Bencsik János: Kapitalizálódó gazdaság, polgárosodó társadalom (Officina Musei 13. Miskolc, 2003)
THE COMMUNITY OF TOKAJ (1869)
THE COMMUNITY OF TOKAJ (1869) The 16-17' century is the golden age of grape- and wine-production of TokajHegyalja. From 1770 on it lost its importance step by step. It lost the northern markets, mainly those in Poland. The main reason can be found in the change of taste and the impoverishment of the Polish people. During these decades the Polish state was divided up among the neighbouring Great Powers. In the beginning of the 19 lh century the problem was found in different social-economic trends - the increase of the number of Jews - and consequently new possibilities had to be looked for. The ambition of Tokaj, the centre of the regional wine region, was founded on its world-wide fame. Its partners, among others, were the strong landowners who lived in the country towns of Hegyalja. First the protection of originality was brought up. The royal decree, which was issued in 1737, solved the problems of divergence. In the middle of the 19 1 ' 1 century the laws of 1848 started a new development in several agricultural branches and mainly in the winegrowing culture. The first Hungarian census of 1869 and its exact data gave the basis of the present studies. This richness of sources gave the possibility of analyzing the economic changes before 1848. The one-crop yield and the wine-trade issuing from it gave fundament of the role of Tokaj in its agricultural life. During the time before 1848 the development of capitalism also influenced the community of Tokaj and its agriculture. This process already started in the turn of the 18 th - 19 th century. This is why the wine-growing culture was not affected by the feudal rules. The activities of the Tokaj agriculture were affected by several changes (developments) in the middle of the 19 th century. One of them was the development of the railway network. When in 1858 the Pest-Szolnok-Debrecen-Nyíregyháza railway line also reached Tokaj it was connected with the national and international trade. In the same way the control of the Tisza, started in 1840, brought considerable changes. On the basis of the flood release the inhabitants of the small town also got the possibility to divide the farm into meadows and pastures. The frontier sections were converted into arable land. Then they could produce potatoes, corn and good quality grain. All this changed the structure of the town. The inhabitants in the southern part of the town - the so called Kistokaj (hohstadt) introduced the peasant farming, which had not been inherited from the 18 n century but dated from the new small plot cultivation, farming of the new century. On the other hand the buying of tithe grapes was started by the town's self-effort. The development started in the region from the beginning of the 19 th century. (The law of 1868 made the buying of vine-lands possible) So, the small and medium landowners could draw profits from the vineyards. Their ambition changed the production fundamentally. These new landowners reckoned with the fact that the cheap manpower of the region would be at their disposal unrestrictedly. In addition to this they created the capitalist financial management and they founded the First Hegyalja Savings Bank with distinction. Its considerable capital helped the economic development. Likewise they also organized the Wine Trade Association during these decades. Both the organizing of the Bank of Savings and the wine trade were managed by big landowners of
