Agrarian Reform of the Monarchist Period in Albania

Abstract

In the early twentieth century, Albania represented an underdeveloped agrarian country in terms of economic development, with significant residues of feudal relations in production, where the main role was played by agriculture and when the rural population constituted 90% of the country's population. There was a great fragmentation of agricultural land ownership, which did not appear unique for the whole country, as well as an extreme polarization of property that had raised the need for an agrarian reform, which could contribute to create a fair adjustment of ownership ratio at a national level. In relation to this issue, after the First World War and especially during the years 1921-1924, in Parliament and outside it, in the unofficial and official press, were held many severe debates and discussions between progressive and democratic forces on the one hand, who supported the resolution of the issue in favor of the peasant farmers in Albania, and the conservatives on the other hand, who were to maintain the current situation on land ownership or a reform that would not undermine their plans and interests. The first attempts for the concrete realization of an agrarian reform in Albania were made after 1928 by the monarchical system government. The implementation of an agrarian reform and the right solution given to the peasantries demands for land, constituted one of the most fundamental issues in the development and progress of Albania at that time. The article aims to present the reasons for undertaking such a reform, the progress of its implementation and its consequences in Albania.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n8p506