Despite the evident importance of the nobility a study of its economic and social position in Piedmont has so far never been attempted. All previous studies of any value have been dedicated almost exclusively to the growth of the State. Such attention as has been paid to the aristocracy has consequently been limited to its relations to government policy. The importance of the nobility has always been neglected and perhaps under-estimated. The fundamental works of Einuadi and Prato on the finances and economy of Piedmont in the early 18th century forms clear examples; the nobility is above all discussed for its immunities, and the final conclusion is that these immunities were remarkably limited. Einaudi, examining the 18.03% of ecclesiastical and fuedal exemption in 1700, compares it to other countries: in the Kingdom of Naples in 1740 2/3 of all landed revenues were in the hands of the clergy and nobility, all virtually immune; in the France of 1780 at least half the land was in some way exempt. At the same time, the Piedmontese nobility is judged as a fairly poverty-stricken class.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:580707 |
| Date | January 1960 |
| Creators | Woolf, Stuart Joseph |
| Publisher | University of Oxford |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:7ae148da-e860-4c12-860b-34b724487435 |
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