In 1966, Albert Silbert published his thesis on Portugal’s early modern rural economy. A landmark in the development of Portuguese economic and rural historiography, Silbert’s work detailed the widespread use of fire in agriculture in Beira Baixa and Alentejo. The publication of this work in the 1960s coincided with the demise of this fiery rural economy, through policies that promoted afforestation, monoculture, and the erasure of traditional burning practices. Despite these efforts to exclude fire, however, there has been an increase in destructive wildfires. Experts now look at the traditional uses of fire depicted by Silbert as a possible solution.
Gomes, Inês