Fehér György szerk.: A Magyar Mezőgazdasági Múzeum Közleményei 1992-1994 (Budapest, 1994)

11. Nemzetközi Gazdaságtörténeti Kongresszus, 1994., Milánó (llth International Economic History Congress) - FÜLÖP ÉVA MÁRIA: German peasants settled in a feudal estates in Transdanubia (Hungary) in the middle of the 18th century. A case-study of Tata - Gesztes domain

GERMAN PEASANTS SETTLED IN A FEUDAL ESTATE IN TRANSDANUBIA (HUNGARY) IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 18TH CENTURY A case-study of Tata-Gesztes domain Éva Mária Fülöp After the Turkish conquest and the fights against the Habsburgs in the 16th and 17th centuries, the early beginning of the 18th century was the period of reorganisation of the normal way of life and the agricultural production in Hungary. The large feudal estates that had decisive role in our country's economy could increase their production by extensive way. They had to enlarge their territory and the number of serfs (subditi). Originating from Csallóközeit is a plain between the rivers Danube and Small-Danube) the Protestant Esterházy-family of lower nobility in the course of the 17th century advanced to the rank of the high nobility and held important constitutional dignities. After having taken up the Catholic faith Miklós Esterházy (1583-1645), the count-palatine {palatínus regni) was raised to the rank of count and one of his sons was the founder of the branch of princes and the other one of the branch of counts. It was from this second, so called younger, line of the counts Esterházy from Fraknó that József Esterházy (1682-1748), the Lord Chief Justice {iudex curiae regiae) descended. His constitutional, administrative and military career at the court emerged from the 1710s on. (He became the Lord lieutenant (comes supremus) of county Komárom in 1711; he was the governor (ban) in Croatia-Slavonia-Dalmatia between 1733-1741). He had one of the largest complex of domains. The complex of estates he owned took shape between 1702 and 1738: through the family possessions, donations and purchases. In the row of his estates the Tata-Gesztes estate in Transdanubia had a central role. (He bought it in 1727.) It was situated on the territory of the Vértes and Gerecse mountains, partly in that part of the 18th century Komárom county that could be found on the right bank of the Danube and partly in the neighbouring Fejér and Győr counties. This territory had overgone important devastating during the Turkish conquest and later during the fights for liberation. From the 1740s the marketing opportunities due to the Austrian-Prussian wars and the industrial development of the Austrian and Czech provinces as well as the increasing inner market — were attractive enough to be a major incentive to the grain farmers and Hungarian agriculture began to gear its production in an increasingly market-oriented manner.