[lbo-talk] Query: best work on enclosure of commons

Gar Lipow gar.lipow at gmail.com
Sun May 19 01:24:36 PDT 2013


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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