Page:  of 502
 

another sure criterion, a rise in the price of land. In-
creased activity in business followed the reforms in
the currency of 1726, and an enhancement in the
value of farms seems to have attended it. In 1726,
the average price of agricultural land was estimated
at twenty-five dollars an acre; by 1750, this had risen
to thirty-five dollars. 1

Notwithstanding the burden of taxation and the
pressure of need, the peasantry during all the century
continued to increase its holdings of the soil. Small
as were the earnings of peasant proprietors, if, by
means of the most rigorous economy, anything re-
mained at the end of the year, it was put one side, and
the only thing that would open the box containing
their hoards was the possibility of acquiring another
bit of land. A thirst, not for gold, but for land, has
been characteristic of the French peasant as far back
as his history can be traced, and opportunities were
not wanting for new purchases. A large proportion
of the nobility were non-residents, their land yielded
them little, and ownership did not of itself bring the
social influence which had so important an effect on
the holding of land in England. The French noble-
man was at court, he was in debt, and he received
small returns from his estates in the provinces. It
is evident, therefore, that it was for the interest of
the gentleman to sell, and the peasant was usually the
only purchaser. Thus, little by little, an acre here
and an acre there, the slow process of accumulation
by the peasantry went on, and it went on with as
much rapidity in the eighteenth century as at any era
of the past.

____________________
1 These figures are derived from the reports of sales given in
Avenel, Histoire économique, p. 388.

-47-

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com

Publication Information: Book Title: France under Louis XV. Volume: 1. Contributors: James Breck Perkins - author. Publisher: Houghton, Mifflin. Place of Publication: Boston. Publication Year: 1897. Page Number: 47.
    
This feature allows you to create and manage separate folders for your different research projects. To view markups for a different project, make that project your current project.
This feature allows you to save a link to the publication you are reading or view all the publications you have put on your bookshelf.
This feature allows you to save a link to the page you are reading, which you can later return to from Projects.
This feature allows you to highlight words or phrases on the publication page you are reading.
This feature allows you to save a note you write on the publication page you are reading.
This feature allows you to create a citation to the page you are reading that you can paste into your paper. Highlight a passage to include that passage as a quotation.
This feature allows you to save a reference to a publication you are reading for your bibliography or generate a bibliography you can paste into your paper.
This feature allows you to print the page you are reading, including your notes or highlights (IE users must have "print background colors and image" setting selected.)
This feature allows you to look up words in encyclopedia.
  About Questia Tools
Close Window  
Questia's powerful research tools allow you to highlight, take notes, bookmark and even create instant citations and bibliographies. To use these features and save hours of work, you must create a Questia account.
Need a Questia account?
Sign up for a FREE trial now. Save time, stress and hassle, and get better grades with trusted, online research.

» Click here for our free trial

Already have a Questia account? Login now!
Error
Working...
Printing Preferences
Format for black and white printer: On Off
Print highlights: On Off
Print notes: On Off
Choose one of the options for printing:
Print this page (No Charge)
Print pages to