Methods of Agricultural Typology and Historical Research (An Attempt at Application)

Abstract

The typologization of agriculture for macroeconomic research requires a systematic account of all essential characteristics of agriculture in their mutual interaction and correlation - not merely a juxtaposed analysis of individual elements. The agricultural type constitutes a complex concept characterizing a specific place, time, and stage of socio-economic development. Although typological methods have been developed in geographical and agrarian-economic research, a methodological framework for their application in historical investigations has been lacking.
This article discusses methods of agricultural typology in view of their applicability to historical research, and tests these methods in a case study of the intensity of plant production in the Kingdom of Poland immediately before the abolition of serfdom (1863/64).
The theoretical basis is provided by the principles of agricultural typology elaborated within the International Geographical Union (IGU) by Kostrowicki and Helburn (1967). For intensity measurement, the method of intensity symptoms, the point method after Kopeć, and the method of selected index numbers are presented and methodologically assessed. The case study draws on the author's earlier research on plant production in the Kingdom of Poland 1816-1864.
The analysis distinguishes three categorical groups of internal characteristics of the agricultural type: ownership characteristics (forms of land ownership, labour, and economic management), organizational-technical characteristics (land use system, farming methods, intensity), and production characteristics (output volume, commodity production per area unit). The intensity of plant production in the Kingdom of Poland in 1863/64 reveals a clear spatial differentiation: governorates with a high share of root crops in the centre contrast with grain-dominated areas (G types) in the northern governorates. Natural economy still dominated in peripheral areas, while central governorates show stronger commodity production. The author demonstrates that typological methods are productive for historical research, but that source limitations necessitate specific estimation procedures, and that historical comparisons can verify and enrich the results of contemporary typological investigations.