Serfdom

lord. They would be given land and that is where they would work and farm. They were allowed to do almost nothing without permission. They could not go to school, get married, or own land, without permission from the lord. Although the decline of serfdom had already been in effect before the Black Death, it was what drastically declined it. The Black Death, which killed and affected so many people in the 14th century, had an impact on the social classes and the population of peasants. They made…

From 1750 CE until the present day (2015), Eastern Europe underwent numerous changes and few continuities. Some of the changes: the mini-ice age, rise of communism, spread of the potato, decline of serfdom, an ideological desire for militarism, nationalism, alliances, and imperialism, and new weapons/warfare create new avenues for political, economic, social, and intellectual reform. While the reliance on agriculture and ever-lasting ethnic conflict remained largely consistent throughout the…

making great advancements in Russia even when it opposed prior Russian culture and norms. The Emancipation of Serfs was the boldest of all of Alexander II’s reforms. To emancipate serfs meant also to work against age long Russian tradition of Serfdom. Serfdom worked so well for the Tsar because Russia was so backwards it kept the serfs “simple and loyal.” (Pipes 162) This is why reforms and advancements, like railroads and improved…

taxes on Jews and tried to exclude them from the professions and civil service. He also did not abolish serfdom, an important factor to Prussia’s economy, an old-age practice that had dwindled down to a select few states. Joseph II as well had placed high protective tariffs and the government closely supervised economic activity. However, unlike his Prussian counter-part, Joseph II had abolished serfdom within his empire. Similarly, another enlightened despot was Catherine II of Russia, her…

was an unfair and unjust ideology that has been around for way too long and is still going on around the world today. Slavery always ends up causing more harm than was intended. We see that in Russia, landlords did not own slaves but they practiced serfdom, and this was the policy of giving a serf land, and they had to contribute for that landowner but they were not slaves they were just considered part of the property. Fast forwarding, we see that an Emancipation was created which made serfs…

Peter the Great seemed to be an excellent dictator with an ambition to advance his nation. He was not afraid to pay a heavy price, including the division between the westernized elite and the peasant masses, to transform Russia into a major modern power. Peter’s reforms undeniably have some positive impacts that deserve an appreciation. Meanwhile, I do not believe that some of Peter’s methods to modernize his people, such as through their appearance and clothing, were necessary or even useful.…

Alexander II is known today as the “Tsar Liberator. He held a vision of Russia as a major world power, a Russia that was westernized, industrialized, and educated. However, his reforms did not go so smoothly. With many attempts to take his life were made throughout his reign, he was finally assassinated before the completion of his reforms in March 1881. Was the reforms he made deemed a success? The humiliation of the Crimean War had greatly exposed Russia's main problems, involving its lack…

During some period of time every type of race has experience slavery. One of the world’s most historical slavery time periods was the trans-Atlantic slave trade. This trade route was when the African slaves were exchanged for a variety of products that were important to the countries involved such as tobacco, gold, coal, copper, etc. The trade route originally started in 1550 AD and lasted for three centuries until 1850 AD. The trans-Atlantic slave trade had significant effects on many countries…

autocratic reigns. Peter Alexeyevich created many ambitious reforms and policies during his reign, but sadly most ended up dying with him. The nobles ignored his policy of service to the state and his other policies resulted in the enlargement of serfdom and a widening gap between Russia and the West. This was…

short passage from the play Nothing Sacred by George F. Walker depicts a corrupt and misleading society in the reader’s mind. To begin with, serfdom creates a disjunction in the society where ‘serfs’ are considered a low class. For example, Arkady says, “This is a form of institutional punishment. One man has been given power by the state… the institution of serfdom,” (Walker). The Bailiff is allowed to enforce the law regardless of his violent personality, over a peasant such as Gregor due to…