Peaceful Surrender: The Depopulation of Rural Spain in the Twentieth Century

‘Rural depopulation has been one of the most important changes in the history of 20th century. This is the first comprehensive analysis of this process and of its determinants in Spain and Europe and thus it fills a glaring gap in our knowledge of social transformation.’ –Giovanni Federico, Professor of Economic History at the University of Pisa and Senior Research fellow at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy; Author of Feeding the World. An Economic History of Agriculture, 1800-2000 (Princeton, 2005)

‘The book by Fernando Collantes and Vicente Pinilla shifts the perspective from which historians generally look at the economic evolution of the countryside. With a perfectly controlled bibliography and a solid statistical base, the book aims at tracking and understanding the demographic decline of rural Spain during the twentieth century. In doing so, it radically innovates with respect to the classical practices of historians. The book does not confine itself to examining the fortunes of agriculture and farmers it considers rural society as a whole, including those activities and populations outside the agricultural sector. This allows the book to capture a reality that exceeds by far the agricultural variables often emphasised by historians. In order to analyse, explain and explore the consequences of initially slow but eventually accelerated rural-urban migration, Fernando Collantes and Vicente Pinilla venture into a time period that historians generally look at with fear and respect but carefully avoid to investigate: the twentieth century and, specifically, the second half of the century, the period post-1950. This way they are able to show that the pace of industrialisation and urbanisation, together with the policies implemented by governments, may have been crucial for the emptying of the countryside. They deal with the consequences of this process of rural decline. While the departure from the countryside may have been a painful experience (albeit not a tragic one, as stressed by the book title), it largely contributed to triggering the Spanish process of economic development and improving the standard of living of populations, including those who remained on the countryside. This book rightly calls for European comparisons. This is an important book that provides keys to understanding today s society and economy.’ –Gérard Béaur, Directeur de Recherches CNRS & Directeur d Études EHESS, Centre de Recherches Historiques, Paris, France; President of the Programme for the Study of European Rural Societies (Cost Action A-35, European Science Foundation, 2005-2009)