Farmers and the domestic iron market

Abstract

The Swedish case 1750-1870 in a European context – results from the thesis “Age of iron. The use and consumption of iron and iron products in rural Sweden 1750-1870.” During the agrarian revolution farmers and the rural population in general started to buy more iron products and more iron consuming tools then before. It has been claimed that the agricultural sector was the fastest growing market for iron products in the 16th and 17th centuries. (Bairoch, 1973). In my paper the total domestic market for iron in Sweden will presented and the agricultural sectors share of that market will be calculated. This is the first time such a test of the hypothesis has been made. Iron tools had a large impact on the effectiveness of farming. Some room in the paper will therefore be taken on the subject of agrarian technology. The main theme in the paper will be farmers as consumers of iron/iron products during time of falling relative iron prize. I will use iron as an example to show the transition of the agrarian community towards a more market orientated economy. This discussion will be in the lines of Jan de Vries and the Z-goods model showing the path towards increasing specializing.