Forced natural or monetary fees from peasants in the era of feudal lords

All of us every month we go to the cash offices of our management companies to pay bills for water, gas and electricity. Also once every six months, we also visit the tax to pay tribute (approximately from 100 rubles and above) to the state. Nowadays it is customary to call it "tax". And there is this commitment already so long ago that it seems unreal to name the exact date of its origin. And no matter how the historians strained their scientists, when the first gathering took place from a man, we no longer know. However, it is possible to consider earlier collections having a beginning under the first kings and ending with the times of Kolchak.

When in history is there a vivid mention of gatherings from the people?

Especially distinguished in this regard is the age of the feudal lords. Of course, ordinary people "plucked" and earlier, but it was especially professionally done at this time. Forced natural or monetary fee from the peasants - this, in other words, corvée and obrok. In the first case (corvée), it was a matter of paying the peasants a tax in kind to their master. This refers to work. Heavy, long and unpaid. In the second case (obrok) everything is much simpler - labor was paid for by harvest, revenue from it, products derived from it. But there was one "but" - all this had to be given to its landowner. The question is being imposed on what they themselves used to eat and what they lived on. On it, by the way, historians also find it difficult to answer. And this is without jokes.

Obrok

So, a compulsory natural or monetary fee from the peasants had the first stage of its development during feudal lords. It was a quitrent. It consisted in paying the landowner money for the opportunity to work on his land. The cost was calculated based on the location of the estate: from a quarter of a penny per acre and above. Naturally, not all peasants had money. Therefore, the "caring" landlords used food instead of money. They either went to the master's table, or were sold at the market, and the proceeds went to the master in his pocket.

Do not forget that the compulsory natural or monetary fee from peasants, levied by the feudal lord, concerned not only the peasants, but also those captured during the military campaigns of the peoples. Thus, a feudal lord was assigned to their lands, to whom the tribes living there had to pay tribute for the opportunity to live and work further.

In general, the time of the feudal lords hampered the people and their masters. A compulsory natural or monetary fee from the peasants is most conducive to this.

In place of the corvée

However, the high demands of the owners did not always allow the peasants to pay tribute to money and food. Rather, it almost did not work. At best, the tribute was not paid in full. At worst - in times of poor harvest - the peasants in fear took their families and went on the run. Therefore, the feudal lords developed a new system.

Thus, a compulsory natural or monetary fee from the peasants became simply coercive and natural. The landowner no longer demanded money or crops from the peasants. The farmer paid with it that he worked for free on the owner's land.

This system suited the exploiters and existed until the 19th century. And according to some sources - and until the 20th.

The discontent of the peasants and the consequences of this

But one constant chicks did not stop it. Attitude towards the peasants in those days was no better than to the land that they plowed. Leaving the land for rent, the feudal lords gave with it and the peasants themselves. In other words, a peasant is nothing but a resource, a thing, a currency, but not a living soul. In addition, there was no sympathy from the authorities. Moreover, the decree of Catherine II completely deprived the people of the belief in any justice. And the decree was that the peasants did not have the right to complain about their landlords. There was no such estate where there was no crime committed against a farmer or his family. And almost every one of these cases remained unpunished.

At the same time, the landowners considered themselves to be just, generous patrons, and forced natural or monetary collection from the peasants - a response for their kindness. It is unlikely that any of the gentlemen at least once thought about the reality of the fulfillment of their conditions. To know did not consider it necessary to do this and closer to the 1970s.

Peasants in the Pugachev Uprising

The situation in the country and so it was worse nowhere, in view of the changing wars from one to another. In addition, there was a "Gallant Age" in the yard, which required the feudal lords to pay a great deal of money to their person. All this further compressed the neck of the common man.

However, any patience comes to an end. Oppression, bullying, criminal actions and forced natural or monetary tax, levied on peasants, received the answer in the form of constant strikes and uprisings. The most famous of them is the adherence of a large number of peasants to Pugachev. It was the rebellious farmers who made up a considerable part of his army, which only contributed to the growth of the uprising to such unprecedented levels.

Cancellation fees

Peasants, who could afford to buy their own land, were single. The rest had no choice but to work for the landlord, undergoing constant chastisement. And no matter how hard the eminent figures sympathizing with them struggled with it, a compulsory natural or monetary fee from the peasants ended their existence only at the end of the 19th century.