Agricultural History Review, Volume 60 Part 2 (2012), pp. 153–172

Hitherto, pessimism about the material living standards of Belgian peasants during the eighteenth century has largely dominated the historiography. This article argues for a more positive outlook on the capacity of smallholders (handwerkers) to improve their standard of living. In the duchy of Brabant in the second half of the eighteenth century they could benefit from the rising grain prices by reserving part of their land for the cultivation of wheat for urban markets. The introduction of the potato was key to this process because it freed up land formerly reserved for growing food for household consumption. I argue that their market-oriented behaviour could be characterized as an Industrious Revolution because smallholders became consumers of urban luxury items such as colonial groceries. Innkeepers in particular played a pivotal role in the diffusion of these urban consumer practices throughout the countryside. 

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