This research reconstructs the changes in the scale of cultivation and geographical distribution of olive trees and hence the fluctuations in olive oil production and industries in Palestine from the 14th century CE when the region was part of the Mamluk sultanate, all through the Ottoman period (1517 ̶ 1917 CE), and up until the end of the British Mandate (1917 ̶ 1947). Data extracted from contemporary Mamluk and Ottoman sources, the Ottoman tax registers, British Mandate maps and a meticulous survey conducted in 1943 allow us to count and quantify the number of olive trees. We measure and examine the degree of stability of olive cultivation, decline and growth of olive cultivation over a period of 550 years. We also examine the hierarchy among the regions that cultivated olives and their internal development. The role of olive trees and the oil industry are surveyed within the wide historical context.
Olives and olive oil were consumed by all segments of the local population. Although sesame was grown and its oil was well known in the region, its high price probably placed it beyond most people’s reach. Surpluses of olive oil were sold to neighboring regions, where olives did not grow, or to countries where olive yields failed and there was a temporary shortage. In many respects olive oil was a cash crop throughout most of the region and the periods under discussion, i.e. ‘it was sold for cash. At the household level, this would refer to all marketed surplus; at a national level to crops sold abroad.’
The analysis of the data shows the complex economic structure that was influenced by initiatives and policies made by central governments, enterprising regional rulers and perhaps also by the shifts in cultural trends and tastes in local kitchens.
This research is conducted by a group led by Professor Guy Bar Oz, University Haifa.
Team Members
Roi Porat, Tamer Mansur, Gideon Avni, Ido Wachtel, Guy Bar-Oz and Kate Raphael.
