Land Condition in Na Lu in the First Haft of the Nineteenth Century As Seen From Cadastral Documents

Abstract

In the cadastral documents of the Na Lu district (Hoa An, Cao Bang), registered in the 4th year of Gia Long (1805) and 21st year of Minh Menh (1840), private land occupied more than 99 per cent. The process of land privatization in Na Lu could have been occurred since the late sixteenth century, when the Mac dynasty promoted the policy of clearing virgin land and developing the commodity economy. By looking at the land registration of Na Lu, we can further understand the socio-economic situation of the local mountainous villages in Na Lu had been firmly established. The inhabitants from different lineages lived in a certain area, where they could build their villages. The distinct characteristic of the Na Lu land was that the total amount of land of the landowners was not large. but small, tiny, and changeable, especially land of women and groups of family. Therefore, in Na Lu there was no lineage which could dominate the economic development of the area for a long time. The above situation of land onwership in the Na Lu district partly reflected the local population and social changes in the first half of nineteenth century.