which time were memaea P These concessions, at the same tensions under control in the countryside of the Friuli, Venice against created areal sense of solidarity between the peasants and the local nobility. As a response to the continuing reduction of rents, the latter attempted to transform the long-term leases into simple rents, a type of contract that clearly made conditions worse for the peasants. trend, which was widespread in this period, met heavy obstacles, especially of a demographic kind, in the Friuli. When manpower is short, it's difficult to make agricultural arrangements that favor the landlords. Within the space of a hundred years, between the mid-sixteenthand mid- seventeenth centuries, due to the effect of recurring plagues and to an increase in emigration, especially toward Venice, the total population of the Friuli declined. The reports of the Venetian officials of this period emphasize the miserable conditions of the peasants: "I have suspended