The Economy of Bavaria, 1622 – 1800

Schremmer analyzed the economic development of Bavaria in the period between the High Middle Ages and the beginning industrialization. In this framework the particular focus of his work are the mining, commerce, and trade of the Bavarian region. The history of commerce and trade of the period of investigation is predominantly a history of handycraft. For the early years of the investigated period it was not possible for the researcher to describe the history according to types of handycraft and branch-related groups. Considerable gaps of the statistical material made it only possible to collect the respective Guild Order, which would not offer additional information. Therefore, the investigator chose the next level of higher aggregation. He described all persons working in the field of commerce and trade. This group is divided into two subgroups, first the peasant farmers living in very small farms called Sölden and who are also working commercially, and second the independent craftsmen. The division of this two groups is not a sharp division, but enables the description of the historical development. The group of the small farmers (= Söldenbesitzer) has been analyzed exclusively in terms of agricultural historical research questions. Schremmer includes the small farmers in his work in the group of craftsmen. Furthermore, he could associate the development of population with the development of the small farmer group. For the subsequent years of the period under study the author distinguished between different sectors of activities. Economic structure, economic growth, and economic system are the focus of Schremmers’ work. Agricultural questions are not dealt with because there already existed extensive research works. Period and region of the investigation: The author divided the period between the High Middle Ages and the beginning industrialization into two main-periods: First, there is the time from the emergence of the territorial lordship to the beginning of principality. Subsequently, the epoch of mercantilism until the beginning industrialization follows. The author defines as the border between these two periods the reign of Maximilian 1st (1597-1651). Bavaria is analyzed in its respective borders. At the end of the investigation period Bavaria included four so called Rentämter (revenue-offices) Upper- and Lower Bavaria, Upper Palatinate, Schulzbach, and Neuburg. The borders of the territorial state are not equal to the borders of its economy area. The neighboring regions and free cities of Bavaria are Bohemia, Austria, Switzerland, Swabia, Württemberg and Franconia, which have been included into the analysis of the author. The collected data of Schremmer’s publication contains 41 data tables. They deal with the development of earnings, changing economic situations of Bavaria after the Thirty Years War, the salt production and salt sales, the development of commerce in terms of the spread over the Bavarian territory, the mining and the manufactures, as well as finally information on population and trade. 18 data tables contain 119 time series. Further 23 tables include cross-sectional data with in general 400 variables, which are about yearly earnings, food prices, number of traders, information on salt production or the distribution of small farmers (the so called ‘Söldenwesen, Söldenstellen’, who needs additional to their farming income by supplementary work as craftsmen).