The use of common lands in Guipuzcoa at the end of the eighteenth century

Describes the principal uses made of the common hill lands in Guipuzocoa during the last third of the eighteenth century. These consist of the use of timber, pasture and ferns, which were essential resources in the rural economy of the "Ancien Regime'. In this study, reference is made to the conflicts which often arose in rural communities as a result of the unequal participation of the inhabitants in the use of these resources. The omission of the conflictive aspects in most studies on common property has helped create an idealized image of the function which this form of land tenure performed. Even so, it seems reasonable to consider that the common lands played a fundamental role in Guipuzcoan rural society, not only because they enabled the maintenance of the traditional agricultural economy but also because communal practices constituted a basic cohesive element in the social framework of the "Ancien Regime'. -from English summary