Managing the fishery commons at Marseille: How a medieval institution failed to accommodate change in an age of globalization

Abstract

This paper offers a socio-historical study of the Prud'homie de pêche (the “Prud'homie”), a common-pool institution (“CPI”) that has managed the fishery commons at Marseille since the Middle Ages. The evidence presented here sheds light on specific challenges faced by the Prud'homie during the early stages of globalization: one challenge is the import of a new fishing technique (the madrague) in the early 17th century, and another challenge is the arrival of migrant fishermen from Catalonia throughout the 18th century. On this basis, this paper explores the ways in which globalization has impacted the Prud'homie and identifies the mechanisms through which these challenges might threaten the functioning of CPIs.