Contenu du sommaire : Métallurgie à la campagne

Metal-Working in Ancient Cambodia : Work of the Gods, Work of Men Till 1940, craftsmen working in the forests of northern Cambodia smelted iron ore on a small scale to produce high-grade steel. The abundant production of iron was a factor underlying the formation and influence of the Angkor empires. Till the late 19th century, metal-workers from the Kouy ethnic group in the Kompong-Thom area supplied iron to all of Cambodia and part of Indochina. Organized in egalitarian village work groups under both a mystical and a technical leader, those metallurgists observed ceremonies and prohibitions so that divinities would guarantee the success of iron-working operations. These ceremonies, of very ancient date, unquestionably come from India. The description of the techniques used to reduce iron ore will be of special interest to archaeologists and historians, since there are so few ancient documents about this topic.

Metal-Working Farmers and Smiths in the African Sudan and Sahel Iron-Working in the Sudan and Sahel regions of Africa is linked to smelting and forging techniques and to the social relations having to do with the status of specialized workmen. By comparing some of the most representative systems of large-scale production that have survived till recent times - in the Basari (northern Togo), Dogon (Mali) and Mossi (Yatenga, Burkina Faso) areas - contrasting forms of technical and economic organization can be observed. Groups involved in working iron are either metal- working farmers who supply smiths or smiths who more or less autonomously acquire and smelt ore. Till present, little has been known about the first group. Why, in certain societies that have intensively produced iron for several centuries, have smiths been kept from smelting ? What does it mean to be a smith in a society that tends to be stratified ? Do blacksmiths "crystallize" as a social group as a result of technical and economic changes ? Traditional ways of working metal in West Africa raise historical, sociological and technological questions of far-reaching import.

Forge Personnel in Modern Times : The Bonpertuis and Lombards in Dauphiné The personnel at three forges in Dauphiné, France, are studied from the 16th to 18th centuries. Like so many other industrial establishments under the monarchy, these forges were small, never employing more than 5-10 persons. Nonetheless, they were involved in trade over an area with a radius of more than 50 kms. This trade involved iron ore, wood, and the iron they produced. Employees had good incomes ; and the owners could become part of the petty bourgeoisie. These ironworks also generated steady income for persons who, involved in transportation and charcoal-production, found a way to make a living in a poor area where they could not live on the earth.

A Metal-Working Episode in the 15th-Century French-Lorraine War : The Roches-sur-Marne Proceedings In the last years of the 15th century, the installation of an ambitious ironworks on the Marne River became the cause of legal proceedings with political aspects, owing to the rivalry between the Lorraine family that set up this works and the Royal administration. The inquiry conducted during proceedings indicted this heavy industry. It was charged with destabilizing the local ecological and economic system, which the king's representative in the castellani of Saint-Dizier had set up for working the forests, ensuring the movement of persons and merchandise, and protecting the bourgeoisie.

Preindustrial Metallurgy, Pollution, Rural Life : Alpine Italy Riva d'Agordo, a village in the Venetian Alps, lies a few hundred meters above the Imperina Vale where, at the start of the Quattrocento, copper pyrite was mined and "baked" in open hearths so as to extract copper. Sulfurous by-products polluted the land and damaged crops, as documents from 1580 prove. Mining and metal- working grew throughout the 17th and 18th centuries with, as a consequence, more pollution. The village adapted its economy to the new activities in Imperina Val : in 1766, more than 90% of men fit for work were employed extracting metal. Villagers did not fight against the inevitable pollution. Instead, they used it to bargain for gifts to charities, tax exemptions, and compensation for lost farm income.

The Consequences of the Growing Iron Industry on Forests and Farms (16th-17th Centuries) Thanks to new blast furnaces, the iron industry grew during the 16th century. So did the need for wood and charcoal for fuel. This led to new ways of working the forests. The old ways, particularly those involving livestock, changed. The degree of change depended on the existing agrarian system : open field and bocage areas did not adjust alike. Although changes of this sort have been important in modern times, the presence of ironworks in the Middle Ages probably already had an impact on the way of working forests and, therefore, on farming practices.

Shrinking Farmland in Rwanda : Peasants in Crisis Rwanda is in the throes of a political and social crisis that, besides the struggle for control over the government, affects the future of several million peasants. The everyday existence of the latter depends on the ability of political authorities and individuals to restructure agricultural production on an overcrowded, fragile land. Between the short-run necessities of conservation and the need to promote economic development for peasants, there are several contradictions that may soon result in a dead end. What remains of national solidarity would be menaced. Given the deep crisis the peasantry is undergoing, current fights for power become absurd. An agrarian revolution must be launched.