Amazon.com description: Product Description: In the first major study in English of Spanish agrarian history, James Simpson examines how traditional agriculture responded to population growth and the integration of commodity markets. He argues that decisive changes in farming techniques only occurred at the start of this century; development was then interrupted by the Spanish Civil War and subsequent short-sighted government policies, only resuming in the 1950s. This comprehensive study will be of relevance to historical geography and agrarian history, as well as economic history.