Local Systems of Production in Late Modern and Contemporary Europe: the Case of Firearms Production in Gardone Val Trompia in a Historical-Comparative Perspective

The dissertation “Local Systems of Production in Late Modern and Contemporary Europe: the Case of Firearms Production in Gardone Val Trompia in a Historical-Comparative Perspective” aims to provide a contribution to the reconstruction of the events that characterized the specialization in the production of firearms in Val Trompia and the remaining Brescia area in the Late Modern and Contemporary periods. The work is presented in the form of a collection of essays and consists of four macro sections: preface, four scientific papers, eight appendices, references. The essays are based on an analytical historical study which presupposes that phenomena are determined and shaped by specific conditions of space and time: the research was carried out following the critical-historical method. The first essay is a review of the existing literature on industrial districts and, more generally, production systems based on a network of small and medium-sized enterprises. Its objective is to highlight the main areas of research on the topic in question that stemmed from economic history. The second paper includes a further review of the literature. It is a historiographical essay through which the case study analyzed in the dissertation is introduced. The paper adopts a long-term perspective which, in light of the concepts and research themes analyzed in the first essay, retraces the origins and development of the production specialization in question. The second paper ends by highlighting some specific aspects of firearms production in Brescia, worthy of further in-depth analysis, which can be found in the two following empirical essays drawing on material from the archives. The third paper notes the lack of a detailed analysis of the local production system in the second half of the 20th century. Several scholars have indicated that firearms production developed around Gardone as an industrial district, but several aspects have yet to be addressed. In particular, the essay focuses on the geographical borders, the internal structure, the relations between enterprises and the intermediate institutions of the industrial district. The fourth paper considers another gap in the literature: there is no study of the contribution from the state and the factory system to the evolution of the local production in the second half of the 19th century. This study adopts a comparative perspective viewing Brescia-Gardone against the background of other firearm production systems in Belgium, France, England and Spain. At the same time (around 1850), the American System of Manufacturing started to spread throughout Europe following the intervention of various national governments. The study highlights the difficulties in attempting to overcome traditional European production methods and the decisive role played by public authorities, forward-looking entrepreneurs and their factories.