Late pre-industrial production and consumption in poor rural households (north-eastern Catalonia, 1750-1807)

Abstract

This paper examines domestic production and consumption in poor rural households from north-eastern Catalonia during the second half of the eighteenth century. Using a database of probate inventories, a criterion was established to determine which of them corresponded to humble households and conduct a comprehensive analysis. The results suggest that at the end of the pre-industrial period, these domestic units had only limited access to land ownership and little involvement in domestic production activities, but their consumption patterns were improving. They incorporated new items related to eating habits, such as spoons, forks, and napkins. This apparent contradiction between production and consumption is discussed in relation to historiographical debates about the Industrious Revolution and the Consumer Revolution.