Tanulmányok Budapest Múltjából 12. (1957)

Nagy Lajos: Mezőgazdaság Pesten a XVIII. században = Agriculture in the town of Pest during the 18th century 133-196

and commercial capital and the size of the town a result of the division of labour between industry and agriculture, due consideration must be given to the part played by agriculture in the life of the town.evolution and changes of this role in the course of centuries is an important question from the point of view of the development of the town. I. Agriculture from 1686 to 1711 Arable areas in the surroundings of the town of Pest were taken possession of gradually and under many difficulties by the recently settled population after the liberation from Turkish rule. This process and the rate at which it took place, were not always determined by the requirements of the population ; the interference of external factors, such as the insecurity of possession, the fault-finding of the Town Council or of the Treasury in Biida had to be reckoned with, and it took a lot of trouble for the population to overcome these difficulties. At any rate, the exertions of the town's population to secure and to take in possession arable land, point to the fact that agriculture must have had a substantial part in the life of the town. This is also reflected by the different conscriptions, and. especially by the direction and proportion of development, well noticeable when comparing these conscriptions. This trend is characterized by the advance of agriculture in connection with the consolidation of the Hungarian and Serbian („rác") element of the town's population. The development of the town of Pest responded however like a sensitive instrument also to the development of the country. Situated at the edge of the devastated Alföld (Great Hungarian Plain), overshadowed by the town of Buda, it was not in a position to unfold its possibilities as a town. While the upper strata of the citizens, merchants and craftsmen of German nationality fought for many years to obtain the charter securing the rank and the advantages of a free royal city, and did not succeed until 1703, — the population of Hungarian and Serbian nationality which was almost entirely excluded from city rights and partly also from the possession of the town's territory, constantly increased in number and continued its agricultural work that — though it did not yield great profits — kept the wolf from the door. During the war of independence led by Rákóczi however a great part of the town was destroyed, and the ravages of the war were crowned by the epidemic of plague in 1710—1711 and by the icy inundation of the Danube in the winter of 1712. /7. Areas under agricultural cultivation from 1711 to 1800 The development of Pest in the 18th century started from a very low level characterized by sufferings and bitter misery. But within a century the town became the natural centre of the country in the domain of industry and commerce, as well as in the mental sphere. The road leading there was far from being even. The growing and strengthening of the town was linked by strong threads with the development of its nearer and farther surroundings and as a consequence of its potential energy also with the development of the country. The development of the country however was hampered by the establishment of the colonial system of the Habsburgs, representing no negligible obstacle for the development of the Hungarian towns too, especially when the instrument of customs policy was used to hinder industry and commerce. Therefore, especially in the first half of the 18th century, the increase in the population of the town as a result of the stagnation of industry and commerce thrust the question of agriculture again into prominence. The number of inhabitants in 1746 can be estimated at 5—6000 as against 1200—1300 in 1715. The area available for agricultural production measured about 15 450 cadastral yokes 192