Occupational structure in the Czech lands under the second serfdom

This article presents an analysis of occupational structure, a key component of the ‘Little Divergence’, in an eastern-central European economy under the second serfdom, using data on 6,983 Bohemian villages in 1654. Non-agricultural activity was lower than in western Europe, but varied positively with village size, pastoral agriculture, sub-peasant strata, Jews, freemen, female headship, and mills, and negatively with arable agriculture and towns. It showed a curvilinear relationship with the ‘second serfdom’, as proxied by landlord presence on village holdings. Landlordpresence in serf villages also reversed the positive effects of female headship and mills on non-agricultural activities. Under the second serfdom, landlords encouraged serf activities from which they could extract rents, while stifling others which threatened manorial interests.