The Struggle for Agrarian Resources in Danish Towns since c. 1500

Abstract

The article sums up and synthetizes research concerning the ownership of and access rights to fields and common land belonging to Danish towns from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, but especially during the period c. 1750–1850. The analysis shows many common features, for instance a large-scale ‘reclamation and tilling movement’ in the 16th and 17th centuries, when arable land was often divided into hundreds of small strips, which were apportioned to each of the houses in a particular town. Conversely, the enclosure movement, beginning c. 1750, followed different courses in individual towns, and in some places the process stretched over a very long period, consisting of several, distinct phases. Among other things, this was due to the fact that the enclosure process in the towns was often very turbulent, causing intense conflicts between different parts of the local population. This is evidence of the great importance of the access to urban plots of land.