A new article by SHOC member Anne Winter and Thijs Lambrecht was recently published in Rural History. In their publication "Conspicuous charity and agrarian capitalism: Rural poor relief in Western Flanders c. 1700", the authors combine data from multiple sources dating from the early 18th century district of Furnes, such as a much revealing a questionnaire circulated by the intendant of northern France, taxation registers and a population census. Together these sources show how local poor relief practices translated spatially into regional patterns, which in turn were tied into both different agricultural modes of production and distinct social and cultural repertoires of elite representation and distribution.
We are very happy to share the results of their research with you!