Modernization of the Danish Peasant and Cottager Agriculture during the First Part of the Danish Agricultural Revolution, 1860-1880

Abstract

This article discusses the modernization of Danish peasant and cottager agriculture during the first phase of the Danish agricultural revolution (1860-1880) and proposes a preliminary theoretical model for the study of Danish agricultural development from 1750 to 1973.
The empirical basis consists of original census lists from the agricultural countings of 1861, 1866, 1871 and 1876, the animal census of 1881, and population census lists, processed through electronic data processing. The article draws on an unpublished dissertation by Peter Thonning Olsen on agricultural development in a single Danish parish, 1860-1880, at the University of Copenhagen Institute of Economic History, as well as published statistical surveys.
The article shows that Danish agriculture in the mid-nineteenth century was caught in a low-productivity equilibrium: farmers lacked capital for artificial fertilizers, drainage, and improved livestock, while dairy produce was of poor quality. The turning point came through the interplay of several factors: credit associations founded after 1851 eased intergenerational farm transfer; rising prices of animal products provided income; the invention of the cream separator around 1880 enabled large-scale cooperative dairy farming; and growing English and German demand for butter, pork and cattle stimulated the shift from crop to livestock production. The author identifies capital accumulation - whether individual or cooperative - as the decisive factor in agricultural modernization of Danish peasantry.
The article proposes a model of seven hierarchically ordered primary factors shaping agricultural development, from cultural patterns and education through village cooperation and political organization, arguing that economic and technical development cannot be understood without reference to the full structure of rural society.