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Unenlightened peasants? Farming techniques among French-Canadians, circa 1851

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  • Vincent Geloso

    (George Mason University
    CIRANO)

Abstract

A long-standing item of interest in Canadian economic history is the “agricultural crisis” that apparently plagued the large colony of Quebec during the first half of the nineteenth century. One particularly resilient explanation of the crisis claims that cultural conservatism made the colony’s French-Canadian population reluctant to embrace modern farming techniques developed in Britain and the US. This has been supported through comparisons with the English farmers in the colony. Using data from the census of Quebec in 1851, this paper shows that there was no such reluctance. French-Canadian farmers were no less likely to adopt “scientific” farming techniques than English-Canadian farmers in the region.

Suggested Citation

  • Vincent Geloso, 2023. "Unenlightened peasants? Farming techniques among French-Canadians, circa 1851," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 17(2), pages 341-363, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:cliomt:v:17:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s11698-022-00249-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11698-022-00249-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Vincent Geloso & Michael Hinton & Vadim Kufenko, 2017. "The equally “bad” French and English farmers of Quebec: New TFP measures from the 1831 census," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(3), pages 170-189, July.
    5. Egnal, Marc, 1996. "Divergent Paths: How Culture and Institutions Have Shaped North American Growth," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195109061.
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    8. Geloso, Vincent & Kufenko, Vadim, 2015. "Malthusian pressures: Empirical evidence from a frontier economy," Violette Reihe: Schriftenreihe des Promotionsschwerpunkts "Globalisierung und Beschäftigung" 42/2015, University of Hohenheim, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Evangelisches Studienwerk.
    9. Vincent Geloso, 2019. "Measuring Away the Importance of Institutions: The Case of Seigneurial Tenure and Agricultural Output in Canada East, 1851," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 100(3), pages 897-910, May.
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    12. Egnal, Marc, 1998. "New World Economies: The Growth of the Thirteen Colonies and Early Canada," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195114829.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Canadian economic history; Quebec economic history; Agricultural productivity; Cultural differences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N51 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • N91 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets

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