Industrial Landscapes in the Jura Mountains during the 19th Century : So Many Invisible Hands

Jean-Marc Olivier (1)

1 FRAMESPA - France, Amériques, Espagne,Sociétés, Pouvoirs, Acteurs

it is clear that all these industries of the Jura Mountains were "invisible", largely because they produce small things in very small towns or in the countryside. Nevertheless, it ought to be recognized that these rural industries created the same amount of wealth per capita as the English or German factories did. However, this form of soft industrialization did so in a different and less traumatic way. Soft industrialisation protected and preserved peasant farms, the large rural population, and traditional production of high quality, labour-intensive goods. This process highlights another accomplishment/ facet/ aspect of industrial society, of which other examples existed elsewhere : knife making in Thiers, hat production in the Pyrénées or in the Tarn and Garonne, as well as perfumery around Grasse, etc. Many historians have underestimated these independent rural industries because they were invisible in the landscape and in the archives , but their importance should not be undervalued.

Mots clés: Jura; France; Switzerland; soft industrialization; invisible hands; clock-macking; clockmakers; clock; spectacles; eyeglass manufacturer; spectacle; optician; watch; watch makers; countryside

Mots clés: Suisse; industrialisation douce; mains invisibles; paysages; horlogerie; lunetterie; horloger; lunetier

Domaines: Histoire

Jean-Marc Olivier. Industrial Landscapes in the Jura Mountains during the 19th Century : So Many Invisible Hands. 2009. ⟨hal-00974211⟩