Causes Of The German PeasantsRevolts

Lorenz Fries stresses this anger in his report to the Archbishop of Wurzburg, as he describes the wealth’s inability to share their profits and income with the poor (Doc 8). The peasants believe they are entitled to a share of wealth because all are considered to be brothers in the public eye of God. Considering Fries’s report is secret, it most likely states his candid opinions (Pov3). Although economic oppression is a crucial factor in pushing the revolt, Protestant influence is responsible for the revolt as well.

The German Peasants’ Revolts were a series of revolts occurring from 1524-1526 in which peasants ran amok throughout the German states, with some groups converging on the town of Memmingen, Swabia, to form a Peasant Parliament and voice their grievances in the Twelve Articles of the Swabian Peasants. The revolts were caused by religious teachings and abuse inflicted by lords, and were responded to with support, as well as condemnation.

This document is written by peasants hence the encouragement for the revolt, although Lotzer might be saying this so that we may be the leader of this revolt and he is a craftsman so this might get more people to notice his craft, he then gains more money. Document 8 is the complete opposite perspective of the peasants gaining power and the revolt. Lorenz Fries is a catholic archbishop and the revolts are driven out of Luther’s doctrines. He said that the peasants are troublesome and the revolt should be stopped, but he most likely said this to get people to turn their backs on Lutheranism and accept Catholicism. Although his report is a secret one so he probably wrote it secretly so that he would not be killed or hurt by the peasant’s rebellion. In document 9, Caspar Nutzel, a noble, says that the peasants were blinded and they have gotten too strong. This document is also a response in that people have allowed the revolts to happen and the peasants have gone too far. Though this document should be approached with caution because he uses some absolute language in the regard to how the peasants act, and Nutzel might be stating this to keep his job as town councilor.

The German Peasants Revolt took place in the lands of the Holy Roman Empire. The peasant’s revolt was the result of the reformation in which Martin Luther and others went against the religion and traditions of the Catholic Church . The protestant reformation was led by Martin Luther who in 1517, nailed the Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg. The Ninety Five theses which pointed out the pope or the head of the church was suppressing the peasants by taking their money to sell them an indulgence. The clergy told the peasants if an indulgence paper was not purchased, their deceased loved one would suffer in purgatory . In the year 1522, the Pope excommunicated Luther from the church for the crime of heresy because of what he wrote in the ninety five thesis about the pope and the papacy. After this, Martin Luther and his followers broke away from the Catholic Church. Martin Luther then started to preach that the pope was “antichrist” . Martin Luther’s followers did not believe in teachings of the Catholic Church, and instead believed that only the relationship that mattered is their relationship with God. Followers of Martin Luther only believed in two of the seven sacraments, baptism, and the Eucharist or Holy Communion. Martin Luther did not believe that violence would help solve the problem of how the church made money of the peasants, through indulgences sold. So, Luther told his followers that even though they were suppressed by their rulers, they

In “‘Twelve Articles’ of the Peasants during the German Peasants’ Revolt”, the peasants address to their indefinite ruler that they “are ready and willing to pay the fair tithe of grain” (1), and they “will let [lords] demand only what is just and proper” (1). The peasants were aware of the greedy, clerical abuses of power by pastors, but they were unwilling to accept paying more than fair to support “a decent and sufficient maintenance” (1) for the pastor. This is similar to the “Manifesto of the Peasants of Angoumois,” that showed that the peasants were aware that the burden of taxation from the centralizing France state was put onto the poor peasantry, rather than the richer Middle Class. The peasants in this developing absolutist monarchy attempted to state that “those with sufficient property” (3) should pay the taille, “without regard to personal connections and without fear of the power of the rich” (3). In both these documents, neither state’s peasantry refused taxation or had a desire to change the system. This reactionary idea is also present in the “‘Twenty-Nine Demands’ of Kett’s Rebellion” from England in 1549. This direct list of demands to the definite monarch from the peasantry, was in a request “to redress and

Some authors believed that the peasants’ urge to end their serfdom led to the revolt (Doc. 2, 3, 4). In Document 2, Sebastian Lotzer states that the lords should not take advantage of the peasants, but rather compensate them for their hard work. He continues by stating that the peasants should not be oppressed by their lords. In Document 3, The Parliament of Swabia, made up of peasants, was a petition. Since the petition held the demands of the peasants the document is not very reliable. It is biased because it is reasonable to assume that these were widely held views among the peasantry of this area. Within the document, the basis of religion is used to release serfs, saying that they will obey all authority “appointed by God” so serfdom must be gone. In Document 4, the Memmingen Town Council replies to the peasants demands made in Document 3, for their release from serfdom. Based on the document, the town council, made up of “educated people”, would be predictable because the

The uneven compensation for work completed by German peasants fueled their disdain for the nobility. The forced serfdom of the peasants was an undesirable situation to be in, which caused the peasants to question the motives of the nobility. “The Articles of the Peasants of Memmingen” shows how peasants were forcibly repressed into serfdom unless they paid the “lords” a “reasonable amount of money” (Doc 4). The peasants had to pay for their freedom from serfdom, which explains why “they believe the rich should share with the poor, especially those rich persons who had acquired their rich property… or had otherwise won it from the poor” (Doc 8). The peasants realized the oppression that the nobility was putting them through with unfair acquisition of land and of peasantry serfdom that the peasants felt that their

This can be seen the reports Leonhard Von Eck, Chancellor of Bavaria gave to Duke Ludwig of Bavaria. His thoughts of the peasants were “The peasants are blinded, led astray, and made witless.” He is clearly against the revolt and his undermining of the peasants was obvious as he believed he was far above them. He also wanted to remain at his position of authority and he wanted to keep serfs without compensation. Lords also attempted to justify their social status by displaying the idea of serfs as a fair economic transaction. This can be seen in document 3 we’re it is stated that “we, your lords, purchased this right for a considerable sum of money, and the serfdom of a Christian is no hindrance to the salvation of his soul.” The lords are attempting to convince the peasants that they are not justified in the decisions since it is a simple and “fair” economic transaction and they also manipulate their own idea of everyone being equal in the eyes of God. They state that no matter if one is a serf or a lord everyone has the opportunity for salvation. Eventually the noble’s massacre the serfs and in order justify their counterattacks to the revolts the noble’s act that the revolts were unacceptable and that the nobles were in the right to murder all those peasants. This can be shown in in the Decree of the Imperial Diet of Speyer by referring to the revolts as “unchristian” and “The common man… acted violently against his authorities.” Overall, the lords responses to the peasants was meeting them with force and justifying their actions by calling the revolts and peasants unchristian and witless, manipulating Lutheran ideas and, acting as if serfs are a fair economic

The peasant's rebellion in the German states was an even that took place between 1524 and 1526, when the peasants rose up and attacked authoritative figures like churches and nobles. The revolt was eventually crushed and suppresed by the German Princes, and over a hundred thousand rebels were killed in the process, The revolt was ultimately caused by poor economic status for the peasants and Martin luther's anit-authoritiative ideas. After it had begun, the responses to the revolt were mostly negative to the people with high economic status- Martin Luther and other lords despised it.

DBQ: German peasant’s revolt “We will not allow ourselves here after to be oppressed by our lords but will let them demand only what is just and proper” (doc 2). The German peasant’s revolt in 1524 was largely due to the unjust treatment and laboring of the peasants. In turn the peasants showed their displeasement by banding together and pillaged the homes of the wealthy across the Holy Roman Empire. The conflict shows and unstable system where a better alternative could have been reached with better cooperation from both sides.

According to Leonhard von Eck, the peasants began the revolt in the name of Martin Luther and his belief, Lutheranism. He argues that they were following Lutheran teaching to inhibit the impeding cruelty of the nobility, and therefore their actions were religiously justified (Doc. 1). Similar to Doc. 3, this document states that the peasants wanted equality. Doc. 1 sets forth the peasants’ beliefs in the word of God and the Gospel giving them the right to repress the nobility, whereas Doc. 3 gives their claim on Christ’s desires and their need for release from serfdom. In agreement with von Eck, Sebastian Lotzer expresses that the peasants were obligated to rebel to have a mutual pact with the nobility. They demanded equal treatment and in conclusion, like before, they were justifying their deeds as their right (Doc. 2). The fact that Lotzer, a lay preacher, would demand their rights from the nobility is understandable considering that the peasants believed God gave them the right to do so. They believed it was God’s hope that they rebel against a group or society that was doing them wrong. In accordance with Lotzer’s argument,

33. Joseph II of Austria: sought to improve the productivity and social conditions of the peasantry

The German Peasants’ War of 1525 has been seen as both the last great medieval peasant revolt and as the first modern revolution. For more than 150 years the War has been the topic of ongoing historical debate. Indeed, it has always been a subject of contention among historians who seek to determine its relation to the Reformation. While most Reformation scholars have arrived at a consensus as to the series of events that transpired during the war, there has not been such agreement regarding the perplexing inner dynamic of the uprising. Set against the backdrops of both the German revolutions of 1848 and the political developments that characterized 1970s Germany, this debate has seen engagement from the historians Friedrich Engels and Max Steinmetz, who provide a Marxist interpretation that attempts to depict the war as the “high point of the early bourgeois revolution”, locating it within a German revolutionary tradition by citing the socioeconomic tensions that arose through the peasants’ oppressive relationship with the feudal lordship of their rural communities. Departing from the Marxist interpretation, Günther Franz has entered into the debate, defining the revolt as a “political revolution of the German peasant estate” that was made possible by the Reformation. Although he acknowledges the troubling nature of the evident economic difficulties, Franz understands the war as a response to the changing political structure of 16th century Germany. Submitting his own

Excerpt B was taken from the third, fourth and fifth articles of the Twelve Articles of the Peasants. The Twelve Articles were written by Sebastian Lotzer, a journeyman furrier and preacher, between the 27th of February and the 1st of March while in Memmingen. To show the grievances and demands that were being presented at the Swabian League for the German people. The excerpt reveals how religion influenced the Swabian rights, resources and equality in everyday life during the 16th century for the Swabian Christians.

The Dutch Revolt, In the sixteenth century, was a conflict between the Protestant Low Countries, and the Catholic Spanish Empire. This resulted in the division of the seventeen provinces of the Netherlands, and eventually the formation of the Dutch Republic. The Dutch speaking north were tolerant to various religious affiliations, whereas, the French and Walloon South, remained loyal to Philip II, and were predominantly Catholic. In order to establish the significance of reformed faith in the success of the Dutch Revolt, this assignment will explore some of the events surrounding the uprising. In addition, it will consider social, economic and political factors, in order to identify how they contribute to the success of the conflict.