From Barons to Peasant Farmers: The Privatisation of Feudal Lands in Southern Italy in the Nineteenth Century

During the course of the 18th century, the events that led to the assertion of the secular State, the upshot of enlightened thought, resulted, in Western Europe, in the downsizing of the political and economic power of the baronial class and the Church. This process was particularly slow and difficult in southern Italy, where the authority of the feudal lords and the Church had grown considerably over the years. Thanks to the concessions made by the various sovereigns, these social classes has accumulated extensive privileges which, in point of fact, prevented the State from exercising its sovereignty over the country, thereby hindering any economic growth or civil progress. In this paper we will describe the long and arduous process that led to the removal of land from the landowners and the establishment of rural properties in southern Italy. Different forms of abuses of public property from the baronial class, the reaction of the government and local institutions will be illustrated. We will also clarify why, at the end, the removal of land from the landowners in favour of the peasantry, once carried out, didn’t constitute by itself the transformation of ownership in southern Italy.