Rural Manufacturing in the Rouergue From Antiquity to the Present

8/7/2019 Rural Manufacturing in the Rouergue From Antiquity to the Present

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Society for Comparative Studies in Society and History

Rural Manufacturing in the Rouergue from Antiquity to the Present: The Examples ofPottery and CheeseAuthor(s): Dick Whittaker and Jack GoodySource: Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Apr., 2001), pp. 225-245Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2696653 .

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RuralManufacturingn theRouerguefrom ntiquityo thePresent:heExamples fPotteryndCheeseDICK WHITTAKER AND JACK GOODYCambridge niversityInlooking ttheproductionfpotteryndcheese nthe outhwestfFrance,we want osuggesthat ver he ong ermhe egion ada muchmore om-plicated istoryfproductionhan tspresent, redominantlyural conomymight uggest. he manufacturingrocesseswere inked ymbioticallyithotherocal activities,ndwere ften arried utby peasants" orkingn agri-cultureor goodpart ftheyear.Someofthese roducts ere xportedn a large cale todistantarts vera longperiod ndwereproduced otonly n a commercial,utwith otteryapproachingn industrialcale. Our data camefrom local region n ruralFrance, ut hey uggesthat or oth urope ndelsewherettemptso ayouta periodisationf the conomy,speciallynterms f an ageofmanufacturesandwhat asbeen alledproto-industrialisation,avebeenmuch oorigid ndneed oberethought.Theregion asbeen ffectedythe act hat he dvance f ndustrialisationinthe wentiethenturyasparadoxicallyedto thede-industrialisationftheregion, esultingn the ontinualmigrationf tsworkforce.o thismanufac-turingectors hardly roto-industrialn a chronologicalense.While t dis-playsmany fthe eaturesssociatedwith he deaofproto-industrialroduc-tion,thasto be seennot implys a forerunnerut s a widespreadxampleofmanufacturingndeven ndustrialctivityhat eeds o be consideredn tsownrightndthat oesbackmany enturies.ertainlyhe egionwas a longwayfrom ubsistencegriculture-a abelthat asoften eenpinned n t.A recentymposiumnproto-industrialisation,termnventedyMendelsonlyn1969,defines his oncepts "the xpansionfdomesticndustriesro-ducing oodsfor on-localmarkets hich ookplace nmany arts fEuropebetweenhe ixteenthnd henineteenthenturies.ften,lthoughot lways,such ndustriesrose nthe ountryside,here heywerepractisedlongsideagriculture."'orMendels his roto-industrialhase,which overs he eriod

1 Ogilvie ndCerman 996:1.0010-4175/01/225-245 9.50 (? 2001 SocietyforComparative tudy f Society ndHistory

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226 DICK WHITTAKER AND JACK GOODYMarx alled"the ge ofmanufactures,"recededndpreparedormodernn-dustrialisation.There s a more recise se ofproto-industrialisation,hich ncludes hedi-rect nterventionfmerchantsnproductionymeans f"puttingut," rpro-viding he awmaterialfor xample, arn)ndpossiblyhemachinerylooms)needed oproduce he inished oods.Meanwhile,twas theweaverswhopro-vided he abour ndtheplaceofwork. hesystemf"putting-out"as a no-table eaturefpre-industrialurope utwasbynomeans imitedothat on-tinent,r that eriod, eingcharacteristicor xample f theproductionfprintedottonsn ndia. ndeed,n dvanced re-industrialconomies his rac-tice s an ever-presentossibilityor upplyinghemarket.There s another, ider se of the ermwhich oversvirtuallynyformfdomesticr even ocalmanufacture.uchactivitys a featurefmany ost-BronzeAge societies, nd tocall this roto-industrialisplays highly eleo-logicalapproach o history,atherike referringothegatheringctivities fhuntingocieties s "proto-agricultural."erhapsnthe ery ongrun hey anbe soregarded,ut n most ontextshe oncepts lessthan elpful.Wewant osuggesthat his s the ase even nEurope,where uch ctivi-tiesgo back longway nd re haracteristicf ignificantegmentsf he ur-al scene. n this aperwe examine wo ypes fmanufacturingctivitiesnthecountrysidef outhwestrance,which oth howust hese haracteristicsutwhich lso extend heprocess ack nonecase to the welfth,nd nthe thertothe irstentury.E. For his ountrysideasnevermarked y purely eas-ant ubsistenceconomy asedondomestic roductionlone,butwas alwaysmore omplex,ndmore ommercial.Theargumentouches ponTilly's hesis hat heFrench ountrysideasheavily nvolved n productionor egional, ational nd even nternationalmarketsythe ndofthe ighteenthentury.2e sees theprocesses fpopu-lation rowth,ndustrialisation,rbanisationnd state onsolidations neces-sarily issolving ld rural olidarities. is argumentas beencriticised yJonesndothers,speciallynrelationothemountainousegion fthe outh-ernMassifCentral, here roductionor omesticonsumptionrevailed ellinto henineteenthenturyndmarket etworks ere argely imited o theshort ange.3 ottage ndustry,t s claimed,wasanadjunctoagriculture,otvice-versa.In this aperweengage oth oints fview.Onthe nehand, or omerur-al productswine, heese,pottery,ndsilver) ommercialisationnd inter-nationalxportsanbe traced ackto theRoman nd Medievalperiods;ateron, apart romhedevelopmentfcoal andsmeltingn theAubinbasinnearDecazeville nthenineteenthentury,herewas theprosperousilkwormn-dustryn theBas Vivarais ndtheCevennes,hewineproductionftherich

2 Tilly1979. 1 Jones 985:56.


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RURAL MANUFACTURING FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE PRESENT 227merchantsf Rodez aroundMarcillac, he ilvermines roundVillefranche-de-Rouerguend theLotvalley, s wellas the ommercialibbon-nd ace-makingntheVelay.The lace merchantsf e Puy providedmploymentorabout iftyhousandountry orkersn the veof heRevolution,ndperhaps130,000 y 1855;silkoccupied s many. n the ther andmuch fthiswasin part, t east, heproductf a cottagendustry.n later eriods he ottagetextilendustry,rincipallyroductionf woollens ndcanvas,was directedmainly t ocal and ndeed ersonal onsumption,ut omeworsted arn ndcloth roducednthevillagewasfinishedn arger entresndmarketednter-nationally.y the nd ofthe ncien egimethefabricsf the egionwere x-portedo Switzerland,taly,he evant, he panish olonies ndCanada. n afew ocalities herewere ome signs hat omestic extile roduction oulddominate he conomy, ith heprospectf a take-offnto ndustrialisation,butthat id nothappen nd themarkethrank o the ocality. owever heRoman otteryroductionearMillauwas more oncentratedndusedquasi-industrial ethods. heworkforce,roducingotteryor xportnd ocal use,includedhevery oorestndividuals,ndmost stablishmentsppear o havebeen hared y quitemodest rtisans,peratingeasonally,ither ingly r nsmall ooperatives.4hedangersfusing ermsike "industrial"nd "manu-facture" or unmonde epetitsrtisans"re stressed y Jacob ndLeredde,but he caleofthe perationeems owarrantheir senonetheless.5Eventhe ongstandingnnual ranshumanceromhe lains o themountainpastureshat rovided ummerrazingnd allowedproductionf ryeon thelowland arms ook n a commercialspect.Thefatstockrom hehillsweretaken othe ities fthe ittoral or laughter.naddition,he ranshumantn-imalsproducedmilk obeturnednto heese,which ouldbeexportedar ndwide.Therewas a constantymbiosis etween domestic"griculturalro-ductionndthe xportrade,s wellasbetween arious spects fcommercialactivityhroughouthe egion.The southern assifCentrals a mountainousrea, the oof ftheworld,"whichwasunderpopulatednthe ighteenthentury,ndwhich as ongbeenmarginalo hewider conomy.utbelow he lateau,ntheAveyronthe res-entdepartmentalamefor heRouergue),he conomys muchmore ibrant.Nevertheless,neobserver, ritingf heAveyronfterhe econdWorldWar,hasremarkedpon he ransformationf "barely roductiveubsistencegri-culture"nd hedepartment'ssubsistenceconomy," ith easantmallhold-erseking ut livelihood rom mallbits fpoor and.6 hat tatementeedstobequalifiedy recognitionf he ise and ubsequentecline) f he hreeimportantndustries-coalminingnd steel tDecazeville, nd eatherwork-

4 Vertet974;Favory 974:100.Among hehundredsf names fGallic pottersecordedngraffitti,ot single ne appears n the nscriptionsf municipal ignitaries,enefactorsrmer-chantsGoudineau 974:106).5 Jacob ndLeredde 986:23. 6 Rogers 991:58, 2.


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228 DICK WHITTAKER AND JACK GOODYing atMillau-as wellas of the ongstandingheesemanufacturefRoque-fort, hichhas significantlyxpandednrecent ears longwith griculturegenerally.utformany armers,ubsistenceidnotcomefrom griculturealone:work n their wnplots ad obesupplementedyoutside mployment.As hasbeennoted ftheneighbouringreaofQuercyn anearlier eriod,inthe ighteenthentury,ewpeasants wned noughand osupportheir ami-lies,much ess to provide or ll their eirs." omeworked s hiredhands."Some were also part-timertisans;many..worked s weaversforMon-tauban'smerchant-manufacturers.nly minorityfpeasants wned rrent-ed enoughandfor elf-sufficiency."7nother ords,uch ctivities ere erymuch art ftheirivelihood.While gricultureas always layed predomi-nant ole,developmentsn manufactureavealso influencedhe egion inceantiquity,na wholevarietyfways.Thesouthwestas ongknown mixtureofmanufacturend griculture,ot nthearge calethat evelopedn henine-teenthentury,utonone which ntailedymbioticelationsor heworkersandfor he rtisanalndmanufacturingctivitieshemselves.In these ommunities, any ctivities adtwo nterconnectedharacteris-tics; heywere easonal nd theywere ymbiotic.f a job was seasonal, hentheworkers eeded o occupy hemselvesor herest f theyear. ometimespeasantsworked art fthe ime ntheir armsndpursuedther ccupationsthe est f the ime. hat s truenthe outhwestfFrance oday; nefarmerwillusehis trucksocollectmilk rom eighboursndtake ttothedairy;n-otherwill engage n somebuildingwork n theoff-season.ormerly, henfarms eremuch maller nd specialistccupations eremoreocally ased,thereweregreaterpportunitiesnd more ressures. anyvillageshad theirowntile-factorytuileries)rtannerymployingocal people; mall halk ndcoalmines round aint-Perdoux,nd gravel epositsnthebanks f theLotandtheCelerivers rovidedart-timeork or ome ndfull-time ork orfew, husmoppingprural nemploymentor easantswith mallholdingsrsonsnot equirednthe arm ntil he atheradretired.Suchoccupationsmight iveriseto some arger-scalectivities.he ong-standingeasant xploitationfcoal around aint-Perdouxasdeveloped yrich ntrepreneursrom igeacandParis nthe arly ecadesof this entury,and t s paralleled yearly ctivitiesnwhat ecame he xtensivemines fDecazeville, ome wentyilometresothe outheastlong he ame oal seam.In the ighteenthenturyhe ocalpeasantryfthat reaoften idnotgrowenough rain or heir wnneeds nd"dependedn trade omakeupthedif-ference,"aising rapes orwine nd ultivatingemp.naddition,iggingorcoal on their wnora neighbour'sand preventedomepeoplefromying fhunger."8ome"peasant-miners"tronglyesistedhe dvent fexternalap-ital othemines,whichn the1820seventuallyedtothebureaucratisationf

7 Darrow 989:212-3.8 Reid 1985:10. t-Perdoux's ines avebeen tudied yTayrac ndBouyssie 1996).


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RURAL MANUFACTURING FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE PRESENT 229worknthatocality nd he rowthf n ndustrialroletariat.heminers eresupportedntheir esistanceythe artersndboatmen, ho wereneeded oexport he imitedmountsfcoalproducedytheminers own hevalley ftheLottoBordeaux,where twasknowns "Cahors oal."It was also possiblefor hosewith oo littleand to work, emporarilyrpermanently,orwagesonother arms,s artisans,r nmanufacturingstab-lishments.his applied o both exes.The womenwho appear, rom rchaeo-logical vidence tLezoux Puy-de-Dome)ndSalleles d'Aude,to havepre-dominatedt theRoman otteryitesmust avebeendrawn romocal farms,justas happenedater,nthe caves"whereRoquefortheesematured.nlat-erperiods,many oungmen ndwomenwent oserve s "life-cycleervants,"as inEngland. hepaid abourer as as essential othe arger arm s the armwas tothe urvivalf he alariedworker,ven houghmany f he atterwnedtheir wn and.9 tienne amson,who ivednearMontaubannthe1820s,wasforced owork art f theyear nneighbouringarms ecausehisownhold-ings weretoo small to enablehimtomeet heannualpaymentsas an hy-potheque) hat e hadto make ohisretiredather-in-lawnrespectfthe at-ter'sfarm,heuse of whichEtienne ad acquired hroughiswife.10 ventodayherere harecroppersme'tayers)r mallholdershoworknthenew-erfactoriesfBagnac-sur-Celendfarm tthe ame ime.11espite he egis-lation f 1946-designed to encourage heend ofsharecroppingy givingworkers greater roportionfproduce,naddition o assistance otake verthe andthey armed-owner-occupationas remainedow and thesize offarmsmall, articularlynthe outhwest,herebyorcingmallholderso eekothermployment.'2In thepast herewasmore f thisnon-agriculturalork n rural reasthanhas been llowedfor nmany iscussionsf"subsistencegriculture"r "thedomesticmodeof production."hatfact s oftenoncealed oday ecauseoflocalde-industrialisation.ilemakingnd tanning,or xample,werefirste-gionalised,hen lacedona national r nternationalooting. round igeac,for xample,he ocalspecialistperationsfearlierhis enturyave waytoa bigtilemakinglant utsidehe ity. heplant asnowfallen nto uins,ndtiles rebeingmanufacturednayetargercale nSpain nd taly. n the th-

I Laslett, 965. nFrance nthemid-nineteenthentury,here ere our undredhousandarm-ersand twohundredhousandharecroppers,utoverninehundredhousand ay-labourersndabout womillion live-in"workersMoulin1991:59-60).Darrow 989:210ff.l In the ighteenthenturyroundMontaubant was the harecroppersho workedmost flandbut f course hey adto divide he roceedswith he andlordsDarrow 989:213).Peasantownershipf and nthis eriodwas ower ear he owns, here on-farmingandlordsouldfindsharecroppersore asily. heunits heyworkedwere nly fewhectares,nd, venwhen ub-liclandwasdistributedfter heRevolution,heplotswere mall ndoften npoor and Moulin1991:12, 7).

12 Today heyoung nddynamicncreasinglyitherhoose art-timearmingMoulin 991:198)orthey ent he and fthe ast-disappearingeasant ccupiernorder otake artnagro-industrialproductionEnjalbertndCholvy 987:480).


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230 DICK WHITTAKER AND JACK GOODYerhand, successfulngineeringactoryevelopednthe own;t madepro-pellers uringheSecondWorldWar nd nowmakesparts orAirbusndus-triesnToulouse,which ells tsproductshroughoutheworld. utthat acto-rydemands ull-time,ong-termommitmento specialistwork, ather hanpart-timemploymentfthe arlier ind.While ome pecialist orkwasdonebyfarmers,rby urplusabour romthe arms,ther ork f seasonal ype nvolvedndividualshiftingrom neform f employmento another.n this aper, owever, e areconcerned otsomuchwith henterdependencefjobsundertakeny n ndividualrhouse-hold and decisionswere often ased on theneedsofthe atter) ut of thesymbiosis etween ifferentccupationsnthe ameregion,nwhich hepro-duction f thematerial utputss interconnected.e explore hese nterrela-tionshipsn two occupational ectors n the southwest f France,one-thepotteryndustryt La Graufesenquehat lourishednthe irstndsecondcenturies-long incedisappeared,heother-themanufacturefcheese, fundeterminedntiquity,ogether ith he elatedeatherndustries-continu-ing oday. othbuilt pa large xport rade-indeed osome xtent heywereexport-orientedromhebeginning-and encedependentn more han ub-sistence roductionswellas on ong-distanceransport.

For the arliernstance e stress he ize andcomplexityf what ouldberegardeds themanufacturingrocess,which ouldbe perceived s a kind fproto-industrialroductionreferringoour irstefinition)nBronze-Ageo-cieties, ven ftheres often onsiderablegnorancebout he ocial and eco-nomic elationshipsetween roducersndownersnthe ncient orld.13 nthe ontemporarynstance fthemanufacturefcheese,we focus ttentionnthe ymbioticature f he ctivities;hesewecan show or he ater eriod,l-though ecanonly peculaten them or he arlierne.All ofthese ctivitiestook lace n the nvironsfthe own fMillau nthe resentayDepartmentde l'Aveyron,ormerlyheRouerguethe andofthe ncient uteni). he ear-lysite tself, hichwasnever rantedhe tatus f a town,wasknownnRo-man imes s Condatomagus,he marketf the onfluence," here heTarnandtheDourbie iversmeet, n the rossroadsfat east wo ge-old ranshu-mance outes.POTTERYThe evidence or he ndustrialroductionfpotteryroundMillaugoesbacktothefirstnd second enturies .E. Beginningbout centuryfterheRo-man onquest,tflourishedor omehundredears, eing ne ofthe outhern

13 Neverthelesshis roduction as more hanworkshopmanufacturing,s Soviethistorians,under he nfluencefMarx, nsisted n describingt. Factory" as thename roposed yWool-ley 1963) and hissuccessors or heNear-East emple alace societies,nd t s nowrecognizedinMycenaean alace production uring he second millenium .C.E. In the classical Greco-Romanworld,arge-scale roduction as always asedon the omanial esourcesfrichandown-ers, fwhich heRoman mperors ere hemost onspicuous, ho ollaboratedna varietyfre-lationships ith ree rtisansnd laves.


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RURAL MANUFACTURING FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE PRESENT 231

Gaullish entres ormakinghebrighted Samianor sigillataware; hiswasoriginallyroducedtArezzo n taly ndhas beenfound istributedromhenorthfBritaino the outh f ndia. 4 It formsart f wider lass ofRomanwareswhosemanufactureevelopedn several egions f Gaul, ncludingaGraufesenque,efore t gave wayto mportsfAfrican edSlipWare n thesecond entury.he potteryasmanufacturedn a widerange fforms,omeofwhichwere laboratelyecorated ithmpressedesigns.From a Graufesenqueavecome numberfworkshopallies earinghenames f potterss wellas thenumbersndtypes f vessels heymade.Tensof thousandsfplainvesselscouldbe fired ogethern the amekiln,whichwouldbe usedby up totenpotters.tamps f somesix hundred ottersreknown ver he enturyudging rom raffitiallies of which here resometwohundredragments).omeoftheproducers erewell-off,ivingnrela-tivelyuxuriousouseswithmosaics ndpaintings,utmost ivedmuchmoremodestly.n contrastonormal illagekilns,whichwere mall one totwo u-bic metresn capacity,with nlyan external ire) he "GrandFour"at LaGraufesenque,hich asbeen losely tudied,ad capacityf omehundredcubicmeters,rovidingrom en o fortyhousand ieceson each firing,fwhich here ouldhavebeen sometwelve year.15heremayhavebeenasmany s fiftyilns, achproducingn average wenty-fivehousandieces ta single iring.'6he hugepotteryomplex ppears o havebeenrun y a co-operativefbigand mall otters, ith o evidence f ny verall actory-typeorganisationrbureaucratictructure.7Assisted y imitedlave abour oingtheheavywork, hepotters ass-producedare or he xportrade or cen-tury,ossibly illingrders rom henorthernrmies f GermanyndBritain;the caleofoperations ade tpossible ofulfiluchorderswith omparativespeed.8The ndustry as basedonthe talianmodel fArezzo.Although editer-ranean roductsirsteachedheRouerguesearly s the ixth entury.C.E.,from hemid-secondentury.C.E. largeruantitiesf talian oods, mongwhichwinepredominated,eganto flow n throughheports f southernGaul. 9AtMillau,where,s inmany ther allic entres,here xisted long,localtraditionfpottery aking,ewmouldswerentroduced,ossiblyypot-ters romtaly,nd aboutC.E. 5 firingechniquesmprovedo that he em-peraturef hekiln ouldbe raised bove he 50 degrees eeded o mitatehe

14 Vernhet993:112,with distributionapfor urope. 15 Vernhet991:117-9.16 Vernhet 991:36.Thefigure stimatedy Vernhetfsix million ieces produced n fortyyears ssumes welve irings yearn fifty ilns f a capacity imilar othat fthegreat iln.Allthis s educated uessworkndassumes onstant ear-maximumroduction.17 Marichal 986:19, tresseshat he otters ere ot communaut6stables."avory1974: 00)notes hemobilityfpottersn the astGallicworkshops.18 Middleton 979.Theabrupt ecline f demandfter .E. 120 s explicablenterms fthetransferf tate ontractsoCentralndEastGaullish otteries,utMiddleton1980:190)believesthe luemay ie n the losure fthe tate ilvermines t Ceilhes n the dgeoftheCausses,withconsequenteductionn transportacilities.19Gruat 993:54-6.The classic tudyf talianwine s Tchernia 986.


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232 DICK WHITTAKER AND JACK GOODYhigh-qualityinishfArretineare romtaly.Within decade hereolloweda massexport rade, chievingtszenith boutC.E. 70 anddeclining airlyabruptlyfter .E. 120 nto local potteryhich ame oan end, pparentlysa result fa flood,n the hird entury.Once thedemandwas established,hat llowed hendustryotake ffwasanample upply fgoodclaycontaininghemineralllite, ogether ith de-quatewater ransportobringhewoodneeded or hekilns, s wellas plentyofwater or he otterytself. ll thesewere vailablenabundanceround aGraufesenque.20lay ay onthedoorstep;mplewater ouldbe drawn romtheDourbie ndtheTarn; he arge uantitiesfwoodrequiredofire hepot-teriest Millau ndatother entresnthe egionwere o be found nthe ur-roundingills. heTarn ervedotransporthe inewood rom hehillsides p-stream,t a distance fup to somesixtykilometres,utonlyduringwetseasons,when here asenoughwaternthe iver oallow he ogstobefloat-ed over hemany apids. hiswood wasalsorequiredor rtisans rocessingthemetals ound longthevalleyof theTarn; hat s,gold,silver,ead andiron.2'naddition,he ine rees'mall ranchesndneedleswere istilledntoresinmuch rized ysailors,winegrowers,hoemakersndapothecaries.hepotsneeded ywoodsmenor istillationavebeen racedver n areaof boutfortyhousand ectaresroundMillau.22A measure f "complementarity"xisted etween hetwooccupations.23Woodcuttersorkedrom ovemberoMarch, uringhewinter onths henthe apwaslow andthewaterwashigh,whereashekilnsworked rom priltoSeptember,o thattwouldhavebeenpossible oemploy omeofthe amelabour orce: ot, fcourse, he pecialists,ut he abourersndslaves.TheTarnsnotnormallyavigable etweenMillauandAlbi nthe ummerproductioneason, lthoughnother maller entre roducingigillatawarefurtherown he iver tMontans,fewkilometresast hewine-growingen-tre fGaillac, xisted t the ame ime,nd was able to usethe iver oexportitsproductso parts f theRoman mpire acing heAtlantic,ncludingng-land.They lsomadeamphoraeor ransportinghe ocal wine.Other outhGaullish otteryentresayontheGaronne iverystem,utrestrictedavi-gability eanthat, hileogscouldbetransportednwinter,oads sually adtobeused otransporthe inishedots. hatwasalways he asewhen he otsneeded ogetover hewatershedotheMediterraneanorts, or xport otheastwardsndwestwards. illaupossessed he nly tone ridge ver he iv-er; t arriedheRoman oad cross he lateau fLarzac nd heMediterranean

20 AmbertndVernhet1991:13) estimatehat oproduce kiloof finished areoneneededtwokilos fclay, en itres fwaterndfivekilos fwood.21 AmberttVernhet991:12.22 Vernhet993a: 17-119, stimatedhat en housandectaresfwoodwouldhaveprovidedenoughwoodtofire ll fiftyilns fMillaufor orty ears,while aleobotanictudies rove hattheCausse pine overednareaof bout iftyhousand ectares.23 AmbertndVernhet 991:13.


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RURAL MANUFACTURING FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE PRESENT 233ports, n arduous ne hundred ilometresnall. The long-distancexport fsigillataware, herefore,entby a landroute o Narbonnen theMediter-ranean, rom heret followedhe ea routes r connectedothe iver ort fArles, o ointhe nland oute p theRhone.24ike the equirementorwood,this verlandransportystemreated normousmploymentor ransportersas a spin-offrom he otteryndustry;ut,ike he otteries,heworkwassea-sonal, ince nthewinterhe oads ouldnot akemuch raffic.tthe ystem'speak, henumberf carts equiredocarryheproductsf all fiftyilnsmusthavebeen taggering-perhapss many sfivehundred; oreover,umerousmuleteers,tablehands, arpentersnd time-keepersere equiredoservicethem.25Apart romheRoman oad romMillauover he arzacplateau,ther oadswent astwardsoNimes hroughheCcvennes, estwardso he egional ownofRodez andnorthwardsowards avolsntheAubrac. xcavationsust outhofMillauonthe arzacplateau aveprovidedvidence fa Roman oadbuiltatthebeginningf thefirstentury.E. andsubsequentlyestored, idenedandcoveredwith ravel everal imes etween 50and250C.E. Thisunusu-ally obustoad, nwhich ragmentsf igillata arehave urnedp,was clear-ly onstructedor ransportinghe millions fvases" hateft a Graufesenquebycart or he outhernorts.26ustouth f these iscoveries he ameroadbranchedff oNimes, herebyinking odez andMillautotheRhonevalleyandProvinciaProvence).Wecanreasonablyxpect ther ses for he oad part romottery.heex-port f eathernd ilver romheRuteniofRouergue)redocumentedyRo-manwriters,ut thas beenplausibly uggestedhatmany arts eturningoMillaufrom heLanguedoc ndthevalley ftheRhonewere lsoloadedwithsalt,whichwouldhavebeenneededn arge uantitiesor he onservationfcheese, s itwas n ater eriods.27heres little oubt hathe alt outesead-ing rom heMediterraneanotheRouergue ere shighlyrganisedntheRo-manperiod s theywere aterntheMiddleAges.28 lthough e cannot rovethat inishedheeseswere lsocarriedouth romMillau, heres a celebratedreferenceytheElderPlinyNaturalHistory I, 240) to the xportfcheese

24 Albenque 948:51.25 Thesefigures erive rom ernhet993b: 11,who stimateshatne thousandieces fpot-terymadeupa cart oadoffifteenundredounds 490 kgs)pulledbytwomules, ndthat kilnrequiredhirtyarts otransportachfiring.t s difficulto magine henumberfcarts eeded orall fiftyilns iringwice month50 x 30 x 2 = 3000),as he proposes. n this eckoning,nehundredartswouldhavehadtobeloaded very ayofthe ry eason, nd twouldhaverequiredfour r five imes hat umbern the oadtocompleteheround rip o Narbonne. ne graffitonotes he se of laves ngagednsomeof the ransportndmarketingMiddleton 980:188).26 SillieresndVernhet985.

27 Ronan1974;Dausse 1993)gives generalccountfcommercen theRouerguentheRo-manperiod. orthe altroute, eebelow.28 Thomelin 998:44 nd 49. Bytraditionhe mportantsalinsde Peccais" atAigues-Morteswerenamed fter eccius, Roman ngineerf the irstentury.E. (Thomelin 998:47).


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234 DICK WHITTAKER AND JACK GOODYfrom lmes,which amedown rom he ozere nd heGevaudan LesureGa-balicoque agis) ntheMassifCentral. hesecouldhave rrivedtthe ity i-ther irectlyown hedrove oads drailles),which lmost ertainlyatebacktothe ixth entury.C.E., orfromMillau.A Romanmilestoneound t theimportantunction fSeverac-le-Chateau,ustnorth fMillau, n1979marksthe oad inkwith heGevaudan-Aubrac.CHEESECheesehas ong een n mportantroductf henorthernhore f heMediter-ranean, herethadsomeofthe amemarketharacteristicss pottery.twasvaluednot nly or ts aste ut s a wayofconservingseasonal ood nto hewintermonths,ndformaking ossiblets ransportootherreas, uch sthevine-growingegions. here, astoralism as essprevalentndcheese ouldbeexchangedorwine ndother roducts. tpresent,he egion's epresenta-tive roductsthe heep's heese fRoquefort,roductionfwhich onstitutesthemajorndustryf heAveyron,eachingighteenhousandonsn1990 ndsold neightyifferentountries.heep'smilk sparticularlyaluable ecauseof tsrichnessnbutterfat,henumberf extractionsfricottarecuite,urdcheese)which an bemadefrom hewhey nd tsrelativecarcitythemilk ftwentyheepbeing qual n volume othat f onecow). In addition,here sthemultipurposeharacterf he nimal,which rovides ool aswell shides.Bothmaterials ereneeded or lothing,speciallynmorenorthernlimes,andthey ormedn mportantxportnthe aw tate ras woven loth.Thetraditionfcheesemakingnthe rea of theLarzacwas certainlyre-Roman, he evidence eingfragmentsffaiselles, he holedcontainers orstrainingndpressinghe heese.29While uchvesselsmayhavehadalterna-tiveuses, heres noreason o doubt he ntiquityfcheesemakingnthe rea,includingheep's heese.Making heese s argely Mediterraneannd teppephenomenon.ndiapreservesand onsumes)tsmilk syoghurtr nthe ormofghee;theChinese sed ittle r nomilk, xcept or henorthernomads.30Thecheesesof theNear East are often loser oyoghurt,hile nAfrica hemakingfbutternd heese smarginal:ndeednthe earlier" et f attle ul-tures,hemilk f owswasscarcelysed t ll, nd hats the asetodaymongmanygriculturaleoples nWestAfrica.t was aroundheMediterraneanhatcheesebecame n mportanttem fdiet nd a method,s with utter,fpre-

29 Albenque, 948:260, rovides brief eferenceo "lofasello,"heOccitanword or he e-ramic trainersed todrain ndpress he ourmes efromages, ut here as been ittleystemat-ic study ffaiselles nantiquity,hich re easily onfused ith assoirsorcolanders. he later)potteryaiselles orRoquefort eremainlymade t St Jean eBruel, village n the alley ftheDourbie boveLa Graufesenque. complete omanpotteryaiselle rom odez s illustratednDausse 1993:106).30 Gouin1990) producesvidence fdriedmilkpelletsxportedromndia n ntiquity.n Chi-na, whethers a cause oreffect f the ack ofmilk n thediet,many ndividualsre ntolerantfmilk roducts.


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RURAL MANUFACTURING FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE PRESENT 235servingmilk hroughhewinter, hen upplieswere hort.n otherwords, tsmanufactureas inked othe istinctiveeasonalityfEuropean armingndherding. ut cheesemaking as notonly question fpreservationor ocalconsumption;twas an mportanttem f trade. he fact hatnantiquity o-manwritersalled attentiono cheesesfrom hisgeneral rea,whetherheycamefrom oquefortrnot,meant hat he heeseshadtobetransportedongdistances. nd f heywere toresfvalue nthis ense, heyould erve s me-diaofexchange,s well as items fexchange,nmuch he ameway s clothserved nAfrica r silk ndtea nChina.31The ElderPliny lso talks fa goat'scheesefrom aul,whichs often s-sumed o be "cabecou," smallround, sually oft heese ometimesnownas Rocamadour. hile heres nomentionf heep's heese,t sperfectlyos-sible, accordingoAlbenque, hat ucha cheese,even a blue cheese,wasmade nthat egion, he dvantage f whichwouldhavebeen ts ong-lastingquality. owever,hecheesefromNlmesmentionedyPlinywas probablynotRoquefortt all but rather heancestor f the"Laguiole"or "Cantal"cheesesof theMassifCentral ndassociatedwith hesubalpine astures fAubrac. hesearecheesesmadefromhemilk fcows,formerlyfthe raced'Aubrac," small, igorous reed hatsprobablyhemost rchaic fFrenchcattle, eing losestntype othe rehistoricos ongiferons.32nantiquityheAubracwas almost ertainlynareatowhich attle,heep ndpigsweredis-patchedor ummerrazingrom wide rea, ncludinguercyndRouergue,althoughhe racticesfirstocumentednlyn the ourteenthentury.33ra-ditionallyhemigrationtartednthejour e Saint- rban25thMay)and ast-ed until he13th ctober. tthe eginningf he wentiethenturyheepwerestill riven pto theAubrac, hough ewerhan efore,s vineyards ad takenover omeofthepasture.34ndeed, hat asturemay irst avebeen mprovedbythegrazingfsheepbefore ecominguitable or hemore rofitableat-tle,while hepigs nturnwere attenednthewhey "le petitait")whichwasleft verfrom heesemaking.35eanwhile,n returnorpasturingheherds,the ummer erdersetainedhemilk36, hichheymadenot nlynto hehardcheesesmentionedbovebut ntounfermentedheese tome) nthe solatedstonehutsor "burons"also locallyknown s "mazuc").That cheesewaspureedwith otatoes omake he ocal specialityf 'aligot, dish hatwaseat-en atweddings nd,unlike verydayood,was cooked utside ymen.37At thebeginningf thenineteenthentury,hese helters ere onstructedofelm ogscoveredwith arth rturf.yabout1850they egan obe built f31 Albenque 948:258. ee also Marre, 904.32 Marre 904:20. n the1980sthe ooperativetBagnac-sur-Celeas still rrangingosendthe attle f ocal farmersrom he ot toAubrac y truck uring he ummer, hen asturewasdifficultndhay ndmaizeneeded obe conservedntilwinter.

33 Marre 904:22.34 Onsheep, ee the eferencef 1345 toPierre eBourbon,ited yMarre 904:20.3 Marre 904:94. 36 Marre 904:94. 37 Marre 904:94.


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236 DICK WHITTAKER AND JACK GOODYstone,with chimney,wo toriesnd roof ftiles.Nearbywerehuts caves)formaturinghe heese fturmes),aulted s far s possible ndfacing orth.Today hemilk r the ome s sent o central airies o be made nto hefinalproduct. s with oquefort,pecialist heesemakingquipment as developedover ime. n this ase the ontainersor eparatinghe urds romhewheyweremadeofwood,without oles.Though hey arry henameofftuisselle,they re uite ifferentrom he otteryontainersf he amenamewith oles,found round oquefort.38WhenMonteil ublished isDescriptionudcpcartmente Aveironn 1802hecalled he ow'scheese fAubrac fterhe own f Laguiole," hename ywhich twas known n the outh f that egion.twas,hesaid,of good quali-ty, omparableothat fHolland. heDutch heeseshadbeen mong he irstto be "industrialised,"roduceds theywerefor noverseasmarkethatwasserved y a very argemerchant arinendnavy.nAubrac, oo, he heesebecame opular,ndproductionascontinuallyncreased. henumbersfpro-ducers ose rom 47 n1848 o294in1892, opying,ccordingoCrozes, hetechniquesf theCantal,which roduces similar heese.39 hisgrowth asachieved artly y ncreasinghenumber fcattle elativeosheep ndgoats;in 1830therewere wentyhousandftheformerndtwice hatmany fthelatter. heesemakingrovided quicker eturnhan eedingnimals or laugh-ter,nd xpanded apidlyntiltreached climax t the eginningfthe wen-tiethentury.Here s elsewhere,heproducershemselvesften ad to eat whatwas leftoverfrommakinghe heesefor xport,ustas wheat rom heneighbouringdepartmentfQuercywas often ent o Bordeauxwhile he ultivatorshem-selves atemaize,buckwheatrchestnuts;ndeed, he nhabitantsfQuercywere ften nown othe eople fBordeaux s "mangeurse chataignes."hispatternfconsumptionas especially ommonmongproducersfsheep'scheese, more aluedproduct.he herdershemselvesived nthe crapings(raclures) f cheeseoralternativelyff he cottage heese"that s madebyheating p and souring hewhey second imericottan taly, ebarbe r re-cuite nFrance),as well as sometimes atingthewhey petit-lait) lone.40 Al-though heywasthen food fthepoor, ythe ndofthenineteenthenturyitbecamevaluedbythewell-to-do hen heregion fAubrac evelopedntoa centre"une tationerte") or he reatmentfthe ick especially hildren),as wellas for ateringo thehealthynaccount f tsgoodair ndmilk rod-ucts.41

3 Marre1904:100-1. On themiloluleforRoquefortee Marre1906:97.On aligot ee Marre1904:101-102.3' Crozes 1987:30-31.40 See Dumary 982:179-80.The term -icottas alsoused n southwestrance or his rod-uct.41 Marre 904:28.


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RURAL MANUFACTURING FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE PRESENT 237Apart rommilk, hemain ngredientequired or heesemaking as salt. n

themedieval eriod altcame from he alieres longthe oastbetween heRhone ndBeziers.Of special mportance as the arge-scalexploitationen-tringnthe alinebasin fAigues-Mortesn theCamargues, earMontpellier,whichwas owned artly y he emplarsndpartly ytheAbbey fPsalmody.It is notwithout elevance hat eforemechanisationalt productionn thesalinebasins f theMediteffaneanas caffied utvirtuallys anagriculturalactivityy mallpeasant battisseurs"tthe rregulareriods ermittedyseaconditions.42his saltreachedRoqueforty wayofMontpellier,odeveandthen long heRoman oadover heLarzac.43 he routewasprotectedytheBenedictine bbey t Aniane nd by theTemplars f theLarzac plateau ntilthe rafficas taken ver yPhilippeeBel, who,whenhedisbanded heTem-plars, nstitutedhehated utprofitableabelle, r salt ax.This el d'affinagedestined or he onservationfthe reshfourmesas taken ptothehigh as-tures y muleteers, hobroughtackthe heeses long hedrove oads o bematured.ne suchroute anbetweenMillauand theGevaudan.Morerecent-ly, althascome from henorth y boat,via Bordeaux nd up theLot toEn-traigues.Thefirstefinite entionfRoquefortheesedates rom070when char-ter onfirmshedonationf a "cave"and a farm ythe eigneur f Cornus othegreat bbey fConques.Thatgiftmarked hebeginningf a phaseof ex-pansion fmanufacture,uring hich hemonks ncouraged heir assalstoimproveheirechniques; numberfreligious ouses wned caves" n theruedescavesatRoqueforttself. he productionfcheesedeveloped ot nlyfor xternalxchange urposes,ut lso for hepaymentfrents. necheesewas taken rom ach ot ransportedo the aves formaturing,obe devoted olocalexpenses nd themaintenancef the astle,whichwasa defensiveut-lier or he ity fMillau. n 1411 charterfCharles I allocated he own hefirstppelation 'origine. imilar rivilegestRoquefort eregrantedo theTemplars, hohad establishedhemselvestLa Couvertoiraden theLarzacPlateau fterheFirst rusade, ndwhocontrolledheproductionfsheep'smilk ntil he rderwas suppressed y Philippe e Bel atthe nd of thefour-teenthentury.heKing henwarded heirrivilegeso heKnightsfStJohnofMalta,whocontinuedoexercise hem ntil he ighteenthentury.Lessreliable ources race heproductionf sheep's heese n the egion owellbefore he irst entionfRoquefortnthe leventhentury. egend ellsoftheAbbey fConques ending ChristmasresentoCharlemagnetAix-en-Chapelleonsistingftwomule-loads f mouldy"heesefrom oquefort.As wehaveseen, nthefirst entury .E. Plinywrote f the heese xportedfrom heGevaudanndLozere, ndGregoryfTours eportspagan eremo-ny,till xistingnthe ixthentury.E., nwhichfourmesor heesewere ast

42 Thomelin 998:48. 4 Aussibal1983:63.Forthe altroutes,ee Thomelin 998.


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238 DICK WHITTAKER AND JACK GOODYinto lake on theborders ftheGevaudanndtheRouergue.44 hetherhesereferenceso cheeserepresentlinkwithMillau s unknown,ut nthenine-teenthenturyhe reshfourmesftheLozere ndtheGevaudanwere till e-ing ent o theRoquefortaves for ffinage-the iochemicalrocess f salt-ing ndmaturing.45Cheeseproductionn theregions distinctlyeasonal, nd between ugustandNovemberheres no manufacture.he engthftheperiod uring hichthe heep fLarzac aremilked as ncreased ver ime.Around 750 t astedfor eventy-fiveays, romstMayto15thJuly.owards he ndofthe entu-ry hemilking eriodwas extendedntoAugust ndevenSeptember.n 1900themilk tartedoming uringebruary.s productionxpanded,moremilkwas needed. t was broughtrom hewhole f heAveyronndfrom he yren-nees, s well as from orsica, eginnings early s December. hat ncreaseinsupply, hich xtendedheproductiveeasonfor he aves,was madepos-sibleby hemprovedystemf ransport.ecently,owever,hemain oci'te'has decided oencouragehedistant roducersfmilk omake heir wn ocalsheep's heese nthe reas forigin,nstead f ncorporatingt nRoquefort.46Milking sedto be themost abour-intensiveart ftheproductionrocess,requiringheparticipationf everyonen thefarm wice very ay; a herd ftwohundred eeded ightmilkers.he advent f mechanicalmilking rasti-callyreduced hepersonneleeded. n 1876 an earlierhange ad establishedlaiteries, o which armersncreasinglyroughtheirmilk atherhanmakingthefresh heeseson thefarm,nd today heproductionf cheese s entirelycentralised.Shearing as also labour-intensive.hile heepdo notnecessarilyear hecold,warmweathers better or heproductionf milk.47 n theLarzac thesheep hat rovidemostmilk end ogive esswool. Their leeceswere hornoncea year etweenstJune nd25thJuly y travellingeams fshearers;y1900thewool was soldonly or country"loth, aving eenreplaced ythefiner oolofAustraliandAmerica ormost ommercialurposes.In earlierimes,milking,hemakingfcheese ndthe hearingf heep l-ways equiredeasonal abour.Milkwasproducedrom erds itherelongingtofamilyarms rkept y andowners;fterreliminaryreatmenttthe armsor aiteries,hefullmaturingf the heese affinage) as carried utbytheproprietorsf ndividualaves nRoqueforttself. he abourwasprovidedythemany abaniers ndcabaniereswho moved nto he aves as paid abourduringhe easonfrom pril o June.48nly n 1842 did some smallpropri-etors ome ogethernto larger nit, a Socie'te' iviledesCavesRe'unis;hispattern as ater ollowed yothers.

44 Albenque1948:260)claims he eremonyontinued ntil henineteenthentury.45 Marre 904:22.The antiquityf he ccupationf heRoquefortaves and he egionroundis attestedyprehistoricndRoman emainsAussibal1983:17).46 Rance1989:181;EnjalbertndCholvy 987:483.4 Marre 906:68. 4 Aussibal1983:47 nd 78.


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RURAL MANUFACTURING FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE PRESENT 239Just s the mproved oman oadshad been essentialothe xport f pot-tery,o itwas the ailways hatnabled he roductionfRoqueforto expandinEurope. he cheese ravelledvenfurtherfield y sea. n theUnited tatessomemigrantsromheRouergue emandedhe heese, hus upplementingthe nternal arket.n 1840the avesproduced evenhundredndfiftyhou-sandkilos year;n1900 twas six anda halfmillion. heconsumersrew nnumbero that oth n France ndelsewhere he heese eased to be a luxuryavailable nly o the ich ndpowerful. hesameperiod aw new nvestmentofcapital nproduction,xtendingnormouslyhe apacity f the aves n aprocess hat adbegunwith he oundingfthe ociete.Itwasthe ailway,oo, hat nabledmuch ftheRouergueo shift rom ul-tivationfrye which ave tsname o the egala region) owheat, y meansof themasstransportationf chalk ormakingime nd ater fchemical er-tilisers. o whathadbeenpoorfarmingountryhangednormouslyith heimprovementfpasture ndtheproductionf higher-gradeereals.49Morelivestock,heep swell s cattle,ouldbekept ecause f he etterrass. hemilk fthe ormer as usedforRoquefort,hat fthe atteror he heeses s-sociatedwith heMassifCentralnd theblue cheesesof theCaussesaroundMillau.Roquefortecame globaldelicacy.

WOOL, MEAT AND LEATHERTheanimal erdingssociatedwith heesemakinglso nvolvedhe ocalpro-cessing f the ssociated roductsfwool and eather.Weaving ndtanninghadbeendone n ocal communitiesormillenniandevidence fearly pin-dlesand oomweights recommonplacentheRouergue. ut centres fspe-cialisation radually mergedn theregion. liny aysthat n his daytheRouerguendQuercywerenoted orweaving, hough e onlymentionsheproductionfflax ail cloth.MontaubannQuercy ada textilendustryromat east heMiddleAges, mportingndexportingoolalong heTarn.ntheseventeenthenturyhe ndustryell nto ecline, nable ocompetewith n-glish abrics,ut nthe ighteenthenturyxperimentseremadewith newwoollen loth alledcadis,whichwassuccessfullyold nBrittanyndCana-daupuntil he ossofQuebec n 1763.The furtherechanisationfEnglishproductionuringhe ndustrial evolutioned to a finaldecline.However,Castres nd Mazametunder heMontagneNoir n theHaut-Languedoc,ndSaint-AffriqueearMillau n theRouergue etooled ndfollowedheEnglishmodel,mploying any f he uralweaverswhohadworkedtMontauban.50Thesheep fthe imestonelateau fLarzac fed hosemills ntil he omingofmerino ool from ustralia.Millau tself as a centreor heprocessingfwool fromanguedoc oing

49 Onthe oleof therailwayn thedevelopmentfagriculturenthe egala,the ransportflime romarmauxnd he ntroductionfwheat ndclover,ee Crozes1986:67ff;or heneigh-bouringaute-Garonne,ee Amann 990.50 Darrow 989:33, 1.


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240 DICK WHITTAKER AND JACK GOODYback o at east he ifteenthentury;he amous lack ndwhitewoolsofMil-lau,Saint-Affriquend Severacwereknownhroughouthefairs fmedievalFrance. ocalweavers, howere egulatedrom 408, roducedoversdraps)calledblanquetsrom hitewool ndburrelsrom rown,ntreatedool;bothtypes fcoverswere oldas far field s Burgundy.51Leather oods,whichwere erivedromhehides f he ame nimals, erethe thermain ocalcommodityfthis eriod. eatherworkingasobviouslybeen n existencetMillau, s inotherentresf heRouergue,ince he oun-dation fthe ite.52Many owns ndvillagesn the egion adtheir wntan-neries ight own othe wentiethentury,nd n theMiddleAgesthe eatherofMillau ndSaint-Affrique,hichwas usedfor hebindingfbooks mongother hings, as exportedo Montpellier.53ikemakers ndmerchantsfcloth-includinghedyers,ullersndthoseworkingor hem-leatherwork-ers ndotherrtisans ere ttractedyCalvinismndmadeMillau centrefProtestantismn France.54ike Nlmes ndMontauban,he ownwasallowedtomaintaintsfortificationsnderhe dict fNantes ndhada measuref n-dependencentil he evocationf hat dictn1685.From hat ate,when heywerebarred rom ublic ffice,many ich rotestantsurnedo manufacture,and he wners f he eatherworkingactoriesemainargelyrotestantothisday, hough heworkforceasrevertedo Catholicism.Theproduce ftheLarzacdeveloped special onnection ith hemakingofgloves.Theflocks f sheepkept orwoolor meat onsist f adults fbothsexes, utwheremilk s the esired roduct, ales re urplusorequirements.Theslaughterf youngmalesmeant supply f soft kins or he eathern-dustry.lreadyn the welfthenturyhere nefinds referenceotanningheskins fyoung ids, ndan ordinanceftheyear1656declares hat masterleatherworkereeds oknowhow tocut nd ine coatofwhite abbit;otanthe kins f ambs,martens,abbitsndhares swellas to makegloves or al-conery."55his s delicateworkwith he kins f mall nimals.However, e-spite his xpertisendthe xistencefguilds ndcorporations,hedisruptioncausedbytheRevocationftheEdictof Nantesmeant hatGrenoble ecamethemain entre orglove-making.hegreat evelopmentfthe ndustrynMillau ook laceonlyn he ighteenthentury,hen hemarketor uch temsexpanded apidly ith hebourgeoisie'sttachmento "lamode." n 1750An-toineGuybroughtlevenworkers romGrenoble ndintroducedhe atesttechniques. t the ametime he xpansion fthe heese ndustryfRoque-fort,escribedarlier,ncreasedhenumberf amb kins vailable.Lamb kinsweremostlybtainedromhe battoirfSaint-Affrique.hese

51 Frayssenge990:26;Delmas1993:133.52 Pieces ofsheep's rgoat's eather ere oundmong heRoman emainst Rodez Dausse1993:106),whichmaybe associatedwith liny's eferenceothe xport f eatherrom aul toItaly NaturalHistoryX, 14).53 Delmas1993:132. 5 Frayssenge990:32. 55 Baillou1989:14;Jonquetn.d.):4.


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RURAL MANUFACTURING FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE PRESENT 241

werepurchasedy a courtierndsold tothe eather-curersmegissiers)n-stalled y theriver, neskinneedingwothousanditres f watern itspro-cessing.56Millau's internationaleputation as based on the skinsofveryyoungambs,he egord, hichwere laughteredtonemonth, eighingbouttenkilos, or heir xceptionallyupple kin.57heglovesweremadeboth nthe actorynd nthehome s outwork;ome ountryeoplepreferredo havetheir aughtersork t home atherhanettinghem esiden the owns. hisdomesticabour tartednApril fterhe ambing eason, ut he actoryven-tuallymanagedo provide ear-roundork orwomen ndmachines; omenwith his ural ackgroundameto formn ndustrialroletariathat ook artinsome mportantarly trikes.Bythenineteenthenturyhemanufacturefgloves t Millauhadexpand-ed sufficientlyouseallof ts ocally-curedides.Bythebeginningfthe ol-lowing enturyheproductionf gloveshad risen o five r six million airseach year,while hetanneriesnd themegisseriesrocessed ifteen illionskins-farmore han amefromhe ambskilled or he roductionfRoque-fort heese.The totalnumberf ambsbornocally achyearwas only bouthalf milliontosome en housandwners),fwhichess than hree undredthousandrovidedkins.The remainingkinswere mported.he finishedproducts ere hen xportedoBritain,hroughouturope nd totheUnitedStates, ut rompeakof150ganteriesn1950, mployingver ive housandworkersincludinghirty-fiveundredemale utworkers),ewnow remain.Leather loves reno ongernsuchdemand;nany ase,productionasshift-ed elsewherend he actoriesre ilent. anneriesndmegisseriestill rocesshides, ut ittleeathers manufacturedn the egionny onger.58There s oneother y-productf sheep's heesewhich eserves mention.Inthe egions here oquefortsmade, hreeuartersf he ambs hemselvesweredisposed fwithinwenty-fiveaysas agneaude lait. Theseanimals,mostlymales,werebought y ocalbutchers, hoslaughteredhem ndex-portedhe arcasses nwicker asketsngroups ftwenty,specially o theLanguedoc nd heBordelais,houghomewere oldwithinhe egion.59hisdelicacy,nownocally s agneaugris rpascal amb,s similar othe amousRomandish of agnelloromano r abacchio,which s a by-productf thepecorino heesemadebytheAbruzzi hepherds hen hey escendwith heirflocks othe ampagna ver hewintermonths. roductionimetables,ow-ever, avechanged,ndwith hem hemarketingf urplusambs. n 1976, nthQ illage fSte-Foy,heRoquefortompaniesollectedmilk etween anu-ary ndJune,fter hich he we's milkwas allowed odry p.The animalswere nseminatedn ate ummernd heyambedn ate utumn. few ambsareraised oreplenishheflock, ut he est re sold as high-pricedeat fter

56 A me'gissiers onewho tans he kins f small nimals. he ocation fMillau bytheTarnwas deal.57 Baillou 1989:45. 58 EnjalbertndCholvy 987:487. 59 Marre 906:58.


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242 DICK WHITTAKER AND JACK GOODYbeing llowed ofeedfor month. t that ime he verage armnthe om-mune oldthemeat fabout nehundredambs year.60Thekillingnd atingfyoungmale ambs,heirrocessingf hehidesntogloves, he ransformationfthemilk nto heese re, ogether ith hemak-ing fwoollen extiles,art ndparcel f he xtensive evelopmentf he ro-duction fRoquefort, hose aves ie close to the pen xpanses fLarzaconthe ne hand ndto the ncient own fMillauonthe ther. hemanufactureofthis heesehasbecome he argestndustryn theAveyron;tsproductsreexported ar ndwide, nd tsconsequencesreyetmore xtensive, eedinginto heproductionf gloves ndthe ealm fgastronomy.

Thispaperhashadtwo ims.Firstly,o ndicate hat ven regions appar-entlyrural" stheAveyronstoday asbeenmuchmore han centref sub-sistence"gricultureince heRomanperiod. arge-scale roductionf vari-ouskinds as nvolved he xportfgoods uch spotterynd heese odistantparts vermanyenturies.t he ame ime,ocalactivityf n artisanalind-includinguarrying,ining, eaving ndtransport-has iven mployment,sometimeseasonal, ometimesart-time,opeasantsnthe egion,many fwhom et omeexperiencefpaid employmentither n thefarms r ntheworkshopsfothers.roductionasnot onfinedothe domesticmode," uton the ther and twasrarely ompletelyeparate romhe and,whereworkhad ts easonal hythm.n other ords,here as a symbioticelationetweenthevarious ctivitiesnwhich n ndividualookpart.A similar ymbiosisxisted etweenomemajormanufacturingctivities;for xample,nRoman imes etween ottery, ood-cutting,hedistillingfresin ndthe onstructionfroads.We know romraffititLa Graufesenquethat otteryroductionndprobablytsassociated ransportere onfinedosixsummermonthsApril oSeptember),eavingmuch f the abour ree orrural ctivities,ncluding ossibly hemaking f cheese or thetanning fleather,uringhe est ftheyear. ertainlyta later eriod notheretof n-terrelatedctivitiesentredpon he arge-scaleroductionfsheep's heese,whichwas accompaniedythebutcheringfveryyoung ambs, heproduc-tion fwoolandwhich,roundMillau, ed tothegrowthf eatherworking,tfirstartlyor ookproduction,ater or lovemakingndclothing.The historiesfthe wo ndustriesrevery ifferent.he large-scale ro-ductionfpotterylourishedor couple f enturiesnthis egion; avingak-enover tsprominentolefrom rezzo,t ventuallyaveway oNorth frica.Doubtless hat hiftwas duetorelativeostsof abour ndtransport,hichwouldhavebeenreducedn Gauland again nNorth frica,where ommer-cial seatransportasprovided ythegrainhips; fter he all fRome,whenthese mports eased,thepotteryrade rom fricawas no longer iable.61Roquefortheese, n theother and,was a uniqueproducthat ouldnotbe

60 Rogers 991:65. 61 Wickham994:97.


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RURAL MANUFACTURING FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE PRESENT 243manufacturedlsewhere,ependings it didupon he upply f sheep'smilk,themanufacturefgloves, ut pecificallypon he pecialmoulds rowingnthe aves. twas impossibleo moveproduction,lthoughheep'smilk ouldbe mportedrom urtherfield. riginally luxury roduct,oquefortheesecirculated ot nly hroughouthe egion ut hroughoutestern urope ndindeed heworld,n network hich eveloped rommedieval imes o he re-sent ay.Meanwhile he oalmining f Decazevillehas collapsedwith irtuallyhewhole f he ndustrynWesternurope, s a result fescalating osts ndtheavailabilityf heaper, ore onvenient,uels. ocally, raft roductionf ilesand eather as alsogivenwayto arge-scalendustries,o that owadayshecountrysideeems nsomeways ess differentiatedroductivelyhan toncewas.Large ndustryas tended omove way. ubsistencearmingasdisap-peared,with he mallfarms eing ncorporatednto arger nes, eading o aloss ofpopulationvery ear ver hepast entury.On one hand hemanufacturefpotteryndcheesewere ntegratednto heexport rade,ndon theotherhey elated o morewidespreadut ocal arti-sanal ndcraft ctivities.nearlier imes ottery-ndcheesemakingftenm-ployed ocal abour n a seasonal asis, o that heworkers erenotdetachedfrom he and.Atthe ametime, owever,uch mploymenthanged hena-ture frelationshipsothe and, nd henature f ocalagriculturalroduction.Onemightee these ctivitiess classicexamples fproto-industrialr ofmanufacturingroduction,s discussedn theopening ection. ut theperi-odisationswrong. hese ctivitiesrenot implyooking orwardo ndustri-alisation. hey xistedntheirwn ightormanyenturies,ot nlynthe ar-lymoderneriod.Marx aw the ge ofmanufacturessbeginningnthemiddleofthe ixteenthnd asting ntil he ast hird fthe ighteenthentury.62heIndustrial evolutionollowed, eginning ithWatt'snventionf a spinningmachinen 1735,which eraldedhebirth f modernndustrynd theuseofmachinery,s distinctromools.63We have hown hese ates obe much oolateand tooEurocentric;e find hedeveloped ndcomplexmanufacturefpotteryt a GraufesenquentheRouergue,haracterisedymassproductionin elaborate ilns,well-organisedransportndexportothe orners f heRo-man mpire,rom hefirstentury.E. onwards. ndwe find heproductionofsigillataware hiftingrom rezzoto La Graufesenquendthen o NorthAfrica ependingn themarket,specially pon he ostof abour nd trans-port.t spreciselyhe ontinuationf his rocess hat asbroughtboutmuchofthede-industrialisationhatwe findnthe egionnrecentimes.Thisproductionasnotproto-industrialnanymeaningfulense.Much nthe egion emainedgricultural,robablyncludingmost f the abour orce.One is temptedo call the arge-scale ommodityroductionndustrialnits

62 Das Kapital336. 63 Das Kapital371.


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244 DICK WHITTAKER AND JACK GOODYown ight,ut hatwould uggestmore dvancedechnology.etus stickwiththe ermmanufacture,"tthe ame time s emphasisinghe ontinuityithcraftroductionnthe nehand,ndwith ully-fledgedndustrialisationntheother.

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