In contrast with what was habitual in Catalonia, on the western plain around Lleida, there were large seigniorial, mainly ecclesiastical, estates that were not split up and awarded to sm allholders and landless peasants in the liberal agrarian reform. The aim of this study is to analyse the management of these large properties at two historic moments: the final phase of the seigniorial regime (1780 1850) and the stage of the development of capitalist social relations (1850 1960) to attempt to understand why the management in this latter phase was insufficient to guarantee economic growth that would undoubtedly have benefited not only the property, but also the peasantry who worked it and we stern Catalonia as a whole.