Preventing Total Ruin in the Countryside?

Famine and Economic Policies of the Estates of Brabant during the Subsistence Crisis of 1740-1741

Abstract

Between 1739 and 1742, hundreds of village communities petitioned the Estates of Brabant for tax reductions during one of the largest subsistence crises of the eighteenth century. This exemplifies the important intermediary role provincial governments like the Estates played, especially in the Low Countries. Yet research on famine prevention mostly focuses on either the local or central levels of government. This article looks at the rural crisis management of the Estates of Brabant between 1739-1742 through their policy decisions and their response to the mass petitioning of local communities. Through geographical and quantitative analysis, it becomes clear that while not everyone was impacted the same, the Estates attempted to limit economic damage above all. At no point was hunger in the countryside their primary concern.