The Monchique of Southern Portugal

G EOGRAPHERS once studied islands or oases in an attempt to find in semi-isolated and relatively self-sufficient areas the simple, direct responses of a culture group to the land on which it lived. The belief was common that where modes of life had achieved stability, there might be values pertinent to our problems. In this century, however, in the United States, we tend to show little interest in uses of the land other than our own, except to bring aberrants into conformity with us. This attitude stems from the tacit assumption that other places and peoples can be brought to a higher state of well-being only by duplicating our methods. Even if we accept such a premise, we must realize that hundreds of millions of people in other environments and with other cultural backgrounds want to live and change in their own way. We are increasingly in contact with these other peoples, and we must gain, if not understanding, at least an appreciation of their attitudes and wishes. Our experiences and techniques have been developed on the basis of surplus production and the habit of waste without penalty. This is not the case with most peoples with whom we are now associated internationally. We must know something of the necessities in their frugal economies, or we shall fail to communicate with them. For example, we cannot understand European olive growing from the statistics available to us or by a quick glance as we travel; we must know the economic context to understand why a Mediterranean farmer insists on planting a grain and perhaps other things beneath his trees. He is not being shortsightedly obstinate, as many people assume him to be, because he will not eliminate one of the crops in order to increase the other; and international statistics to the contrary notwithstanding, his method may be the best-he must have a second or even a third crop as a crutch on which to lean in case of failure of the first. Although we may think of specialization, trade, and surplus saved as the answer to that problem, he has no surplus and has had long experience with shabby governments, poor and frequently obstructed transport, taxation that can be confiscatory, and a long list of other conditions that lead him to the sensible conclusion that if he doesn't create his own security, he will have none. If we do not completely accept the premise of our perfection, then a further proposition might be suggested that should not be rejected lightly

Geography · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies

• Portugal

  Open Access•Timothy J O’leary, Timothy J O'Leary•Behavior Science Notes•1968

  Add to list

• The impact of eighteenth century earthquakes on the Algarve region, southern Portugal

  Open Access•David K Chester, David Chester et al.•Geographical Journal•2010

  Add to list