State Corporatism and Proto-Industry: The Württemberg Black Forest, 1580-1797 (Cambridge Studies in Population, Economy and Society in Past Time)

State Corporatism and Proto-Industry focuses on the WÃœrttemberg worsted industry, an example of a "proto-industry" that arose in many parts of Europe preceding factory industrialization. It has been argued that these proto-industries broke down traditional society but this book suggests otherwise. With the help of the state, corporate institutions such as merchant companies and rural guilds, regulated every aspect of rural life and thus profoundly shaped early modern European economic, demographic and social development.