Agriculture and agricultural knowledge in Bursa and Mihaliç (Karacabey) in the nineteenth century

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the change in agriculture and agricultural knowledge in Bursa and Mihaliç (Karacabey) throughout the nineteenth century. By conducting this research in the century of change and scrutinizing the factors of land, population, environment, state and schools, this dissertation aims to challenge the understanding of the ‘unchanging’ and ‘backward’ peasant knowledge. This study brings into light in what ways the peasants changed agricultural knowledge, crops and practices in response to the changes in these factors. Challenging the notion of ‘backward’ peasant agriculture knowledge brings the query of its antonym, ‘advanced’ scientific knowledge, which was presented an imagined dichotomy by state politics. By discussing this imagined dichotomy, this work emphasizes how and why scientific knowledge and peasants’ knowledge were intertwined and differentiated from each other. In Bursa, being one of the trade centers that had been vital for Istanbul, it is possible to observe the impact of particularly domestic but also international trade trends on agricultural production. Additionally, being the only place that has a Silk Institute, Bursa prepares a perfect ground to the politics of scientific knowledge and the relationship between scientific knowledge and peasants’ knowledge through this special product. As the first capital city of the empire with dense population and several vakıf villages, studying Bursa reveals unique ways of land use and agricultural production. Mihaliç, being the closest neighbor of Bursa has different characteristics than Bursa, thus it stands as the ideal district to compare different ways of changes.