To convert land into small farms or crofts, or to organize an area into crofting communities.
From crofter + -ize (a suffix meaning 'to make or cause to become'). This verb form developed in the 19th century as crofting became a major agricultural practice.
When landlords would crofterize their estates, they were essentially creating a system where many poor families could survive on tiny plots—it's like modern-day urban farming but with entire regions and centuries of tradition behind it.
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