Agricultural History Review, Volume 69 Part 2 (2021), pp. 236–254

Until now the sales of landed estates that occurred in western Europe from the late nineteenth century until 1940 have only been studied in the context of national historiographies. A comparative approach could provide more insight into the causes of those sales. This paper is intended as a first contribution to such an approach. It compares the results of research in the eastern Netherlands with well-documented cases such as England, East Elbian Germany and northern Italy. Variations in chronology and geographical distribution of sales can be explained by variables such as estate size, diversity of assets, government policy, taxation, and the inheritance system. Dutch landlords were often forced to sell because their estates were small, government did not support them, taxation was high, and partible inheritance was strictly adhered to. It also appears that north-western countries (UK, the Netherlands) were less inclined to support estate owners than central/southern countries (Germany, Italy). 

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