The expansion of new crops in the Valencia orchards (13th-19th centuries)

Abstract

This paper synthesizes the chronology, geography and other characteristics of the processes of hatching new crops such as hemp, sugar cane, rice, mulberry, orange tree, and the wide repertoire of plants coming from the Americas: Indian corn, beans, peppers, tomatoes, peanuts, potatoes, etc. Beyond the essential descriptive panorama, the article aims to reveal the attitudes held by the various social sectors involved, as well as the agricultural, economic and social objectives pursued in each case. Given the overwhelming hegemony of small-scale farms (both on their own land and on leased plots) the key role played by farmers in pushing for new harvests is clear, as they had to incorporate consolidated reproductive strategies, based on the employment of family labour to very intensive crop rotations and increasingly open to new market opportunities.