192 Jacoby
local depopulation. On the other hand, territories shielded from their activ-
ity, such as Crete and inland regions in continental Greece, benefited from an
influx of refugees. Despite localised population losses, the extension of cultiva-
tion into marginal land in the Peloponnese seems to reflect population pres-
sure, increasing market demand for food, and the availability of an adequate
workforce. The import of iron ploughshares from Venice to the Peloponnese
in the 1330s, which must have been primarily intended for the extension or
intensification of grain cultivation, points in the same direction. The eagerness
of Latin knights, merchants and bankers to obtain landed estates from feudal
lords in the Frankish Morea and from Venice in the latter’s territories is also
indicative of a growing rural population. The acquisition of rural land appears
to have been considered a good investment. In sum, various indicators point
to demographic growth until the Black Death of 1347–48, although it possibly
slowed down from the early 14th century.
Disease resulted in population losses and peasant mobility on a much larger
scale than warfare and piracy, with long-term repercussions. The Black Death
caused a general demographic slump, aggravated by recurrent bouts of plague
in the following period. In continental Greece the downward trend was com-
pounded by Byzantine, Albanian and especially Turkish military incursions,
political instability, and economic disruption. However, rural population losses
varied widely from one locality to the other. Epidemics were often transmitted
along navigation routes. As a result, ports and their hinterland were particu-
larly affected, while settlements situated along the main routes followed by
invaders suffered most from military incursions. The killing, abduction and
massive flight of inhabitants, the loss of livestock and the destruction of other
property often inflicted severe and prolonged disruptions of rural exploita-
tion in specific regions. The settlement of Albanians on abandoned land in
the southern Peloponnese, authorised by the Venetian authorities in the late
14th and in the 15th century, clearly points to depopulation. Significantly, after
the Black Death demographic contraction and diminishing returns in mar-
ginal lands induced stewards in charge of large estates to alter the exploitation
mode of these tracts or entirely abandon their cultivation. It has been argued
that demographic losses in Crete were partly offset by the import of slaves.
To be sure, slaves were occasionally put to work in the countryside, yet they
remained a marginal factor with respect to villeins in its exploitation, since
most of them, whether male or female, lived in urban households.
Peasant mobility, whether spontaneous or triggered by warfare, piracy or
disease, was a permanent phenomenon in Latin Greece. It determined the
degree of continuity in rural exploitation. Not surprisingly, therefore, landown-
ers sought to attract peasants by various incentives, such as partial, temporary