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History of the world economy - Polyak GB

10.3. The economic development of France in the X-XV centuries.

Further development of feudal relations

In the IX-XI centuries. Feudal relations in France are further developed and become ubiquitously dominant. With the approval of the monopoly right of the feudal lords to the land, free peasant landownership disappears. Simultaneously, under conditions of domination of subsistence farming, the fragmentation of large seigniores and the emergence of new estates continue, which finally undermined the unity of the country and led to its territorial fragmentation.

The real power of the first Capetians was extremely insignificant and extended only to a small territory of their immediate domains (the domain of the king). The territory of the royal domain stretched from north to south in a narrow strip, called the Ile-de-France, and included such centers as Orleans and Paris. But even within this relatively small territory, the Capetians were not full masters. Other feudal lords who inhabited the Île-de-France and had their own castles were robbed on high roads. More than a hundred years have passed with the first Capetians to restore their power within the domain. The funds necessary for the French kings, they received mainly from their own estates. Outside the royal domain, the power of the first Capetians was altogether ghostly. Thus, by the beginning of the 12th century, France was a single kingdom only by name.

The inability of kings to defend the borders of the kingdom led to the strengthening of power on the ground, which was largely facilitated by the fact that the benefice reached its greatest development and turned into a feud that represented a vassal, which was already inherited rather than life, but military service Still remained a condition of possession.

The formation of the ruling class of feudal lords is directly connected with the development of feudal land ownership and a complex system of vassal relations. The class of feudal lords began to resemble a hierarchical ladder, consisting not only of lords and vassals, but also subvassals of different levels (arier-vassals).

Until the middle of the 12th century. The bulk of the feudal lords (the arier-vassals) did not submit to the king or other major feudal lords, since the principle was that the vassal of my vassal was not my vassal. Later, in connection with the economic upsurge of cities that have become natural allies of royal power, relations within the feudal class are undergoing some changes: the kings begin to seek vassalage and vow of fidelity from all feudal lords in the country. This process of converting the arrier-vassals into direct vassals of the king was called schmediatization. From the XII century. The process of fragmentation of land holdings practically ceases. Feudal possessions become patrimonial estates. The access of new persons to the ranks of the feudal lords becomes limited, feudal titles and ranks acquire a hereditary character.

Main categories of dependent peasants

In the same period, the final formation of the class of the dependent peasantry takes place. The overwhelming majority of the peasants are turning into servas , whose legal status was inherited from slaves. However, the personal dependence of servs did not lead to their becoming serfs. The scope of their duties was mainly determined by legal customs.

Another group of dependent peasants were villans (former colonies ). They were considered personally free holders of the land of the feudal lord and paid him a quitrent, which was lighter than that of the servants.

All peasants were obliged to observe feudal monopolies (banalites): to bake bread in the baker's seignior, to harvest grapes in his winery and grind the grain in the master's mill. A special fee was levied for transporting products through bridges.

The intensification of exploitation contributed to a marked increase in agricultural production, expansion of sown areas and an increase in the level of agricultural technology. Agricultural crops became more diverse, tools of labor were improved. At the same time, the need for money in the seniors grew steadily. Not only the nobility and the barons, but also the knights increasingly used the services of urban merchants and craftsmen, since they were no longer satisfied with things made by peasants in the fiefdoms.

Rent commutation its consequences

At the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries. And in the following, centuries in the economic system of France, there are significant changes: the gradual replacement of the corvee by a natural loan, and then the money. Completely corvee was superseded by the XV century. Even in the church's most conservative seigneurs. Thanks to the growth of the natural quitrent in the hands of the feudal lords, considerable surpluses accumulated to the nearest city market or local fair. The peasants also did not stand aside, and from the 13th century. There is clearly a preponderance of the superiority of the peasant economy.

On the other hand, the economic difficulties associated with the Hundred Years' War with England, reflected primarily on the situation of the French peasants, led to a spontaneous uprising in 1358, the uprising, called Jacquerie (from the contemptuous nickname of the French peasants in the Middle Ages - Jacques-Prostac ). Despite the fact that the insurrection ended in defeat, the peasants succeeded in replacing the natural rent of monetary, i.e. commutation of rent. This contributed to the development of commodity-money relations and the faster release of servs from personal dependence.

Thus, the replacement of corvee at first with natural, and then with money, resulted in the fact that the center for the production of feudal rent shifted to peasant farming. The interest of the feudal lords in new forms of exploitation in connection with the social and economic shifts that had taken place facilitated the beginning of the process of freeing the servs from serfdom. This is how the censor appears -a new form of peasant feudal landownership. The peasant working in the censors could go from one place to another, transfer it by inheritance, sell it, however, so that the new owner bears the same obligations. The main thing is that a hard annual fee ( censure) was paid for the censor . Over time, it becomes the main form of peasant holding.

Communal revolutions

With the rapid growth of cities, a new stratum of feudal society is increasing, having a special legal status - the urban population. Initially, the legal status of the townspeople differed little from that of other dependent layers of the population, but from the 12th century onwards, In connection with the broad movement of cities for self-government, the situation has changed. A huge and progressive role in this was played by communal revolutions of the 12th-13th centuries, so-called because, as a result of this struggle, free cities- communes free of serfdom, seignoral jurisdiction and enjoying state sovereignty-emerged in France, the Netherlands and Spain. There was a city right, different from the feudal law. It was recognized market law, which gave guarantees of merchant's property. The city fell out of the orbit of the feudal estate, although it served the feudal regime. City communes quickly turned into large centers of craft and trade. Thus, in Paris already in 1268 there were about a hundred craft corporations. And the fair in Champagne, which lasted almost all year round, became a pan-European market.

The communal revolutions were supported by royal power. Their result was the streamlining of duties and the size of fines, which were now strictly fixed. There was a cancellation of the banalitet.

Strengthening of royal power

Started in the XIII century. The process of overcoming feudal disunity was a natural consequence of the rise of cities and agriculture. Centralization took place through the strengthening of the political power of all territorial sovereigns, including the king, and then the expansion of the royal domain began at the expense of large feudal estates. Joining a large feudal domain, the king did not alter his administrative structure, but only with the help of his managers replaced the former count or duke, adopting his political and seignorial rights. With weak economic and administrative ties, the presence of ubiquitous royal officials played a positive role in strengthening the power of the king. Royal courts everywhere gained considerable authority, the royal gold coin, thanks to its good quality began to displace coins issued earlier by major feudal lords. The king became the recognized sovereign of almost all cities that were under his protection and protection, paying a fixed fee to the treasury.

Judicial, administrative and monetary reforms contributed not only to political centralization, but also increased the revenues of the treasury. The political power of the king increased in parallel with the increase in incomes. In 1369, a permanent collection of the customs duty and salt tax was legalized, and from 1439 there was established a constant tax - a royal waist. From the same time, the use of indirect on-tovs is expanding. During the reign of Louis XI with feudal fragmentation was finished for good. In their struggle for the unification of France, the royal power relied on the cities. The third estate actively entered the political arena in such a representative institution as the General States (first convened in 1302). At the end of the centralization process, the need for their convocation fell away. In form of state structure, France was a caste-representative monarchy.