Aristocracy and Peasantry in the Eighteenth Century (Essay Sample)

Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Date Aristocracy and Peasantry in the Eighteenth Century Social classes grow gradually, and their differences determine which group will control the rest. This defining element was characteristic of western civilizations in the eighteenth century. As some people tried to uplift their lives through farming and trade, others worked hard to control them as social, economic, and political prestige prompted. To a large extent, the eighteenth century was primarily aristocratic. Aristocrats had more influence than peasants and were in a better position to maximize their productivity, albeit both groups depended mainly on agriculture. Regarding influence, aristocrats were at the pinnacle of society, where they enjoyed economic and political prestige. Their high income gave them a better social status and more control of factors of production (Trumbach 122-124). Meanwhile, the advancement of the peasants was piecemeal, considering that majority were not landowners or owned small portions, if any. With most of the aristocrats being landowners, they had the advantage of preserving their social status and the benefit of political protection. Significant influence implies that aristocrats had the power to amass more wealth and influence social, economic, and political decisions (Wilson 98-101). Even as agricultural production and methods improved, peasants’ lack of influence proved costly since they could not control anything. Aristocrats had more means of improving their productivity too. The leading cause was their education, closeness to authority, and knowledge of agriculture and business (Coatsworth et al. 114-117). Aristocrats had more connection with business and applied improved methods of farming with better agricultural landscapes. On the other hand, mundane factors such as water supply, size and type of land, and access to water restricted peasants to the subsistence economy. With their lands being bigger compared to peasants, aristocrats ensured that peasants grew depending on them as they taxed them too (Wilson 277-278). This continued dominance helped preserve aristocracy for a long until better methods of farming were accessible to all population segments. However, the aristocracy’s improving ability remained constant. Despite the massive differences, aristocrats and peasants depended primarily on agriculture. A significant portion of the accumulated wealth that created social classes came from agriculture. Although both groups differed in land ownership, none could sustain itself without agriculture, which was a determinant of self-sufficiency (Lansing and Edward 1987-1989). However, aristocrats had more freedom on land use and could apply modern methods of production that improved their farms’ output. Conversely, the condition and peasants’ lack of influence confined them to survival farming, although the situation changed as time advanced. As agricultural production improved, both groups had the opportunity to expand in size and acquire more...