Gar,
You perhaps are looking more for data-driven material. But one who
studied the problem carefully was Oliver Goldsmith. You;'ve probably read his
poem, The Deserted Village, which describes the aftermath. (If you haven't
read it, consider this a strong recommendation.)
But also instructive is the dedication which I will paste below.
Goldsmith evidently was getting heat from his patrons and the establishment who
seem to have been denying the problems Goldsmith found. (Denialists aren't a
new breed.)
Gene
Here's Goldsmith:
Oliver Goldsmith's dedication of his poem "The deserted village." First
published in 1770. An earlier prose sketch of the poem may be found in an essay
called The Revolution in Low Life (New Essays by Oliver Goldsmith, ed., Crane).
In the Dedication to Sir Joshua Reynolds, Goldsmith writes: "I know you will
object ... that the depopulation it [the poem] deplores is nowhere to be seen,
and the disorders it laments are only to be found in the poet's own
imagination. To this I can scarce make any other answer than that I sincerely
believe what I have written; that I have taken all possible pains, in my
country excursions, for these four or five years past, to be certain of what I
allege; and that all my views and enquiries have led me to believe those
miseries real, which I here attempt to display .... In regretting the
depopulation of the country I inveigh against the increase of our luxuries; and
here also I expect the shout of modern politicians against me. For twenty or
thi!
rty years past, it has been the fashion to consider luxury as one of the
greatest national advantages; and all the wisdom of antiquity in that
particular, as erroneous. Still, however. I must remain a professed ancient on
that head, and continue to think those luxuries prejudicial to states, by which
so many vices are introduced, and so many kingdoms have been undone."
On May 19, 2013, at 1:24 AM, Gar Lipow wrote:
> I'm interested in two related question on UK enclosure of the commons.
>
> 1) How well were the commons managed prior to enclosure? Was the grazing land
> being exhausted or was it preserved through limitations on use? What about
> forest a nd woods and wood lots used as sources of firewood? Was firewood
> harvested from the same woods generation after generation, or were the wood
> lots being exhausted? What are the best sources on this? Is there controversy
> or is the story I hear that the commons were successful in preserving
> resources across generations widely agreed on?
>
> 2) After enclosure to what extent was grazing land maintained and to what
> extent exhausted? And (for my purposes, more imortantly) to what extent were
> wooded areas that had been preserved as sources of fuel for generations
> exhausted, sometimes just for the wood, sometimes to expand grazing land to
> raise more sheep and cattle?
>
> What are the most rigorous works that answer these question?. If there is a
> serious controversy, what are the best works on both sides? I
>
> --
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