💣 Download Tacticool for free on iOS/Android: https://clcr.me/TC_KingsAndGenerals or on PC: https://clcr.me/TC_KingsAndGenerals_PC , use promo code TACTIDE and get an exclusive bonus: 50 Jason shards, RPG and 50 000 silver.
Kings and Generals animated historical documentary series on medieval history and economic history continues with a video on how and why Feudalism declined in Europe, as we try to deduce economic, political, social and scientific reasons why the nobles lost their supremacy over European society.
Medieval Battles: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaBYW76inbX46r95D4BjCxiJz7-OeyOtW
Hansa - Northern Silk Road: https://youtu.be/VX8MQR78Ues
Roman History: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaBYW76inbX6WrNCeL_AdR36ZIODiGNzq
Fugger - Banker Who Brought the Habsburgs to Power: https://youtu.be/95Nmtm7XnvU
Oldest Businessmen in History: https://youtu.be/5p6EL-a0v60
Roman-Indo-Parthian Trade: https://youtu.be/WzGrRWfExJM
Roman Trade with Africa: https://youtu.be/iJGnnxPn7SU
How Roman trade with India made the Empire rich: https://youtu.be/eDTaOOVbxLs
Why Was Egypt Crucial for the Roman Empire?: https://youtu.be/BaCaFpAtm48 Roman-Chinese Relations and Contacts: https://youtu.be/koVj0GwBWt8
How Medieval Cities Defended Themselves: https://youtu.be/hR3IhT-XvsE
Support us on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/KingsandGenerals or Paypal: http://paypal.me/kingsandgenerals or by joining the youtube membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMmaBzfCCwZ2KqaBJjkj0fw/join
We are grateful to our patrons and sponsors, who made this video possible: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ooKPbpq0z8ciEjz5Zmrga4-gWRmripm0u4BHMkkXHVc/edit?usp=sharing
The video was made by Sebastiao Reis while the script was researched and written by Turgut Gambar. Narration by Officially Devin (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU0-VII-V376zFxiRGMeZGg & https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC79s7EdN9uXX77-Ly2HmEjQ)
✔ Merch store ► https://teespring.com/stores/kingsandgenerals
✔ Patreon ► https://www.patreon.com/KingsandGenerals
✔ Podcast ► http://www.kingsandgenerals.net/podcast/
✔ PayPal ► http://paypal.me/kingsandgenerals
✔ Twitter ► https://twitter.com/KingsGenerals
✔ Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/KingsGenerals
✔ Instagram ►http://www.instagram.com/Kings_Generals
Production Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound: http://www.epidemicsound.com
#Documentary #Medieval #Feudalism
History is often viewed as a linear process
of transition from one mode of production and socio-economic system to the other. The primitive community transitioned to slavery,
which moved on to feudalism with the transformation of slavery into serfdom, which gave way to
capitalism as a more profitable mode of production. But in practice, this process was more complicated
involving transitionary forms and passing through different stages at different points
in history in different regions. In this
episode of Kings and Generals, we
are going to talk about the reasons for the decline of feudalism in Europe. And while you might not have to fight in your
landlord’s personal wars anymore, we’re still going to call you to battle in the PVP
shooter Tacticool, the sponsor of this video. “Download the game via our link or the QR
code on screen. Use promo code TACTIDE to get 50 Jason Shards,
an RPG and 50 000 Silver! Tacticool is a 5 v 5 competitive shooter in
a chaotic destructible environment, w
ith realistic physics that lets you tear it apart with vehicles,
explosives, and more than 72 weapons used by its 28 playable operators, with plenty
of upgrades to unlock. We’re talking tanks, C4, drones, miniguns,
and if you’re really creative, trains. I think I saw a submarine too… You’ll work with your friends to uncover
hundreds of unique tactics, competing with 20 million players around the world. If in doubt, just drive in together blasting
from each window GTA style. Use voice chat, form
clans, and complete daily
assignments and you might just get good enough to challenge the top players. As well at the 5v5 mayhem, there’s a 15
player battle royale mode, and 3-player coop zombie survival mode. And here’s the kicker: it’s free, and
was named best competitive game on google play! It’s available on iOS and PC too. You can support our channel by downloading
Tacticool via the link in the description, or by scanning this QR code, and if you do
you’ll get an exclusive bonus: 50 Jason s
hards, an RPG, and 50000 silver. You can support our channel by downloading
Tacticool via the link in the description, or by scanning this QR code, and if use code
TACTIDE you’ll get an exclusive bonus: 50 Jason shards, an RPG, and 50000 silver. What is feudalism? Historian Maurice Dobb defines feudalism as
a system “virtually identical with what we usually mean by serfdom: an obligation
laid on the producer by force and independently of his own volition to fulfill certain economic
demands of an
overlord, whether these demands take the form of services to be performed
or of dues to be paid in money or in-kind”. He describes the main features of feudalism
as the use of primitive techniques and instruments of production with the unsophisticated division
of labour. In feudalism, demesne-farming was the dominant
type of labour carried out on lands owned by a feudal lord and the vast majority of
produce was used for the immediate needs of the lord and his subjects. These lords possessed alm
ost total superiority
over their serfs and could do almost anything short of executing them. One of the primary features of feudalism was
political decentralization, as while a monarch was a de facto sovereign of all feudal vassals
in the country and exerted control over them through lawmaking, taxation, and use for military
purposes, feudals possessed almost unfettered control over their lands and subjects. Under feudalism, a monarch ruled over the
state, which was divided into lands of various
sizes among hereditary feudals, who received
lands and estates in accordance with their services for the kingdom. But around the 13th-14th centuries feudalism
entered the period of decline in Western Europe gradually giving way to capitalism. Historian Henri Martin observed that “Feudalism
concealed in its bosom the weapons with which it would be itself one day smitten”, referring
to the struggle of monarchs to establish more control over the state and its feudal subjects
through the support th
ey had received from an emerging class of townspeople capitalists,
whose rise was possible due to growth of urban centers, towns, and cities as a result of
the expansion of trade. These and other factors have caused the demise
of feudalism and we will discuss them below. Let’s start with the Crusades, which at
first glance do not seem like something that could have had a negative impact on feudalism. The driving force of the Crusades were large
feudal landowners, who would often use their own mo
ney and resources to raise armies for
this endeavour. Surviving and returning feudals would often
be so broke that they would accept peasants buying lands and becoming essentially free
from feudal control. The same is true for towns, which used to
be under feudal control and now were able to purchase their freedom for their former
lords. These events led to an increasing portion
of lands and a number of serfs setting themselves free from feudal control. Crusades also played a role in the import
of new military technologies like gunpowder from the East. Gunpowder enabled the production of cannons
and the cannons made feudal castles, one of the key factors behind their autonomy, more
susceptible to military actions. In the pre-gunpowder era, it was extremely
difficult and costly to capture castles and feudal lords were confident in the impenetrability
of their walls and hence their autonomy. Now it was easier for kings to break feudal
resistance and establish more solid control over thei
r lands, which made Western European
states more centralized. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the
Crusades also played a major role in the expansion of trade in Western Europe. Following the collapse of the Western Roman
Empire, there was no major authority in Western Europe to protect and maintain the road network. Along with that, the Caliphate expanded to
important trading regions like Gibraltar, Alexandria, Sardinia, and Malta, hence the
long-distance trade conducted by Western Europea
ns gradually diminished and became localized. One of the key tenets of feudalism was its
self-sufficiency, as often all of the produce from the feudal lands were used for mostly
the feudal and a small portion of it for the feudal subjects living and working on these
lands. There was a very small surplus left for major
trade operations. Crusades helped to expand the Western European
reach to major cities like Constantinople and Alexandria, along with gaining a temporary
foothold in the Holy Land.
Moreover, Western Europeans regained control
of important islands and trade outposts in the Mediterranean. This played an important role in the restoration
of long-distance trade in Europe. The Belgian historian Henri Pirenne argued
that long-distance trade not only enabled economic development and growth of civilizations,
but was also a major driver of exchange of ideas, exposure of civilizations and cultures
amongst each other. Lack of these led to ruralization of Europe,
a decrease of the si
gnificance of cities, less contact and exposure within Europe and
between Europe and other civilizations. Expansion of trade led to the accumulation
of money by merchants and a gradual transition from an exchange-based economy to a money-based
economy. The merchant class was made up of commoners
and was the predecessor of bourgeoisie class, which would in the upcoming centuries upend
the European aristocracy. The emergence of major cities was another
important factor causing the crisis of feudal
ism. We already talked about how dropping revenues
forced feudal lords to give up control over a large number of serfs, some of whom moved
to cities for employment and new life. While the exploitation of labour and the general
hardship of course existed in cities as well, urban centers were attractive to peasants
for, at least, being safe from feudal arbitrariness and oppression, along with providing them
with certain rights and freedoms. Towns and cities would often offer refuge
to runaway serf
s and peasant rebels, especially during the 14th century, when peasant rebellions
got widespread in Western Europe. The emerging class of rich urban dwellers
was also active in trying to attract peasants to cities as cheap labor force and more soldiers
to their militaries. It is important not to over-exaggerate the
significance of the impact of the growth of cities on feudalism, since most of the peasant
and serf migration was still within the countryside. The growth of cities in Europe between
the
thirteenth and fifteenth centuries was major, but the overall urban population of Europe
was no more than 10% in that period. But the mere fact that now there was an alternative
for peasants to leave for cities put additional pressure on feudal landowners and feudalism. The growth of cities and the increase of manor-city
trade were also linked to the gradual transformation within the manor system itself. Feudal lords would assign bailiffs amongst
their peasants to manage and oversee the cult
ivation, storage, and disposal of the produce made
on their lands. Naturally, not all dealings between lords
and bailiffs had been honest, as bailiffs tended to keep some of the produce and money
made from trading it for themselves. Gradually bailiffs accumulated enough money
to start renting parts of the lands owned by their feudal lords. They would employ peasants to work on rented
lands in exchange for wages or produce, since serfs were obliged to work only for their
feudal lords. This paved
the way for the gradual emergence
of capitalist relations in the countryside and the class of capitalist farmers. Such farmers would usually become better managers
of lands, since they were driven by the motivation to pay the rent and accumulate more profit
by selling the surplus produce in town markets, which enhanced trade between the countryside
and cities further boosting the process of decline of feudalism. The decrease of population in Western Europe
also played a major role in the demise
of feudalism. In the mid 14th century the bubonic plague
reached Europe and devastated the whole continent over the next decades. There are different estimates of the bubonic
plague casualties in Europe ranging from 24 million to 70 million. Some claim that 60% of the European population
was wiped out during the pandemic. Whole towns and communities would disappear. It brought chaos and social disruption to
European states. Many serfs would run away from the countryside,
hoping that the bubonic
plague would not catch them in the cities. Trade, enterprise, economic relations - all
collapsed and it had to be rebuilt again. There were fewer people to employ due to a
drastic decrease in population. Therefore, enforcing serf labour was not as
easy anymore, since serfs now had more leverage and often used it to do wage labour instead. This was a further blow to feudalism. The Hundred Years’ War between England and
France had a similar impact on feudalism. This long-lasting conflict had major
implications
on military strategy, the organization of armies, the emergence of national identities
in Europe, and the increase of the role of commoners against the nobility, which all
had a negative influence on feudalism. Longbows were used extensively during the
war and proved to be an effective weapon against mounted knights, one of the key components
of feudal armies. Cannons were also used during the Hundred
Years’ War. They would penetrate castle walls making feudals
vulnerable to the po
wer of the state, where the role of the monarch was gradually growing. France would be the first country since Roman
times to use a standing army in 1445, making the monarch less dependent on levies and mercenaries,
which were the key components of the feudalism era armies. Standing armies would consist of commoners,
which helped to boost their value in society and decrease their feudal dependence. Many losses suffered by them during the war
would increase their value in peacetime as labourers,
making it less and less likely
that they would work for free as serfs. Moreover, the large-scale nature of the Hundreds
Years’ War and participation of different strata of English and French societies increased
the sense of patriotism, national identity, and loyalty to the state and the king, rather
than the feudal lord, like it used to be. This process led to the emergence of more
centralized territorial states, where feudal aristocracy was still prominent but was gradually
losing its rights to
absolutist monarchs. Territorial states or nation-states paved
the way for the further progression of the urban-based bourgeoisie and capitalism in
Western Europe. While feudal aristocracy still enjoyed political
influence well into the Modern Era, the economic power was shifting to bourgeoisie and capitalists
mirroring the process of transformation of the mode of production in Western Europe from
feudalism to capitalism. Whereas the processes described above logically
should have led to more r
ights for peasants and commoners in Western Europe, as is usually
the case in history, the change did not come without popular movements and social unrest. In the 14th century, Europe was a ground for
numerous major peasant rebellions in England, Flanders, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. The 1381 peasant revolt in England is especially
notable in that respect. In the initial phase, the revolt was so successful
that rebels advanced to London and forced King Richard II to meet with the rebels a
nd
promise them to abolish serfdom. The rebellion was eventually defeated and
Richard II reneged on his promise, but it definitely pushed the English landowners and
nobility to think hard and long about necessary changes, eventually leading to the disappearance
of serfdom, the key pillar of feudalism, by the 15th century and its substitution with
wage labour. The political struggle between monarchs and
the nobility also played its part in the decline of feudalism. Particularly in England, the pe
riod of the
12th-13th centuries was a time of adoption of laws expanding individual liberties, including
for commoners. In the 12th century, Henry II strengthened
the role of royal courts as new laws stipulated that an individual could not be jailed or
executed for no legal reason, which in theory weakened the position of feudal lords against
their subjects. In 1215, during the reign of his successor
King John Magna Carta was adopted. While in short term Magna Carta strengthened
positions of the
nobility, in the long run, it contributed to ideas on individual rights
in England, which was incompatible with a key pillar of feudalism - serfdom. It should be noted that some historians are
less keen on Magna Carta as the reason feudalism declined, and offer the devastation of the
Wars of the Roses and the economic impoverishment of the lower classes via enclosures as more
important factors. Essentially, most of the factors negatively
impacting feudalism trace their roots to the human factor
. Many of these factors caused and enabled the
flight of serfs and peasants from the countryside. Why were they so keen to leave their homes
once the opportunity arose? The answer according to historian Maurice
Dobb is simple - over-exploitation. The greed and desire for ever-increasing profit
were so high for feudal landlords that peasants were overworked and exhausted and as soon
as better opportunities emerged on the horizon they fled the countryside en masse causing
the gradual decline of fe
udalism. This is not to say that over-exploitation
ended together with feudalism, as it in fact turned into capitalist exploitation instead,
but it was different in its nature and undoubtedly progress for humankind, manifesting if not
in better living and economic standards, then at least, in terms of civil and political
rights, which they utterly lacked in the feudal era. Over-exploitation was also a cause for peasant
rebellions, dropping economic productivity and gradual recognition that serf
labour would
have to be substituted by wage labour. It is necessary to remember that the decline
of feudalism and the emergence of capitalism as the dominant mode of production was not
a rapid process. It took centuries and numerous crises for
capitalism to upend feudalism. In major Eastern European powers like Russia
serfdom existed until the 19th century and the economy was primarily feudal and agrarian
for a very long time. What is described in this video is the decline
of feudalism in Wester
n Europe, where the process of decline of feudalism started and
finished earlier. But it still took a lot of time. According to Dobb, there were three decisive
moments in the process of transition from feudalism to capitalism. First, the crisis of feudalism in the 14th
century. Second, the beginning of capitalism in the
late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Third, the victory of capitalism through the
Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Based on Maurice Do
bb’s theory, it took
5 long centuries for feudalism to give way to capitalism. We are planning more videos on the economic
history, so make sure you are subscribed and have pressed the bell button to see it. Please, consider liking, commenting, and sharing
- it helps immensely. Our videos would be impossible without our
kind patrons and youtube channel members, whose ranks you can join via the links in
the description to know our schedule, get early access to our videos, access our discord,
and
much more. This is the Kings and Generals channel, and
we will catch you on the next one.
Comments
💣 Download Tacticool for free on iOS/Android: https://clcr.me/TC_KingsAndGenerals or on PC: https://clcr.me/TC_KingsAndGenerals_PC , use promo code TACTIDE and get an exclusive bonus: 50 Jason shards, RPG and 50 000 silver. This video has been also dubbed into Spanish using an artificial voice to increase accessibility. You can change the Audio track language in the Settings menu. Este video se ha doblado al español utilizando una voz artificial para aumentar su accesibilidad. Puede cambiar el idioma de la Pista de audio en el menú Configuración.
Thank you for beginning an economic history series. Nothing against military history, but it accounts for 90% of history videos across YouTube and almost everything else since the dawn of time seems to get ignored.
Who would’ve thought 10 years ago, a few men with a YouTube channel would make history documentaries that surpassed anything the history channel produces.
You mentioned the longbow as part of the downfall of the knight, but this is also the period of the "infantry revolution" where the Swiss, Scotts, and various others used pikes/polearms to great effect against more traditional heavy cavalry armies
I think you missed one of the most important factors in the decline of Feudalism: The fact that European kings (especially the French) spent the majority of the middle ages actively fighting against feudalism as a form of government. Trying to centralize power to the king alone, instead of having to share it with the nobility. The French kings slowly but surely removed the influence and power that the nobility used to have, and the end result was the absolute monarchies of the 17th and 18th centuries. People tend to forget how little power kings actually had during the middle ages. They often ruled on the mercy of their nobles, with even individual nobles sometimes controlling more land and wealth/power than the actual king.
The phrase "Goodbye" that we use today is a shortend version of the saying "God be with you". Which was said to merchants, soldiers and others who left the walls of a midevil settlement.
It’s generally understood in political science that the state as we know it did not exist in Europe at least till the 15-1600s. The origin of the state was the centralization of power that took place during those centuries and the attempts of the monarch to handle the emerging conflicts between the emerging bourgeoisie, the now empowered peasants and the feudal nobility
Fun fact: serfdom wasn't a thing in Norway during the middle ages, in feudalisms hayday. We had landlords who rented to peasants, sure, but they did not have the authority other feudals did on the continent. Yeomanry was quite common, In fact I believe at one point 1/3 of farmland in the country was owned by the farmers who worked it.
I don't remember who said it, but there's a quote about how nobody sets out to create a feudal system and rather it being what you get when other systems fail. A monarch would much rather have full control of the state than be forced to delegate a lot of power to feudal lords, so the decline of feudalism is inevitable as soon as the monarch has the means to make the feudal lords unnecessary.
We are working on Economic Lore videos, btw
In Germany there's an old saying: "Stadtluft macht frei." - "Town air makes free." The reason is a law that if you live in a city for more than a year, you become free from serfdom. Also fun fact: City had a negative growth if you don't count country folk migrating in until the (re-)introduction of sewers. This format is nice and could certainly be applied to other changes in history like let's say the Bakufu or various Chinese dynasties. Edit: I also think you missed another important factor: universities. The establishment of centers of learning not under the control of the church and less and less of a feudal lord had a huge long term effect.
Thanks K&G for another great video! There's a lot to cover for a topic such as this, and while stuff will always be left out, I think you did a remarkable job. I hope to see more documentaries on the topic soon
Thank you for this. Very specific and properly explained. Love the visuals too. I would definitely like to see more content on economic history in addition to the political and military aspects.
The visuals/animation get ever more impressive with each passing video. Excellent channel.
I would love to see more of the history of banking, especially in the Italian States as they took a lead role in centralized banking during the Renaissance and I've always found it fascinating. 😀
One funny thing was that the Emperors of Austria had to spend centuries trying to convince their lords to allow their peasants to pay taxes and cash rent instead of obligation and labour. The lords wanted the power over others more than they wanted to be rich.
I'm hooked to this channel, which covers various aspects of topics not just one aspect so I'm really liking these economic videos
How I love your documentary videos, I've been following you since almost your first videos, and I'm always learning something new. Thank you for so much!
I am doing a master's degree in Early Medieval History and I am very intrigued that you used the works of Henri Pirenne! While his works are both admired and criticised by historians alike, he talks about some interesting points on long-distance trade in north-western Europe around the Early Middle Ages. Pirenne suggested that long-distance trade vanished in (north-western) Europe after the Islamic conquests in the eight century. Between the eight and tenth century (before the rise of Feudalism) however, long-distance trade began to flourish again due to proto-urbanisation and the rise of the Emporia (early medieval towns situated near the coast or a river like Dorestad, Quentovic, Hedeby, Eorforwic, Gipeswic). Inter- or intraregional trade, or to simply put it as "Local trade", can be seen as the most common form of trade during the age of Feudalism. However, long-distance trade actually did exist at this time in (north-western) Europe and some of the sources like those of Bede, Ibn Faḍlān, Othere, and Wulfstan, contain some information about long-distance trade. I love your videos and this is just meant to share some of my knowledge :)!
Really love that you decided to make these videos on this type of topic. Because it really gives more context to how society became the way it is today. Which should be valued by any student of history. Be that someone who watches YouTube videos or someone who paid allot of money to go to University.