Serfdom in Eastern Europe

Serfdom in Eastern Europe

Introduction

The rise of serfdom in Eastern Europe during the time it was declining in west of Elbe River is remarked upon paradox of European history and is, thus, of utmost interest to many students of history. The decline of serfdom in Western Europe was believed to be mainly caused by the Black Death which set its foot in Europe in 1347, despite the fact that the process of decline had begun well before that particular year. Although that particular period in European history have marked the end of serfdom in Western Europe after the reconnaissance, the institution had been straitening and consolidating itself in the Central and Eastern Europe, where it had previously been less prevalent as compare to Western Europe. Due to this phenomenon, serfdom in Central and Eastern Europe is also known as the “later serfdom”.

In Eastern Europe, the institution stayed on until the mid nineteenth century. Moreover, it also persisted in Austrian Empire until 1848. Serfdom was officially abolished by Russian rulers in 1861. The serfdom did not exist, however, in Sweden, Finland and Norway, nor the feudalism ever established in those countries . This paper aims at exploring the different aspects of the rise of serfdom in Eastern Europe, while discussing its causes and the different stages development through which the institution have risen and finally came to an end.

Discussion

As a result of geographical discoveries in the early sixteenth century, Europe came to a clear division. While Western Europe is moving towards the development of the industry, along with the development of modern craft and engineering techniques, which later turn into manufacturing units and factories, the Eastern Europe was growing primarily in agriculture.

It is related to the fact that the West developed primarily the city and urban system, while in Central and Eastern Europe, institution of feudal manor developed. In the Western Europ, peasants no longer had to pay for the land. Agricultural production was dependent on the weather. Therefore, the emphasis is on the development of cities. This phenomenon is the division of the European economy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which continues to this day. The phenomenon is also known as economic dualism. In contrast to the Western Europe, nobility played an important and significant role in Central and Eastern Europe. Knighthood was related to the possession of land.

Apart from minor nobility, majority of estates in Eastern Europe had small peasants. Sometimes the townspeople owned land . But over time Eastern European nobility gained a privileged position in the state. This happened at the expense of other social strata. The nobility also sought to increase their worldly wealth, and thus wanted to get cheap labor for growing wealth. The desire to have more and more wealth was associated with an increase in the standard of living of such landlords. The nobleman could become a magnate towards whom the wealth was attracted.

In this way, the Eastern Europe began to proceed on the road to becoming a ...