Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to discover how Revolutionary, Napoleonic and Restoration legislation in the long term fostered the privatization of common land in one region of southern France. It also takes into account the peasantry's agency and actions involved in the privatization process. The book describes life in the Gard at the end of the eighteenth century. It analyzes the legislative changes to common land during the Revolution and reveal how these laws were applied in the Gard. Napoleon's seizure and sale of common land during the late Empire, along with the Restored Bourbons attempt to finally put to rest the Jacobin partition decree of 1793 with the Royal ordinance of 1819. The book attempts to discover the impact that privatizing common land had on the rural society and economy of the Gard.