Beyond the margins: how outland farmers contributed to Europe’s growth
The story of Europe’s capitalist development has traditionally focused on urbanised regions, overlooking more distant areas such as western Ireland and inner Scandinavia. The EU-funded OutNorth project sought to challenge this narrative by trialling a more rural-centred approach. Undertaken with the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme(opens in new window), this pilot project suggests that we may need to rethink Europe’s economic transformation between 1400 and 1900. “OutNorth has shown that a lot can be learnt about animal husbandry skills and the environmental knowledge and resilience of ordinary people, if we pay more attention to so-called ‘marginal’ landscapes,” states Eugene Costello, OutNorth project coordinator.
Shifting the focus to Europe’s outlands
The project trialled an interdisciplinary approach aimed at increasing the visibility of upland farming in the wider world of capitalism. By using archaeology, historical research and advanced tools like GIS mapping and digital field surveys, OutNorth has shown it is possible to identify trends in upland livestock farming and land organisation, which relate to wider economic changes. This is a crucial first step in revealing the agency of remote rural communities amidst wider historical change. “An important yet underestimated factor in rural production was the everyday landscape knowledge(opens in new window) and husbandry skills(opens in new window) of non-elite ‘peasant’ farmers,” notes Costello. “The research also showed that, during the Little Ice Age, upland farmers made adaptations to land use to spread risk, such as undertaking small-scale cereal cultivation(opens in new window) as well as livestock rearing.”
Pastoralism in Ireland and Sweden
The focus in this pilot project was on Uíbh Ráthach, a mountainous region in Kerry, southwest Ireland, with western Sweden serving as a comparative case study. Despite their differences – Sweden’s greater seasonal extremes in temperature required more extensive winter housing and foddering of cattle – both regions shared a tradition of cattle farming that relied heavily on the labour of women and young people. Surprisingly, both were also more involved in commercial dairy production than previously thought. OutNorth has helped to internationalise research on rural societies and environments in early modern Europe, setting the scene for more in-depth comparative research across the continent in the future.
Insights for modern conservation strategies
Beyond historical insights, OutNorth offers valuable lessons for contemporary land management challenges. The traditional knowledge documented by the project provides practical ideas for adaptation and risk mitigation in modern agricultural systems. At the same time, the historical record serves as a warning about habitat loss and the consequences of poor land management practices that are still relevant today. “The agency of farmers and rural communities more generally needs to be taken into account when drawing up conservation plans for upland and outland habitats in Europe. Their actions have shaped these environments over time and continued human management is needed,” adds Costello. As Europe faces growing challenges related to sustainable food production, the historical insights uncovered by OutNorth offer important guidance for developing resilient agricultural systems that balance productivity with environmental sustainability in the future.
