Class conflict and class collaboration in regional rebellions, 1500 to 1700

Summary I argue that distinctive regional modes of production entailed divergent configurations of interests and differing degrees of mutual dependence between peasants and landlords. Class-collaborative rebellions correlate highly with a mode of production that makes for cooperative interests and interclass dependence, while class-conflict rebellions correlate highly with a mode of production that makes for antagonistic interests and interclass independence. But class-collaboration was unlikely without a target, which the state provided. Yet the state became the target in subsistence regions where the lack of markets made the raising of tax revenues particularly difficult and where subsistence classes were not dependent on the state for markets and, therefore, had little incentive to cooperate with the state. On the other hand, in regions with a commercial mode of production, raising tax revenues was less burdensome and classes tended to be dependent on the state for markets and, therefore, less likely to engage in antistate collective action.The data appear to support my model's predictions. The model fits best for England where, as predicted, class-collaboration rebellions took place in subsistence regions while class-conflict rebellions occurred in commercial regions. The model does less well for France and Spain. In France, most class-collaboration collective action happened in subsistence regions, though few class-conflict rebellions occurred in commercial regions, while the most intense class-conflict revolt of all took place in Lower Brittany - a mixed region. In Spain, class-antagonistic collective action occurred in commercial regions, especially Castile, while rebellions in other commercial regions displayed both class-cooperative and class-antagonistic aspects. In Spain's subsistence regions, there is little evidence of any collective action between 1500 and 1700. In Andalusia, finally, a mixed region, little collective action took place at all, which fits the model's prediction.In brief, though the mode of production may explain the relation between a form of agrarian rebellion and a particular kind of region, it does not explain variations in the incidence of rebellion either between the three nations or between regions with similar modes of production. These crucial issues will be addressed in a future paper.

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