Financing Agrarian Reforms. Savings banks, Rentenbank and Local Credit Markets in Westphalia - Research on Two Parishes, 1830-1866* Application for Savings Banks Academic Award 2005 Münster, August 2004, slightly revised January 2005 Johannes Bracht, M.A. Westfälische-Wilhelms-Universität Münster Institut für Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte Robert-Koch-Str. 29 D-48 149 Münster E-mail:
[email protected] * This paper deals with findings of the project „Beziehungen und Ressourcenflüsse in der ländlichen Gesellschaft: Soziale Netzwerke in Westfalen im 19. Jahrhundert“, promoted by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. The research was carried out in context of the research group „Forschungsgruppe Ländliches Westfalen“ (see http://www.uni-muenster.de/GeschichtePhilosophie/Geschichte/hist-sem/SW-G/forschung/laendl_westfalen.html ). I thank the student assistants Robin Kiera, Birgit Lueke, Theresa Potente and Christian Wilmsen for persevering work. Johannes Bracht Financing Agrarian Reforms Introduction Within the general process of rural development in the 19th century, we can describe several single economic developments like integration of product markets (Kopsidis), formation of the land market (Fertig), abolition of feudal (f.e. Dipper) and cooperative communal relationships (f.e. Brakensiek). Concerning the rural credit markets we can observe an institutional modernization, an introduction of modern institutions, which are essential elements of economic behaviour today. Savings banks, cooperative banks and governmental credit banks have been elements of this process and also new actors on an existing informal and more private credit market (Lindgren; Farr). The contemporary attitudes towards credit institutions considered both positive and negative effects of institutional credit on rural economies. As population grew and peasants had to contribute to the national wealth by increasing their outputs, rural credit was both a risk and a chance of modernization.