Szuhay Péter: A Szendrő környéki falvak paraszti gazdálkodása a kapitalizmus időszakában (Borsodi Kismonográfiák 14. Miskolc, 1982)

ECONOMY IN THE VILLAGES NEAR SZENDRŐ DURING THE CAPITALISM (Abstract) The investigated territory can be found in the region of contact of the historic Borsod, Abaúj and Gömör counties but the villages having been studied are to be found mainly in the territory of Borsod. Szendrő on the banks of the river Bódva being an important border castle, county-town — a place for holding markets, — a dominial centre, an administrative unit, had been a centre of that region for a long time. This territory was known as one of the most prosperous agricultural fields of Hungary of the time, rising above the others with highly developed agrotechny and with corn and grapes growing. In the 16th century excess products came out of peasants' farms, while up to the middle of the following century allodium became the determinant factor. From the end of the seventeenth century impoverishment of the territory begins with the development of the second serfdom. This impoverishment was increaesed by the Hungarian insurrection war and by the epidemic of plague in 1710. Peasants once producers for the market turned to subsistence economy. Szendrő is losing its importance in the second half of the nineteenth century, when the industrialized Edelény becomes the centre of the district. I payed special attention to the life in the villages surrounding these two market-towns and also to the cultivation of the soil here. It wasn't my aim to demonstrate all the phenomena in all these villages but taking the advantage of creating models I tried to characterize the peasants' economic history on the model of only three villages: Abod, Szuhogy and Martonyi. While investigating the problem there appeared some hypotheses. These villages can be studied on the basis of taking some circumstances into consideration, the most important of them being the economic alternative in a limited geographical unit. I think of the possibilities of the large and medium-sized estates against the peasants' small farms. In spite of their different alternatives they can give some model, too. Paying attention to their formation seems to be important. Another important circumstance is the difference of the villages and market-towns near the Bódva — on the plain —, and the villages among the hills. This difference appears in the 148