The Political Reforms Made By Solon During The Sixth Century B.c

Why did the Peasants’ Revolt Occur? Did the insurgents hope to abolish serfdom? How and why did serfdom decline and eventually disappear in England, notwithstanding the failure of the 1381 uprising and other influences of lower class protest against social inequality and injustice?

Although the feudal system presented a mutually beneficial relationship at first, over time many burdens were placed on the vassals. A serf was bound to the land, thus resulting in a fixed income. Since he was unable to move to another lord, he was reliant on only what was originally agreed upon to provide monetary support. [Support was generally in kind, or in labor.] With no “right” to adjust the support needed for survival, the serf and his family experiences tremendous hardships.

Peasants were members of the lowest class, those who work. They were the most common class. They were the millers, blacksmiths, butchers, carpenters, farmers, and other trades people. Peasant women in particular, spent much of their time taking care of children, making clothes, and cooking meals. They also tended gardens, took care of animals by tending chicken, shearing sheep, and milking cows (Cels 16). Within peasants, there were two main groups of people, the serfs and the freemen. Both were employed by the lords. And serfs were people that paid more fees, and had less rights. Freemen on the other hand paid less fees and had more rights than serfs (Noiret). While freemen could leave the manor when at whim, serfs were not allowed to leave

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

The Middle Ages, or Dark Ages, of the 15th century, established a policy regarding the practice of agriculture that later became known as feudalism. The monarchy bestowed vast tracts of land and an ennobling title to individuals who were tasked with keeping a functioning economy in their lands and maintaining a private militia for the protection of the realm and fiefdom they owned. These aristocrats allocated parcels of land to the serfs, or peasants, in exchange for complete rustic servitude and the privilege being allowed to live on that lord's land. Any crops or animals that were cultivated belonged to the realm and peasants were only permitted to keep a meager portion of their efforts. This archaic practice, established during the era

6. Peasants: Farmworkers who lived in small villages encompassed by fields farmed by different families working together. In 1550, most Europeans were peasants. Peasants turned into serfs in an exchange between the labor on the lord’s estate and farming rights.

Lands were farmed by peasants, who were controled by

By saving enough money, the serfs were able to pay the lord they worked for to get freedom. Serfs became tied to the land they worked on when Kings and Counts gave aristocratic families control over land. For this land, the aristocratic families had to pledge their loyal services. Having

He would then refuse to give permission and the peasants would have to stay and continue working on that manor. On each manor a lord would have many peasants and serfs tendon his land. A serf was a person that was bound to an area of land. If the lord sold the land then the serf would then work for the new owner. Where as a peasant was a person with a low social ranking, who was restricted to the opportunities they and their offspring could have in life, but they did have more freedom than a

Past- Peasants were the lowest class of the Han dynasty. About 90% (160 million) of people were peasants. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, peasants didn't own their lands. Throughout the Han Dynasty, most peasants owned a small area of land and gave a portion of their crops to the government to pay as tax. The peasants' survival depended on the quality of the crops while they also faced floods, earthquakes, and famine. During the first half of the Han dynasty, there were 20 periods of droughts, floods, and famines. Peasants faced extreme danger to cope with the natural disasters and ensure the survival of their children. During famine, parents had to kill their babies that they couldn't feed. They sometimes sold their children into slavery

The problem that most citizen face was that they didn’t owned any land and if they did if was a small about with poor quality. During this time Athens were divided in two classes of people know as aristocrats and peasants. The differences between these classes were that the aristocrats owned land while the peasants did own any land. There were two types of peasants. One type is known as share croppers. These peasants work the land of the Aristocrats upon the agreement that they will pay them a sixth of what the produced as a form of rent. The other types of peasants were called borrows. These peasants owned their own land but did not have any seeds to plant there who crops so they would borrow on creditor. If either peasants fail to play their rent or debt they would have to offer their life in exchange. Meaning that peasants who fail to pay their debt are rent became slaves. “All the common people were weighed down with debts the owned to a few rich men. They either cultivated their land for them and paid then sixth of the produce……some enslave at home, other being sold to foreigners abroad(Pg54-13)”. It was

“Peasants had to work round the year in the fields of the lord and their lives were all the time revolving according to the farming season” (Difference). If the farm or the crops were not going well then neither were the peasant’s life. Farming is what peasants did for living and it was their main concern in life. “Many worked as farmers in fields owned by the lords and their lives were controlled by the farming year” (Trueman). Peasants did not get to choose if they worked on the farm or not because they had to. In order for them to live they had to have everyone’s hands on deck helping out with the farm work. “They would not have attended school for a start. As soon as was possible, children joined their parents working on the land” (Trueman). Peasant and serf families did not have enough time or money to send their children off to school because they need all the available hands working on the farm. “In a peasant household, everyone was needed to work in the fields. Often children as young as age 2 were left alone. Children did not go to school or have tutors, so few knew how to read” (Peasants). Children not going to school is a good thing because they are able to stay at home and help their parents work, but children not being able to go to school is bad because they never learned how to read or write. “The peasant may well have been justified in following old rules; he did not have the knowledge to risk experiments. He worked steadily and long, in every weather, but he seems to have taken his time” (Bishop 234). Peasants could not mess up on anything in his farm or it would have messed up everything else, and their families just did not have time for that. Peasants and serfs would have worked in every kind of weather to keep their crops alive. If the farm work would get out of control to where the men couldn’t handle it on their own then the women would have helped out,

Before the end of the 15th century, farmers had some sense of financial freedom through their relationship to the property. Several people lived on ten to thirty acreages of land. The land was preserved by the ruler but assigned to one of his nobles to who the laborers paid rent. In exchange for the rent peasants had some common rights to graze stock, cut wood, draw water, or cultivate harvests on the noble's land. Such communal privileges gave the laborers some financial individuality. They grew their own crops; grazed animals and recycled their wastes to fertilize their gardens. This was the system of feudalism. Because life was socially and economically congregated, the laborers had a diminutive chance to expand their custom of living.

Along with the lack of land, water rights were nonexistent which kept the wealthy in a technical form of power. Since the wealthy still controlled the water, they could threaten to restrict water access and force the serfs to work once more.

The  men  below  of  lower rank  were not  slaves  as  such but  in  effect  were  workers  without  any  rights  (given  to  servitude).  They  had  no  economic  recourse other than the land and could not leave it. If they did, the life away from the  land was vandalism and adventure such as that of “Robin Hood” which was rather much  worse.  In  effect  Feudalism  was  a  political  system  which  decentralized  and  localized  power.    The system came to its Zenith at the beginning of the 12th Century. At this time most of  the farming land belonged to most senior people, dioceses and monasteries. It turned  out  that  administration  of  these  estates  became  very  difficult  owing  to  the  fact  that  most  land  owners  had  come  into  possession  through  various,  hereditary  paths.  They  owed loyalty to various warring vassals and thus administration of estates became very  difficult.    Politically,  economically  and  socially,  the  feudal  system  was  a  way  of  making  administration and communication easier especially to reach the furthest corners least  populated or far stretched away from the centre. Those who gained most were the lords  and  the  higher  vassals.  Nevertheless,  the  system  gave  rise  to  contractual  obligations  which maintained a semblance of economic well being for everyone. It also guaranteed  economic  benefits  paid