Historic anthropogenic factors shaping the rural landscape of Portugal's Interior Alentejo Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Martinho da Silva, Isabel Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 09/10/2021 22:37:48 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/289759 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. 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Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 fflSTORIC ANTHROPOGENIC FACTORS SHAPING THE RURAL LANDSCAPE OF PORTUGAL'S INTERIOR ALENTEJO by Isabel Martinho da Silva A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WITH A MAJOR IN RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCES STUDIES In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 200 1 UMI Number: 3040148 UMI ® UMI Microform 3040148 Copyright 2002 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA (!) GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by - Isa-bsl Mairtinho da. Silva entitled HISTORIC ANTHROPOGENIC FACTORS SHAPING THE RURAL LANDSCAPE OF PORTUGAL'S INTERIOR ALENTEJO and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IIJJ'I Date 0 I Dati 1 I wjlhfol }atfe ~T Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. Dnsertation DirectorDirect* Donovan Wilkj n 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank the Acuity and staff of Renewable Natural Resources for all the support that Tve received during ray graduate studies at the University of Arizona. Special thanks to Dr. D. Wilkin, Dr. E. Zube, Dr. R. Gimblett, Dr. Bob BechteU and Dr. D. Doxtater, my committee for this dissertation. A very special thanks to Don Wilkin for his friendship, trust, and encouragement durmg all these years. Also a very special thanks to Randy Gmblett and Mary Soltero, made possible a 21st century dissertation defense. Thanks to all the friends that I've met in Tucson, that made my life &r from home so much easier. I miss you all very much. Thanks to all my friends and £imily in Portugal who gave me support and confidence to undertake this work. A special thanks to my husband Leonardo, and to my son Filipe. Thanks to the beautifiil landsc^ of southern Arizona, that warmed my days in Tucson and reinforced my concerns about landscape preservation. Thanks to the beautiful landscape of Alentejo, that inspired this work. And finally, last but not least, I want to thank the Funda(3o para a Ciencia e Tecnologia that provided the financial support to my doctoral studies. 5 DEDICATION This dissertadon is dedicated to my son, Filipe, who, during his first three years of life, had to share his mother with this work. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF HGURES 9 LIST OF TABLES 11 ABSTRACT 13 I - INTRODUCTION 15 1.1 — Context for the study 15 1.2 - Reasons for the study 20 1.3 - Study structure 22 1.4 - Definition of the study area 24 1.4.1 - The Alentejo region 24 1.4.2 - High Alentejo (Alto Alentejo) 28 L4.3 - Littoral Alentejo (Alentejo Litoral) 30 L4.4 - Interior Alentejo (Alentejo Interior) 32 1.4.5 - Justification of the study area 38 n - INTERIOR ALENTEJO'S RURAL LANDSCAPES 40 n. 1 - Identification of the main Interior Alentejo rural landscapes 40 n.1.1 -Forest 41 n.1.2 - Montado 42 n. 1.3 - Permanent crop landscapes 46 n. 1.4 — Open fields 49 II.2 - Geographic distribution of landscape types in Interior Alentejo ... 53 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued m - THE EVOLUTION OF INTERIOR ALENTEJO'S LANDSCAPES 66 in. 1 - Introduction 66 in.2 - The territorial unit of study 68 in.3 - Pre-Roman times 69 in.4 - The Roman period 77 in.5 - The Visigoth period 87 in.6 - The Muslim period 91 IIL7 - The Christian Reconquest 97 in.8 - From the Christian Reconquest to the Liberal Revolution 102 in.8.1 - Poor counties 102 III.8.2 - Rich counties 106 in.9 - The Liberal period 118 in.10 - The 20th century wheat campaigns 131 in. 11 - Rural exodus and mechanization 141 in. 12 - The 1974 Revolution and the Agrarian Reform 153 in. 13 - The EU accession and the Common Agriculture Policy 169 in. 14 - The 1992 CAP reform 191 m. 15 - Evolution of the predominant agricultural landscape in Interior Alentejo between 1979 and 1999 216 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued IV - IDENTIFICATION OF DETERMINANT ANTHROPOGENIC FACTORS IN THE EVOLUTION OF INTERIOR ALENTEJO LANDSCAPE 222 IV. 1 — Cultural factors 229 IV.2 - Political stability 231 IV.3 - The market 233 IV.4 - Policies 235 IV.5 - Social structure 236 IV.6 — Population density 238 IV.7 - Technology 241 V-CONCLUSIONS 244 V. 1 - The study and its main results 244 V.2 - Suggestions for application of findings and further research.... 253 REFERENCES 259 9 LIST OF HGURES Figure 1 - The geographic Alentejo region 24 Figure 2 - The administrative Alentejo region 26 Figure 3 - The three Alentejo subregions 27 Figure 4 - Soil fertility in Interior Alentejo 36 Figure 5 - Forest 42 Figure 6 - Montado 43 Figure 7 - Olive groves 47 Figure 8 - Vineyards 47 Figure 9 - Olive tree coplanted fields 48 Figure 10 - Mixed farming 49 Figure 11 - Poor open fields 51 Figure 12 — Rich open fields 52 Figure 13 — Distribution of open fields in Interior Alentejo in 1999 60 Figure 14 - Distribution of permanent crop landscapes in Interior Alentejo in 1999 61 Figure 15 - Distribution of montados in Interior Alentejo in 1999 62 Figure 16 - Methodology for the identification of the predominant Landscape type in Interior Alentejo counties 63 Figure 17 - Classification of Interior Alentejo counties according with predominant agricultural landscape in 1999 64 10 LIST OF HGURES - Continued Figure 18 - Protohistoric Mediterranean infield-outfield system 75 Figure 19 - Roman Lusitania 78 Figure 20 - Roman classical zonation model 81 Figure 21 - Landscape structure in an Interior Alentejo civitas 82 Figure 22 - Predominant settlement pattern during the Visigoth period 89 Figure 23 - The Garb-al-Andaluz 91 Figure 24 - Landscape structure during Muslim times 93 Figure 25 - Territorial structure of an Interior Alentejo county after the Reconquest Wars 97 Figure 26 - Landscape structure of an Interior Alentejo county after the Reconquest Wars 99 Figure 27 - Landscape structure of a rich Interior Alentejo county at the Late Middle Ages 106 Figure 28 - The Agrarian Reform Intervention Zone 156 Figure 29 - Classification of Interior Alentejo counties according to the predominant agricultural landscape in 1979 168 Figure 30 - Classification of Interior Alentejo counties according to the predominant agricultural landscape in 1989 190 11 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 — Soils suitable for agriculture in Interior Alentejo counties 35 Table 2 - Area covered by the 1999 Agricultural Census in Interior Alentejo ... 54 Table 3 - Rural landscape in Interior Alentejo (area covered by the 1999 Agricultural Census) 55 Table 4 - Agricultural landscape in Interior Alentejo in 1999 59 Table 5 - Barrancos territory at the end of the Ancient Regime 104 Table 6 — Demographic growth in the three Interior Alentejo districts 123 Table 7 - Land uses in 14 Interior Alentejo counties in the 1880's-1890's 127 Table 8 - Land uses in Cuba county and parishes in the 1880's 128 Table 9 - Land uses in 14 Interior Alentejo counties in the 1950's 136 Table 10 - Landscape evolution in 14 Interior Alentejo counties (1880's-I950's) 138 Table 11 - Area covered by the 1968 Agricultural Census in Interior Alentejo .