cultivar_22_Final_EN

118 ANALYSIS AND PROSPECTIVE STUDIES CULTIVAR Issue 22 APRIL 2021 ley. “In the northwest , the Romans were responsible for the radical transformation of a wilderness into a cultivated, productive land … These transformations missed out the mountain and tramontane regions, with their isolated farming and livestock communities … Property is divided but the farms group together in mutual assistance … As we have seen, the large estates in the Alentejo also date back to Roman times … The cereal monoculture accompanied by extensive grazing and use of forestry products contrasts with an even stronger trend in Mediterranean farming: poly- culture or mixed farming ”, whic h combines tree and shrub crops in two “layers” in a small space. Alongside crop farming, livestock husbandry and extensive grazing generally on uncultivated and fal- low land is common: “large” livestock (cattle) in the short summers of the northwest and “small” live- stock increasingly as one moves further south and east – sheep in the driest eastern regions and goats on the poorer land of the centre and Algarve. “The most characteristic form of grazing can be seen in mountain regions … sheep from the villages begin to climb the rocky summits when the snow melts around April time …With the first snowfall at the end of Octo- ber or November, they seek out grazing lower down, where they can remain outdoors throughout the win- ter under the eye of the same mountain shepherds.” The animals produce milk and meat (cattle, sheep and goats) and wool (sheep) and help with farm work (tilling the land) and carrying loads. “Only one animal is used just for food: the pig” , reared in sties in the north and in the open air in the south. In Chapter III – Atlantic Portugal, Ribeiro starts with an overview of the Atlantic influence, which heavily regulates the climate, natural elements, such as vegetation (Atlantic scrub and trees, notably the maritime pine that “covers 45% of forested areas today” ), and altitude, since “the distinction between wet and arid regions in Portugal has much to do with the contrast in altitude” . A highland economy exists in the northern and central regions, with higher pop- ulation in the rainy northwest, and greater Romani- sation in lowland areas, namely in the south. In this chapter, the maize revolution is also highlighted, which implied “large cultivated fields, an increased irrigated area …” and also the “irredeemable decline in community spirit, an individualism that leads to the enclosing of land, multiplication of hedges, walls and partitions, and dispersal of houses, all of which maize favoured, permitted or caused”. The author also refers to the economy and population of the coastal region whose livelihood is dependent on fishing and the maritime trade. In Chapter IV – The variety and unity of Portugal, Ribeiro states that despite the contrasts in climate, plant cover and landscape (northern Atlantic, north- ern tramontane and south), the country is like an “old, solid trunk” . Unifying factors include natural cir- cumstances, ancient roots, the Christian reconquest and population exoduses. Conclusion: The book is a fascinating analysis of Portugal and its people in the 1940s and even further back. It is a memoire of the past and of the people who inhab- ited the country essential to understand Portuguese history and geography, with its links to the Mediter- ranean world of ancient civilisations and the vast Atlantic. This is not just a descriptive book limited to the author’s observations. In places, Ribeiro observes and opines. For example, “Whereas the population has grown quickly in the last half a century, the land is owned by only a few, clustered through marriage, held by a class who, in general, was only concerned about enjoying the income from it. The estates are let for short periods and to maximise their profits, the tenants exploit the land and have no interest in improving a transitory good.” And also: “This technical progress was not matched by reform of product distribution and the foundations of ownership, which the disastrous farming develop- ments of the last century have shattered or concen- trated excessively. Meanwhile, as new trends emerge, our farm labourers trundle along in their carts, down rough and doubtful trails, while digging their wheels ever deeper into extreme poverty.” And he further adds: “The ponds caused by dry sum- mers, the high temperature and high relative humidity