Célina Morilhat

Address

Maison de la Recherche de l'Université Jean Jaurès 5, Allées A. Machado - 31058 TOULOUSE Cedex 1

Email

celina.morilhat@univ-tlse2.fr

Personal Website

www.linkedin.com/in/célina-morilhat-436122232

Society and environment in Auvergne in the 18th and 19th centuries: Textile proto-industry in Cunlhat

Direction : Jean-Michel Minovez

Cunlhat is a small town on the Livradois plateau, roughly situated in a triangle formed by Clermont-Ferrand, Thiers and Ambert. It dominates an area made up of market towns, villages and countryside in the Auvergne's mid-range mountains, with altitudes ranging from 670 to 730 metres at its centre, and peaking at over 1,000 metres. In modern times, its geographical location and the natural and social conditions of its territory enabled the development of specific human activities such as textile industry centred on the processing of wool, which was carried out alongside agricultural works.

The purpose of this research project is to examine a town that played an important role in the Auvergne textile industry in the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries. The aim is to understand the mechanisms of proto-industry at a local level, in a very small area that has been scarcely studied despite a large archive. The aim is also to describe the links between the various players in this proto-industry, whether locals or geographically more distants, as well as the marketing channels they used.

The interest of the subject lies in a multi-disciplinary and socio-ecosystemic approach where the historical context is crossed with geographical questions. The environmental dimension of the subject and the relations between man and the environment are taken into account, by examining the complexity of the concept of resources (natural, human, knowledge, commercial networks, etc.), their uses and, where appropriate, their transformation within the framework of a production system.

To sum up, we would like to highlight the involvement of a local population who, living in a mountainous area with poor soils, make the most of the natural resources at their disposal but who, because of social and environmental issues, have to develop strategies to survive.