When the Enemy is the State: Common Lands Management in Northwest Spain (1850-1936)

Found at: https://hdl.handle.net/10535/9292
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Type:	Journal Article
Author:	Serrano Alvarez, José A
Journal:	International Journal of the Commons
Volume:	8
Page(s):	107-133
Date:	2014
URI:	https://hdl.handle.net/10535/9292
Sector:	History Land Tenure & Use
Region:	Europe
Subject(s):	collective action commons liberalism
Abstract:	"In the 19th century, the Spanish government, led by a liberal political project, put up for sale the common properties of villages, and deprived local village authorities of their capacities, powers and laws to manage common woodlands, which were passed to the Forestry Service. This paper, based on Ostroms hypothesis that state intervention can have negative consequences for the conservation of common resources, is a case study of what happened in the province of León. It is shown that, although the conservation of common resources was endangered because those who were more directly concerned with protecting them were deprived of the means to do so, peasant communities staunchly defended the commons by maintaining traditional practices and uses in their commons."

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