Walka o kataster : stosunki społeczne w południowych Włoszech w schyłkowym okresie feudalizmu na przykładzie jednej z gmin neapolitańskich

Abstract

The notion of “the struggle of the cadastre” appears in the Italian historiography with reference to the reform and, at the same time, revindication tendencies which occurred both in the North and in the South of the Apennine Peninsula in the second half of the 18th century. On the basis of his own archival research, the author attempts to illustrate that phenomenon with the example of the community of San Martino Valle Caudina, situated between Naples and Benevento, where the unjust division of the land estates was the cause of numerous repetitive tensions and social disturbances, dating back to the 16th century. The reform of the cadastre, introduced at the order of Charles Bourbon in the forties of the 18th century, created the hope of improvement of the conditions of existence among the Neapolitan populace, because it forced the barons to document the feudal nature of their real estates - otherwise, they would be subject to taxation just like any other land. The introduced cadastral system was characterised, on the one hand, by bureaucratic pedantry of calculating details, and on the other, by the indifference to the enormous feudal and church earnings which were exempt from taxes. During the creation of the cadastre, it often happened that the “deputies“ yielded to the barons and closed their eyes to the false certificates produced by them, thus depriving the communities of additional income; there were also cases, however, when the communities conducted fierce debates with the barons at the Royal Chamber Sommaria over the classification of an estate of dubious origin, and even resorted to breaking the law, which happened in the town of San Martino Valle Caudina. The dramatic experience accelerated the process of social awareness maturity among the local population. When the revolution broke out and the civil war began in 1799, the republicans found solid support in San Martino V.C. Thanks to the complete cadastral documentation of 2200 Neapolitan communities, it is possible today to reconstruct the picture of king Charles VII’s subjects of that time; one can determine their social and professional structure, the property and the budgets of communities, church and secular institutions, the level and the type of farming, the demographic phenomena, the property and financial status, the level of literacy, and even the health condition. Today, the cadastre books constitute a monumental work of the Neapolitan reformers, and a priceless source of information about the Kingdom of Naples in mid-18th century. However, the author of this article did not stop at that, because he confronted the contents of the cadastre with the documentation of the church and feudal archives, which enabled him to deepen the conducted social analysis.