Dîme, production agricole et événements climatiques : le cas de Piura au nord du Pérou (17-19ème siècles)

Abstract

The usefulness of tithes as a measure of agrarian production and also as a way to reveal climate events and changes in Latin America is still debated. This article analyzes the practice of farming out tithes and the evolution of their revenue over two and half centuries in Piura, northern Peru. It details the steps that allow the establishment of a tithes series and shows the steady growth of agrarian production in the Piura region between the 17th and 18th centuries, the tithe receipts peak during the second half of the 18th century, and a downturn occurs in the first years of the 19th century. The tithe patterns reveal a series of the major droughts, which affected Piura in colonial times, but the article questions the value of such figures for climate history in general, given the absence of sources for the 17th century as well as complementary data such as a regional price index.

Keywords

• Peru
• Piura
• Agrarian history
• climate history
• tithes
• economic trends