The centrality of the margins. Global intersections of a Basque rural area in the recent past.

The contribution of rural areas to the advent of globalization has been poorly explored from a historical perspective. In this paper, I explore how rural areas were involved in the shaping of colonialism and industrialization and contributed to globalization. The case study examined deviates from the pattern of self-sufficiency and situates the rural world at the epicentre of key historical processes of the recent past. This paper is primarily based on a farmhouse that played a significant role in these processes, despite its apparent isolation in the hills of the Basque Country, as it produced cider for ships involved in the colonial race and supplied nuts and iron ore for the British Industrial Revolution. With this case study, I hope to provide an example of a rural site that contributed to change in the wider world, while it was also being transformed itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]