Page:Labi 1998.djvu/344

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On the basis of quite varied documents the paper examines the continuity and change in destinations and in periodicity the credit relations bound up with emigration, the simultaneous immigration and the social effects of the system.


ANNE RADEFF, "MOUNTAINS, PLAINS AND MIGRATION"

Appreciable studies have revealed the importance of migration from the mountains to the plains. Can one maintain that mountainous regions are just made for emigration? I rather think not: First of all mountains are not a solid block to be contrasted with the lowlands; the differences between lofty regions can be just as great, and even greater than those between mountains and lowland. Secondly, people do not abandon all mountain regions to the same extent; in some villages emigrants are very frequent, in others, on the other hand, very rare. Thirdly, we can find in Europe vast emigrant areas on the flat. This article estimates the intensity of West-European migration in the 18th and early 19th centuries from three observation posts: mountain zones (Alps and the Jura), transit zones (the frontier town of Bale) and arrival zones (the region of Lake Leman). The data gathered from French and Swiss sources show that mountain dwellers do not always provide the greater mass on the roads and that many of them are firmly established.


ANDREAS BURGI, "FEAR OF HEIGHTS, CRAZE OF HEIGHTS. ON THE FIGURE OF THE CHAMOIS HUNTER IN THE 18TH CENTURY"

Numerous scientific and literary 18th century texts devoted to alpine research deal at great length with chamois and chamois hunters. This attention is out of all proportion to the significance of the chamois for subsistence and chamois hunting for the alpine economy. The examination of these texts reveals that the chamois hunter is an anthropological construct of the cultural elite of the lowlands, and thus of a fictitious stature that fulfills various functions in connection with the conquering of the alpine ranges. The chamois

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