Papers by Maïka De Keyzer
Presses universitaires de Rennes eBooks, 2024
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Early Modern Low Countries
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Continuity and Change
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status: Published onlin
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status: Published onlin
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Natural disasters nearly always catch societies by surprise, even though in hindsight historians ... more Natural disasters nearly always catch societies by surprise, even though in hindsight historians invariably conclude that being caught off-guard in this way was in fact unfounded as both the existence of the natural hazard which caused the disaster, and the societal conditions making communities vulnerable to the hazard, were clearly present before the event. Both experts and the general public also, again in hindsight, suddenly discover that similar hazards and disasters had previously occurred in the past. In many cases, however, the memory of these precursors had faded or seemed irrelevant because the context had changed so dramatically. When future historians come to write the history of the COVID-19 pandemic currently unfolding, therefore, it will probably resemble the history of other major natural, socio-natural or socio-techno-natural disasters - whether pandemics, earthquakes, tsunamis or nuclear catastrophes (Van Bavel et al. 2020). In retrospect, COVID-19 will become a su...
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Geomorphology, 2018
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Continuity and Change, 2014
ABSTRACTThe acceptance of mapmaking in medieval and early modern Europe was neither a uniform nor... more ABSTRACTThe acceptance of mapmaking in medieval and early modern Europe was neither a uniform nor a linear process. Comparing two neighbouring regions in the Low Countries, we explain the varying appetite for maps and mapmaking first by unravelling how people dealt with space before the introduction of modern mapmaking and, second, by identifying the actors that actively promoted its adoption. In regions where local elites had already been considering space as a commodity with a preference for clear-cut, geometric forms before the introduction of mapmaking, the latter was enthusiastically accepted and rapidly became instrumental in propagating this ‘modern’ concept of space. Other regions did not develop this appetite for mapmaking and continued to prefer different and more negotiable representations of space.
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Continuity and Change
In this article we analyse the root causes of the high level of resilience of one particular peas... more In this article we analyse the root causes of the high level of resilience of one particular peasant society: the Campine area. While peasant societies have often been deemed one of the most vulnerable societies in the face of crises and disasters, because of their lack of capital, technology and power, we show that peasant communities possessed some important weapons of the weak. Thanks to strong property rights, collective action, a diverse economic portfolio and inclusive poor relief institutions the Campine peasants were able to weather both the late medieval crises, harvest failures as well as the threat of sand drifts between the fourteenth and nineteenth century.
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De morgen.be, 2016
status: Published onlin
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Klimaat en sociale rechtvaardigheid, 2019
Aan de basis van het actuele klimaatvraagstuk ligt een fundamen-tele onrechtvaardigheid: die groe... more Aan de basis van het actuele klimaatvraagstuk ligt een fundamen-tele onrechtvaardigheid: die groepen die het meest kwetsbaar zijn voor de gevolgen van klimaatverandering, hebben doorgaans de kleinste ecologische voetafdruk (en vice versa). Is deze ecologi-sche onrechtvaardigheid onvermijdelijk of het gevolg van maat-schappelijke en politieke keuzes? Is een rechtvaardigere verdeling van de ecologische kosten en baten in tijden van klimaatverande-ring mogelijk? Het verleden kan functioneren als een spiegel voor het heden en ons vandaag helpen de juiste keuzes te maken voor een klimaatrechtvaardige toekomst. Dit hoofdstuk verkent drie vroegmoderne casussen over ecologische (on)rechtvaardigheid. Deze historische precedenten leren ons dat de sterkste schouders zelden de zwaarste ecologische lasten droegen, maar dat ecolo-gische rechtvaardigheid geen utopie hoeft te zijn. Een inclusieve vorm van zeggenschap, lage ongelijkheidsniveaus en verregaande solidariteit hebben een fundamentele impact op sociale en ecolo-gische kwetsbaarheid en kunnen het lot van zwakkere groepen in tijden van ecologische transformaties in belangrijke mate verbe-teren. Ecologische rechtvaardigheid: een korte geschiedenis In het hedendaagse debat over natuurrampen en ecologische uitdagingen staan grotendeels twee begrippen centraal: ecologi-sche ongelijkheid en onrechtvaardigheid. Hoewel beide concepten verwant zijn, is het belangrijk deze te onderscheiden. Ecologi-sche ongelijkheid wijst op de ongelijke verdeling van ecologische kosten en baten tussen verschillende groepen in de samenleving. Ecologische onrechtvaardigheid verwijst naar de oneerlijke situ
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Commons in a Glocal World. Global Connections and Local Responses, 2019
Common challenges, different fates. The causal factors of failure or success in the commons. The ... more Common challenges, different fates. The causal factors of failure or success in the commons. The pre-modern Brecklands (England) and the Campine (Southern Low Countries) compared. Abstract Why do commons fail or succeed? Commons studies have focussed predominantly on the root causes of success. Failing commons are considered exceptional, if the common pool institutions applied the seven design principles defined by Elinor Ostrom. Nevertheless, CPIs could and did fail by unsustainably managing the communal resources, even when freedom in the commons was averted and strict design principles were introduced. Institutions are the instruments of societies, and therefore do not have agency by themselves to secure sustainable and efficient management of resources. A comparative case study of two historical common heathland societies in the coversand belt, the Brecklands (East Anglia, England) and the Campine (Duchy of Brabant, Southern Low Countries), analyses the root causes of failure and success by moving beyond the institutional framework. This chapter shows that successful collective action was dependent on the inclusion of all interest groups in the management of the commons, a relative power balance to foster strong social control and the willingness and ability to engage in collective action to maintain communal resources.
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This research investigates the landscape instability associated with the drift sands, which are w... more This research investigates the landscape instability associated with the drift sands, which are widespread across north-western Europe. It focuses on Breckland, UK using new sites along with existing geomorphic, archaeological and historical data. This shows landscape instability of drift sands occurred at 5240 ± 1040 years BCE, 600 ± 100, 1150 ± 50, 1600 and ~1790 CE. Comparison of these phases to climate records show no clear patterns with drifting occurring during dry/wet as well as cold/warm periods. Additionally, similar climatic shifts lead to diverging reactions of landscapes in different regions throughout Europe. At the regional scale, land usage and population pressures also may not be the direct cause of sand drifting, suggesting that complex responses or different triggers at different times were responsible. Within this, society's unawareness of the inherent landscape instability and the threat posed by the sand hazard may have been important as it affected whether mitigation measures were or could be implemented. In Breckland, initial instability may have been due to the establishment of the open field system on virgin soil. Later changes in land ownership and associated power within the society, led to an inability of communities to implement mitigation measures and large land owners abstaining from tackling the sand hazard. Whilst the widespread coversands and climatic extremes provide the underlying susceptibility to sand drifting, it would appear that drift sands of the last 2000 years may provide less of a sedimentary archive of Late Holocene climatic changes and more a record of land management changes.
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Natural hazards posed major challenges to almost every pre-modern society. Even in the moderate c... more Natural hazards posed major challenges to almost every pre-modern society. Even in the moderate climate zone of Europe, natural hazards such as floods, storm surges and sand drifts threatened entire societies and could decimate occupation and land exploitation in a region. Some societies, however, were able to prevent hazards from turning into disasters, while others repeatedly suffered from nature-induced catastrophes. The question therefore remains, how were some societies able to cope and create subcultures of coping, while others were not? By combining archaeological data, OSL studies and archival material I will advance that we have to alter the current paradigm that the Campine area was predominantly struck by disastrous sand drifts from the later Middle Ages onwards. We should focus on specific combinations of the distribution of power between smallholders and elites and the level of short-termism of the social interest groups to explain why the late medieval Campine area was able to design a subculture of coping to mitigate the effects of insidious sand drifts.
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This article was accepted and published in a revised form by the journal Continuity and Change. C... more This article was accepted and published in a revised form by the journal Continuity and Change. Continuity and Change / Volume 29 / Issue 02 / August 2014, pp 209 - 240
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014
The acceptance of mapmaking in Medieval and Early Modern Europe was neither a uniform nor a linear process. Comparing two neighbouring regions in the Low Countries, we explain the varying appetite for maps and mapmaking first by unravelling how people dealt with space before the introduction of modern mapmaking and secondly by identifying the actors that actively promoted its adoption. In regions where local elites had already been considering space as a commodity with a preference for clear-cut, geometric forms before the introduction of mapmaking, the latter was enthusiastically accepted and rapidly became instrumental in propagating this ‘modern’ concept of space. Other regions did not develop such appetite for mapmaking and continued to prefer different and more negotiable representations of space.
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Is inclusiveness in the commons and sustainability a paradox? Late medieval and Early Modern rura... more Is inclusiveness in the commons and sustainability a paradox? Late medieval and Early Modern rural societies encountered ever growing challenges because of growing population pressure, urbanisation and commercialisation. While some regions went along this path and commercialised and intensified production, others sailed a different course, maintaining communal property and managing resources via common pool resource institutions. To prevent overexploitation and free riding, it was generally believed that strong formalised institutions, strict access regimes and restricted use rights were essential.
By looking at the late medieval Campine area, a sandy, infertile and fragile region, dominated by communal property and located at the core of the densely populated and commercialised Low Countries, it has become clear that sustainability, economic success and inclusiveness can be compatible. Because of a balanced distribution of power between smallholders and elites, strong property claims, a predominance of long-term agricultural strategies and the vitality of informal institutions and conflict resolution mechanisms, the Campine peasant communities were able to avert ecological distress while maintaining a positive economic climate.
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Papers by Maïka De Keyzer
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014
The acceptance of mapmaking in Medieval and Early Modern Europe was neither a uniform nor a linear process. Comparing two neighbouring regions in the Low Countries, we explain the varying appetite for maps and mapmaking first by unravelling how people dealt with space before the introduction of modern mapmaking and secondly by identifying the actors that actively promoted its adoption. In regions where local elites had already been considering space as a commodity with a preference for clear-cut, geometric forms before the introduction of mapmaking, the latter was enthusiastically accepted and rapidly became instrumental in propagating this ‘modern’ concept of space. Other regions did not develop such appetite for mapmaking and continued to prefer different and more negotiable representations of space.
By looking at the late medieval Campine area, a sandy, infertile and fragile region, dominated by communal property and located at the core of the densely populated and commercialised Low Countries, it has become clear that sustainability, economic success and inclusiveness can be compatible. Because of a balanced distribution of power between smallholders and elites, strong property claims, a predominance of long-term agricultural strategies and the vitality of informal institutions and conflict resolution mechanisms, the Campine peasant communities were able to avert ecological distress while maintaining a positive economic climate.
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014
The acceptance of mapmaking in Medieval and Early Modern Europe was neither a uniform nor a linear process. Comparing two neighbouring regions in the Low Countries, we explain the varying appetite for maps and mapmaking first by unravelling how people dealt with space before the introduction of modern mapmaking and secondly by identifying the actors that actively promoted its adoption. In regions where local elites had already been considering space as a commodity with a preference for clear-cut, geometric forms before the introduction of mapmaking, the latter was enthusiastically accepted and rapidly became instrumental in propagating this ‘modern’ concept of space. Other regions did not develop such appetite for mapmaking and continued to prefer different and more negotiable representations of space.
By looking at the late medieval Campine area, a sandy, infertile and fragile region, dominated by communal property and located at the core of the densely populated and commercialised Low Countries, it has become clear that sustainability, economic success and inclusiveness can be compatible. Because of a balanced distribution of power between smallholders and elites, strong property claims, a predominance of long-term agricultural strategies and the vitality of informal institutions and conflict resolution mechanisms, the Campine peasant communities were able to avert ecological distress while maintaining a positive economic climate.
By looking at the late medieval Campine area, a sandy, infertile and fragile region, dominated by communal property and located at the core of the densely populated and commercialised Low Countries, it has become clear that sustainability, economic success and inclusiveness can be compatible. Because of a balanced distribution of power between smallholders and elites, strong property claims, a predominance of long-term agricultural strategies and the vitality of informal institutions and conflict resolution mechanisms, the Campine peasant communities were able to avert ecological distress while maintaining a positive economic climate.
Book available: https://www.routledge.com/Inclusive-Commons-and-the-Sustainability-of-Peasant-Communities-in-the/Keyzer/p/book/9781138054042