Demograficzny i gospodarczy potencjał małych miast południowej Polski od końca XVI do początku XIX wieku
Demographic and economic potential of small towns in southern Poland from the end of the sixteenth to the early nineteenth century

Summary/Abstract: The article captures some aspects of functioning of small towns in the pre-partitioned Poland in the context of alleged processes of agrarisation of towns. On the example of southern Poland (from 1772 on, the western part of Galicia) it analyses historical sources, both already used and new ones, such as parish registers which make it possible to estimate the population of small towns. A broad array of sources, mainly of local provenance, was used to establish the value of basic types of economic activities undertaken by townsmen, i.e. farming, crafting, and trading. The article closes with the reflections on the role played by the nineteenth century in the demographic and economic situation of towns in southern Lesser Poland (Małopolska).

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