Social DBQ
Beginning in the 16th century, there was a growing unrest among the serfs primarily in modern day Germany. High taxes, joined with the fact that peasants had no opportunity to increase their social standing, let alone the right to do so, gave an atmosphere of disaccord between the noble, and lower class. Internalizing the egalitarian ideologies of Martin Luther, it was easy for the peasants to feel like they had greater place in among society. However, due to semi-feudalistic attitudes of those days, peasants were the lowest social class and needed to stay that way for such a social structure to function. Martin Luther’s teachings that through faith everyone could be equal in God’s eyes gave peasants a false sense of equality,
…show more content…
In document 3, the lords responded to the peasants by claiming that the lower-class were their property, having been purchased by them for “a considerable sum of money.” The lords continued to mock the serfs, explaining to them that they are certain their social status would not hinder their positions in heaven. The peasants who claimed their only master was Jesus, stating, “Christ has purchased and redeemed us with His precious blood2,” were then told that that the council was sympathetic to their plea: to regain their independence, they would simply have to pay the sum of which they are worth. An ironic proposition, as the nobles know very well the serf’s wealth was negligible. This response to the peasants’ plea was fuel to the fire of revolt. The peasants viewed this ignorance of their rights as people unacceptable, given their new found of idea of worth, which they interpreted from Luther’s teachings. Such a response from the lords was yet another step towards a revolt, indirectly having been started by Luther inspiring the peasants to want more. The upheaval of peasants against their oppressing social structure is also seen in the French Revolution of the late 18th century. The feudal system had been gradually disappearing in parts of Europe, replaced with early capitalist structures. The peasants living in these parts of Europe had attained a higher …show more content…
The nobles responding with a mockery of the peasants, left the peasants angered and bitter. As such, they started forming private assemblies, where they would preach their views on equality, and plot to revolt against the nobles. A secret report regarding a peasant's assembly shows the nobles views on the matter. “... They believed the rich should share with the poor, especially rich persons who had acquired their property from trade or had otherwise won it from the poor...” The speaker in this source was the chief advisor for the Archbishop of Wurzburg. The Archbishop of Wurzburg being of a highly recognized class would highly disapprove of this intolerance from the peasants. Seen in the diction of the speaker, he talks of the peasants as if they are inferior beings. The tone in this source much differed from that of document 3, as this document paints the nobles as eagerly awaiting to strike down on the peasants. “The same was heard from many peasants in the countryside where a prosperous man, who had hitherto observed and taken pleasure in the peasants’ uprising, began to scratch his head and reflect on what a troublesome situation this might be.” This source shows how the noble was realizing of the adverse effects that could be caused by the peasants’ uprising. As the peasants were severely undertrained and under-armed, they had no chance of overthrowing the nobles. However, the nobles - almost
In document 4 the article the peasants made called the, Twelve Articles, proved that the peasants longed for wealth, in document 4 it talks about how it was all lies and it was the work of the devil. In document 7, it talks about how the peasants targeted the
The peasant revolts in the German states from 1524-1526 were caused primarily by the extended manipulation of many Lutheran ideals, as well as grievances toward their lords and superiors, while the responses of this revolt were solely condemning of those participating. The compassionate doctrines of the recently introduced lutheran doctrines provided much justification for the Peasant revolts of the 1520’s. Documents one and three demonstrate this idea of Lutheranism. Document one is of Leonhard von Eck, the Chancellor of Bavaria as he reports to the Duke of Bavaria.
If the peasants were educated,
Cashier of the parish of Aix-en-Provence stated, “ We cannot hide, Sire, that the nobility consumes the major part of State income. A noble man, who knows how to dance well, ride a horse well, and handle a sword, thinks he deserves everything, and, nonetheless, he pretends that he does not owe anything to the State. ”(Document 3). This brought to light how the nobility thinks that they do not need to help the State during this time of need and how the Third Estate only wants what is best for the State. In addition, in 1789 men made a list of grievances that declared the rights they deserved (Document 4) and in 1791 women followed in their footsteps and declared their own rights as members of the society (Document 5).
Revolutions for Enlightenment During the eighteenth century, people were angry and miserable. They sought for alternatives in the way they were living, and how they existed in society. Many minority groups revolted against their governments or people of authority because they felt as if they were being treated unfairly. In other words, the government was not treating everyone as equals. Not everyone had the right to own property, vote, and some did not have the right to freedom of speech.
From 1450 to 1700 the economy of Europe began to majorly change. Mercantilism was on the uprise which meant Europe began to focus more on their trade and commerce. This lead to many individuals to having a hard time gaining wealth because the government was doing everthing on a large scale. Many Europeans were just barely getting by. Then the poor would have to go to the extremes and beg and steal to make money for themselves.
Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès talks about in his famous pamphlet, What Is the Third Estate, relates to common people. During history, we talked about how the people serve the king based on God’s authority. However, it limits people from speaking out on their individual issues or needs. What Sieyès suggests is that without the nobility or the citizens, they cannot function. It takes both the nobility and citizens to create the foundation for their “new” government.
Upon reading his description of glorious medieval Europe, a French peasant could almost be talked out of rebelling. “...that generous loyalty to rank and sex, that proud submission, that dignified obedience, that
The opposition Luther took against the Church soon had an instant impact on peasants. Individuals began to form opinions on both political and religious fields, but they had failed to interpret the beliefs of Luther correctly.
The Victorian era lasted from 1830 to 1880 in England under Queen Victoria, who has the longest reign in England history of sixty three years. This time marks the climax of England’s economic and military dominance. in the nineteenth-century England was the first modern industrial nation. The wars with France, and internal conflict, made England unstable, and their survival at point troubled. The invention of the steam engine and machine for spinning and weaving sparked the Industrial Revolution, creating growth of textile industry.
However, the third estate also included the middle class (bourgeoisie), city workers, and peasants. Members of the third estate had the least amount of rights out of everyone. This is mainly why they decided to revolt. As peasants had the least rights, they were a big part of the revolution. Along with the other revolting French citizens, “The peasants were launching their own revolution against the old regime.”
The crises of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were affected by one another because each crisis was interconnected with the next. One example of this was the effects that the battles of the Hundred Years War had on helping to fuel the English Peasants Revolt of 1381. The Hundred Years War slowly encouraged the Peasant's Revolt of 1381 because it was instrumental in the collapse of the feudal system, it brought about technology that caused a need for peasant soldiers thereby giving them power, and the peasants were simply tired of paying the high taxes that were supporting the long war. Given the circumstances of peasants during the Medieval period, it is surprising that there were not more peasant revolts. There was a feudal system
The social standings of an individual played a major role in regards to how people regarded the poor. One’s religious position, could have influenced their perceptions of the poor due to their position in the catholic church; individuals who held positions of high authority, such as Emperor Charles V, looked negatively on this group of individuals since they were of no personal value to them and seen more as parasites on society; while many other individuals in European society tended to categorize poor people into two separate groups, either idlers or beggars. Whatever the reasoning for one’s perception of the poor, it is clear their social status significantly influenced their perceptions. Although this took place far back in history we
They also believe that the Third estate fought for equality, better rights, and better social economics. In Lefebvre’s document, he stresses that social, economic, and political factors were very key in his argument. In his document he states that the bourgeoisie, the upper middle-class of the Third Estate, developed “A new ideology which the “philosophers” and “economists” of the had simply put into form.” By doing this and the clergy’s power growing weaker, the Third Estate was able to restore the harmony between fact and law. In Palmer’s document, he believes that the Revolution began with the bourgeoisie resenting the nobleman for his superiority and his arrogance, which caused the social and political collision between the two.
The Marriage of Figaro written by Beaumarchais portrays 18th century France, a time that had many controversies evolved around the ideas of social and political aspects of society. Beaumarchais incorporates his use of characters and scenes to portray French society at the time. The common people began to see the way the government was mistreating them and eventually began to stand up for what they believed in. Corruption within the nobles and upper-class people of society was common at the time.