Contenu du sommaire : Faire diaspora en ville, XIIIe-XIXe siècle

Under the domination of the Lusignans (1192-1474) and then of the Venetians (1474-1571), the two main Cypriot cities, Nicosia and Famagusta, welcomed nearly a dozen communities of Eastern Christians (including Armenians, Jacobites, Nestorians, Melkites, Ethiopians, Copts, Maronites) alongside Greeks and Latins. By studying where they settled based on the location of their religious buildings, we see a relative dispersion of the members of these diasporas in the urban space. Despite living far from their communities of origin, the Eastern Christians in Cyprus maintained close links with their home communities thanks to commercial, intellectual and religious networks. Moreover, protected by the Lusignan political power, they enjoyed upward social mobility and became part of the administrative and economic structures of the urban elites.

This paper examines the process (and limitations) of community-building among French merchants living in Valencia, Alicante and Malaga in the 18th century, through the anchoring of these groups in the cities where they were living and working. To this end, a comparative approach highlights ‘French merchants' unequal participation in institutions of these three places. In addition, the paper endeavours to cast light on the tangible community activities of these groups. These activities were visible through social and cultural rites in the city, which were both drivers and mirrors of a collective consciousness taking shape. Finally, the paper investigates the actual usefulness of these community structures in relation to their initial objectives. Indeed, a functioning diaspora was not self-evident: it was sometimes chaotic and the merchant groups divided.

In the second half of the 19th century, Buenos Aires experienced unprecedented urban expansion as a result of the arrival of many immigrants. In the west end of the city, the settling of Italian immigrants can be observed by looking at the ownership of plots of land. Former farmland was exploited for clay deposits to manufacture bricks, and then became the site of housing development projects, with Italians involved both as owners and as building workers. These different forms of land development were based on the activation of migratory chains and the creation of professional specialisations.

After the Great Famine of 1315-1317 and for more than a century, Western European societies seemed to be relatively safe from this kind of grain shortage. This was no longer the case after the famine of 1437-1438. During the Little Ice Age (1300-1850), the Spörer Minimum (1420-1550) was a period of significant climatic variability, which repeatedly diminished agricultural production and which – alongside other factors – complicated the supply of the cities of the 'European dorsal' region and their trade. Far from remaining inactive, after the famine of 1437-1438, the authorities of the cities of the Burgundian Netherlands, the Duchies of Luxembourg and Lorraine, as well as the cities of western Germany and the Swiss Confederation experimented with various adaptation strategies to prevent new subsistence crises.

The city of Rouen, one of the largest in the kingdom of France, had been subject to weather risks such as excessive rainfall, intense cold or storms since its foundation. These extreme climate episodes had direct consequences (destructions of buildings, breaking of communication networks) or indirect consequences (reduction in the food supply, disease outbreaks). Beginning in the Middle Ages, confronted with that vulnerability, the authorities used more or less efficient strategies to lessen the negative effects of those risks before and after they took place. In the 18th century, the intellectual and scientific movement of the Enlightenment reached Rouen. Through the promotion of modern hygiene, urban, agricultural and commercial measures, the men of the Enlightenment endeavoured to improve every aspect of urban resilience. The purpose of this article is to assess the degree to which Enlightenment ideas penetrated Rouen's society and were applied there.

Often perceived as a hindrance to proper maintenance of the streets, the financing of street paving by neighbourhoods in pre-industrial cities is examined here as a form of local management of common goods, for which the economist Elinor Ostrom has set out the criteria for proper functioning. Indeed, the institutional arrangement of the management of the roads in Bologna in the 13th century largely meets these criteria: the public authorities guaranteed legal recognition and arbitration in case of conflicts, but also decision-making autonomy to the community concerned, which elected its own representatives at several levels (groups of neighbouring landowners, and local institutions at parish level). Although the Commune exercised greater control circa 1300, this control became looser during the 14th century – a sign that the Commune had confidence in local management – but was tightened during the 15th century. During the Early Modern era, the institutional framework of local management was gradually dismantled by the public authorities, who pushed for centralised management.

In 1852, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte stopped in the city of Tours during his travels to central and southern France. These trips to the provinces were the occasion for brilliant celebrations, requiring meticulous preparation by all those involved, as well as the implementation of specific measures. City councillors had to rethink the urban space and transform its sensory universe, whether visual or auditory. They also had to equip the city with the appropriate amenities for the ceremonies and make room for facilities for fun and enjoyment. Finally, the city councillors bore the responsibility of ensuring the safety of all participants by anticipating possible accidents or attacks. The study of these arrangements allows us to observe the sovereign's tour in a different way and to study how the tangible conditions of the festival fed into politics.

This article draws on multiple, often untapped sources (such as municipal archives, newspapers, sketches and photographs) to examine advertisers' projects for street furniture in early 20th century Shanghai. Their plans, however, barely met with municipal approval in this politically fragmented treaty-port, which was confronted with the dramatic growth of its population and traffic, war and economic depression. While traffic congestion definitely prevented advertising kiosks from being installed in the International Settlement, municipal authorities were more willing to experiment with equipment that contributed to traffic safety. Although electric clocks were introduced in the Chinese districts and the French Concession, they failed to make their way in the Settlement due to technical and traffic safety issues. Ultimately, these plans show what may have been just a city of dreams, but it was a city that was negotiated between advertisers and the administration. As they drew their inspiration from European metropolises, advertising professionals participated in the global circulation of ideas, even though many obstacles barred their implementation in the 'transcolonial' context of the Republic of China.