Pre-industrial Production in the Countryside: the Breton Building Industries in the Late Seventeenth and in the Eighteenth Centuries

Abstract

The relationship between town and country has been a major focus of historical debate, especially with respect to the early decades of the industrial revolution. By studying the Breton building industries, this paper calls into question many of the standard ideas about crafts in pre-industrial France and provides insight into the neglected world of the rural artisan. The first part of this article examines the structure and organization of the rural domestic construction trades in Brittany during the last century of the Old Regime. Subsequently, the paper describes growth and change within the industry, including differences which emerged between the hinterland around Nantes and the rest of the province.