Agronomy within everyone's reach: the example of the crop and use of the potato in the "Semanario de Agricultura y Artes dirigido a los Párrocos" (1797-1808)

Abstract

The Spain's Enlightenment that, unlike other European countries, had not experimented an agrarian revolution, came across numerous subsistence crises along the century. However, it was not left aside from the movement that turned agronomy into a landmark science. This new field of knowledge was benefited by several vectors that helped its dissemination, among which was the press, whether mainstream or specialised. This article will attempt to see the importance devoted in the Semanario de "Agricultura y Artes dirigido a los Párrocos" - "Weekly Paper of Agriculture and Arts adressed to the Priests" (founded in 1797 under petition by the Príncipe de la Paz so that both peasants and craftsmen were able to benefit themselves from the latest scientific ant technical discoveries) to patato's `science' and its multiple applications.