Political Revolt and Social Networks. Mobilization Patterns in an 18th Century Alpine Valley

This paper deals with the political and social conflicts in 18th century Val de Bagnes. The existence of a large genealogical database of its population provides new insights into the mobilization patterns of an early modern rural area. Our prosopographical approach, which attempts to identify the protagonists of the different conflicts, reveals the existence of well-organized and relatively stable political factions. Rather than simply being shaped by personal solidarities, they had a coherent political program. Comparison with genealogical data reveals the influence of kinship ties within the political factions, which are responsible for continuities within the structure of political conflicts. However, kinship alone does not explain the logic of political mobilization, other social networks like spiritual kinship or village solidarities also need to be considered.