lxiv I am drawing on Levi who, in relation to sixteenth century Italian peasants, states: "(...) given the society we are studying, the aspects of conservation and equality rather than the aspects of maximisation. In peasant societies of this type (...) the flight from poverty took place in a scenario with a predominance of the conservation of status rather than enrichment as the dominant value. It is a very hierarchical society, but with a more or less latent potential for conflict, more linked to survival than social ascension", apud LIMA FILHO, Henrique. Microstoria: Escalas, ind?os e Singularidades. Doctoral thesis presented to the Post-Graduate Programme in History of UNICAMP. Campinas, 1999, p. 251.
