 18e siècle toutefois, les usages de l'héritage ont changé et delà afin d'assurer le maintien intact des fermes familiales, malgré le changement de la situation démographique. Ces modifications impliquent une augmentation de la quote-part de la propriété en faveur de la veuve, ainsi qu'au profit des fils plutôt qu'à celui des filles. Jusqu'à quel point la recherche de stratégies particulières a obligé les families de s'écarter des lois réglant l'héritage de la propriété a également retenu l'attention de l'auteur.
The guilds ofhomo prudensin late medieval England
Authors: Hanawalt Barbara A. , McRee Ben R.
Published: November 2008

Les corporations de jeunes et les corporations carnavalesques, c'est a dire de l'homo ludens, ainsi que les corporations des métiers ou de marchands ont bénéficié d'une recherche historique abondante, alors que les corporations tant socio-religieuses que celles des paroisses n'ont retenu l'attention que depuis peu de temps. Ces derniéres sont pourtant devenues de plus en plus importantes en Europe au bas Moyen Age. Alors que ces associations bénévoles jouaient une quantité de r^les pour leurs membres ou leurs communautés cet article recherche le rôle qu'elles jouent dans le changement politique et religieux lors d'une période de crise. La période qui suit la peste noire voit des changements radicaux de la structure sociale aussi bien dans les zones rurales que dans les villes. Les corporations sont manifestement des institutions qui doivent jouer un rôle lors d'une révolution (la révolte des paysans en 1381) ou en période d'hérésie (les Lollards); elles peuvent également être des forces de stabilité et de médiation dans leurs communautés. En évaluant leur rôle politique et religieux, cet article étudie l'hypothése de Gabriel Le Bras qui déclare que les associations apportent la bonne entente dans les communautés lorsqu'elles sont accessibles à tous les résidents, elles appliquent leurs statuts et elles autorisent la participation du curé de la paroisse. Si, d'autre part, les corporations créent une oligarchie, elles peuvent contrôler la communauté à leurs propres fins. Nous avons recherché la composition de la liste des membres et les activités des corporations en matiére de religion et de politique. Notre conclusion est la suivante: les guildes rurales ont tendance à rester ouvertes quant aux membres et à être apolitiques et religieusement conservatrices. Dans les villes marchandes toutes les corporations sont religieusement conservatrices, mais dans certaines de ces villes une ou même plusieurs corporations sont formées et elles dominent l'administration de la ville. Ces corporations au nombre limité de membres ne sont pas nécessairement à l'origine des dissidences dans la communauté, comme prédit dans l'hypothése de Le Bras. A cause de la forte accentuation des régles de comportement entre membres, les villes hantées par la discorde s'addressent à la guilde d'élite pour régler les bagarres entre membres à l'intérieur même des structures de la corporation plutôt que dans le contexte de la politique de la ville.
Family and economy in an early-nineteenth-century Baltic serf estate
Authors: Plakans Andrejs , Wetherell Charles
Published: November 2008

Cet essai étudie le rapport entre la vie familiale et la corvée au domaine foncier à servage de Pinkenhof, dans la province de Livonie de la Russie balte au cours des deux premières décades du 19ème siècle. Une analyse du type d'obligations de travail agricole et comment elles sont adaptées par les paysans nous révèle des activités à peu prés les mêmes autant par les propriétaries que par les serfs. Cette etude semble indiquer d'abord que les historiens ont peut-être sous-estimé fortement dans quelle mesure les serfs ont pu utiliser le servage à leur profit, même dans les provinces bakes pourtant réputées plus strides que partout ailleurs en Europe Orientale, ensuite que la façon d'aborder les relations entre famille et économie sous servage, centrée essentiellement sur la personne qui avait le contrôle définitif de la terre et du travail, neglige les moyens qu'avaient les paysans de faire valoir leur propre volonté.
Population turnover and the family cycle: the migration flows in a Catalan town during the nineteenth century
Authors: Cura Enriqueta Camps I
Published: November 2008

Cet article a l'intention d'offrir des conclusions pour les mouvements migratoires qui menèrent à la création de villes industrielles. On y étudie quatre aspects spécifiques de ce processus: les aires de recrutement pour une population urbaine, les étapes du processus migratoire et l'influence exercée par les structures familiales et par le cycle familial sur la décision d'émigrer ou non. La méthodologie utilisée ici permet d'abord de suivre les routes choisies par les migrants dans une région à forte mobilité et de proposer, de plus, des éclaircissements en fonction des états intermédiaires entre travail rural et travail urbain. Elle permet également l'analyse des rapports entre le cycle familial et la possession de biens et le type de migration. Cet article affirme qu'en Catalogne les migrations internes au 19ème siècle sont le résultat d'une stratégic d'adaptation rendue nécessaire par les changements dus à la transition au capitalisme industriel.
Proto-industrialization and proto-industry: the uses and drawbacks of two concepts
Authors: Mager Wolfgang
Published: November 2008

Lorsqu'en 1969, Franklin Mendels propose le concept de proto-industrialisation, il postule l'existence d'un état précurseur de l'industrialisation (en usine), état qui remonterait au 17e siècle. En 1977, Kriedte, Medick et Schlumbohm conçoivent au contraire la proto-industrialisation comme un long processus par lequel la société agraire féodale s'est transformée en capitalisme industriel. Comme ‘processusmodele’, le concept de proto-industrialisation ne fut pas à même de résister aux critiques, quoique sa valeur pour l'avancement de la recherche ne puisse être mise en question. Cet article examine le type d'évolution des industries, nées à l'époque moderne (ou pré-moderne) dans les régions d'industrialisation précoce et ce dans les deux contextes, urbain et rural, sous forme d'industrie à domicile, d'ateliers artisanaux ou de manufactures. Une telle typologie éclaire dans quelle mesure les conditions requises pour une interpénétration du travail industriel à domicile et du travail agricole dans l'économie familiale dépendaient considérablement à la fois du secteur de l'industrie concernée et du produit industriel spécifique.
Local responses to changes in religious policy based on evidence from Gloucestershire wills (1540–1580)
Authors: Litzenberger Caroline
Published: November 2008

Les changements de politique religieuse en Angleterre entre 1540 et 1580 sont spectaculaires et souvent générateurs de conflits. On rencontre tous les modèles de comportements, qui vont de l'ancienne foi traditionelle au protestantisme. Nombreux sont les historiens qui se sont consacrés à essayer de quantifier et de reconstituer la progression de la nouvelle croyance au niveau local. On a de même beaucoup écrit sur l'intérpretation des testaments. Leurs préambules religieux seraient de bonnes sources historiques pour évaluer la piété individuelle et constitueraient – potentiellement – un bon indicateur du niveau de la foi pendant cette période. Il faut cependant se servir des testaments avec prudence et précaution. Des problèmes peuvent surgir, notamment l'impact de l'influence du scribe, la complexité et la variété des modes d'expression de la foi; enfin, un faible taux de conservation des testaments peut conduire à des échantillons qui ne sont pas représentatifs.

Cet article a deux ambitions. II propose d'abord une méthodologie pour l'analyse des testaments qui prenne en considération et compense leurs caractéristiques spécifiques. Ensuite cette méthode est appliquee afin d'examiner l'impact de la politique religieuse officielle sur la piété laïque dans le diocèse de Gloucester. Le résultat de ce travail met en lumière le large spectre des croyances religieuses réelles qu'on rencontre au niveau local, ainsi que le bien tardif succès du protestantisme, au moins dans cette région de l'Angleterre.
Child care, infant mortality and the impact of legislation: the case of Florence's foundling hospital, 1840–1940
Authors: Viazzo Pier Paolo , Bortolotto Maria , Zanotto Andrea
Published: November 2008

Un examen attentif du fonctionnement des hôpitaux pour enfants trouvés offre une des meilleurs méthodes d'évaluation de la qualité des soins donnés aux enfants dans le passé et de l'impact des mesures prises, en matière médicale, administrative ou juridique, dans l'intention d'améliorer les chances de survie des nourrissons et des jeunes enfants. Dans cet article est presentee l'évolution de la mortalité infantile à Florence, dans le cadre de l'hôpital des enfants trouves, depuis le milieu du XIXe siècle jusqu'a la première guerre mondiale, avec l'ambition de jeter quelque lumière sur la question controversée de l'impact des nouvelles législations sur le niveau de la mortalité infantile. II apparaît que, contrairement à ce que l'on avait cru, les restrictions imposées en matière d'abandon des enfants en 1875, en particulier la suppression du tour (cet appareil placé autrefois à la porte d'entrée des institutions pour enfants trouvés qui permettait l'abandon anonyme), n'avaient eu que très peu d'effets sur les niveaux et les tendances de la mortalité infantile à l'époque. Plus tard, cependant, certaines mesures juridiques auront des effets plus marquants et permettront de déclencher un processus d'amélioration de la survie des petits enfants et un déclin irréversible de la mortalité infantile.
The shaming of Margaret Knowsley: gossip, gender and the experience of authority in early modern England
Authors: Hindle Steve
Published: November 2008

Cet article repose sur une étude micro-historique du commérage en Angleterre du XVIIe siècle. A l'époque le commérage est considéré par l'ensemble des contemporains comme une activité notoirement féminine. L'étude du commérage fournit une approche des frontiéres de ‘l’espace social féminin', aussi bien sur le lieu de travail, à la maison que dans le cadre de la communauté au sens large. De plus, il est clair que les comméres participaient à la mise en æuvre d'une ‘opinion publique’, en matière de sujets fort divers, que ce soit sur le plan local ou national, sur le plan privé ou public, ou bien personnel ou encore politique.

Partant de sources à la fois juridiques et littéraires, l'auteur reconstitue les circonstances dans lesquelles les ragots ont pu se former; il analyse le type de reseau dans lequel tel ou tel ragot à circule et le vocabulaire spécifique qui caractérisait chaque affaire et chaque rumeur. En conclusion, une étude de cas, l'affaire concernant Margaret Knowsley, permet de mieux comprendre le processus de mise en place de la législation dans l'Angleterre du XVIIe siècle. II en ressort toute l'influence qu'exerçait la pression culturelle et patriarcale sur l'exercice et le respect de l'autorité.
The demography of a Greek famine: Mykonos, 1941–1942
Authors: Hionidou Violetta
Published: November 2008

Ce travail s'attache à la terrible famine qui sévit en Grèce en 1942. On examine les conditions qui menèrent à un état de famine sévère, quoique généralement ignoré, et c'est l'élément démographique qui fait l'objet de cet article. Faute d'autres données, l'etude est restreinte à l'île de Myconos, qui implique alors une population close, puisque les déplacements de population étaient strictement limitées par les forces d'occupation allemande. Cet élément autorise une étude hors-pair de cette famine, dès lors que la situation permet d'examiner les conséquences démographiques directes du manque de nourriture, en l'absence de cet élément perturbateur qu'est la migration.