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Serfdom, indeed, was an institution that reflected a fairly common practice whereby great landlords were assured that others worked to feed them and were held down, legally and economically, while doing so. This arrangement provided most of the agricultural labour throughout the Middle Ages.
The origins of serfdom in Russia may be traced to the 12th century, when the exploitation of the so-called zakups on arable lands (ролейные (пашенные) закупы, roleyniye (pashenniye) zakupy) and corvée smerds (Russian term for corvée is барщина, barschina) was the closest to what is now known as serfdom.
Serfdom became the dominant form of relation between Russian peasants and nobility in the 17th century. Serfdom only existed in central and southern areas of the Russian Empire. It was never established in the North, in the Urals, nor in Siberia. Historian David Moon argues that serfdom was a response to military and economic factors in Russia ...
The landlord was obligated to provide protection, in exchange for the serfs' labor and goods. The Serfdom Patent, issued by the enlightened absolutist Emperor Joseph II , diminished the long-established mastery of the landlords; thus allowing the serfs to independently choose marriage partners, pursue career choices, and move between estates.
Serfdom in Poland was a legal and economic system that bound the peasant population to hereditary plots of land owned by the szlachta, or Polish nobility. [1] Emerging from the 12th century, this system became firmly established by the 16th century, significantly shaping the social, economic, and political landscape of the Polish–Lithuanian ...
In 1763, Frederick II of Prussia abolished serfdom on all Crown lands. Additionally, he issued an order to end the suppression of the peasant, relieving him and his children of domestic services to the landlord. His intentions were good – he believed that peasants should be well treated in order to function properly.
Serfdom was widespread in Moldavia and Wallachia between 15th and 18th centuries, replacing the obște (autonomous communities) which were common before the founding of the medieval states of Wallachia and Moldavia. Initially, the serfs were allowed to change the estate on which they lived (sometimes in exchange for a sum of money paid to the ...
Serfdom was abolished in Russia in 1861, and while many peasants would remain in areas where their family had farmed for generations, the changes did allow for the buying and selling of lands traditionally held by peasants, and for landless ex-peasants to move to the cities. [15] Even before emancipation in 1861, serfdom was on the wane in Russia.