500 Years of Peasant Wars: From the Uprising to the Agrarian Capitalist Era!

500 Years of Peasant Wars: From the Uprising to the Agrarian Capitalist Era!

In 2025, society has a long history of peasant revolts, which have played a crucial role in the political landscape of the last 600 years. Georg Seesslen's article on Freitag examines the complex relationship between farmers and various political movements and highlights the fluidity of the term “farmer”. Originally defined as someone who lives in a territory and grows food, in the 18th century the role of the peasant became increasingly equated with the term "farmer". This development illustrates that farmers are not a homogeneous class; they range from poor to rich, from powerful to powerless.

The role of peasants has historically often been the target of power struggles between feudal and capitalist forces. The political movements that attempted to appropriate the Peasants' Wars included Marxists, Nazis, and various conservative and liberal movements. Farmers are usually tied to their land and fight for their economic existence and freedom. However, rural society is characterized by instability, which often leads to pressure to migrate to cities or colonies.

The causes of the uprisings and discontent

Farmers had to give up a large part of their harvest and earnings and provide manual services. These economic constraints were reinforced by serfdom and the associated rights of regulated households. An example of this is the “death tax,” which required that the family of a deceased farmer leave the best clothing and the best piece of livestock to the landlord. Many farmers lived in a situation in which they had hardly any rights of their own and had to obey the landlord. Decisions such as changing residence or marriage required the landlord's permission, which led to frustration.

2015 was the year in which Martin Luther published his well-known work “On the Freyheith of a Christian Man”. Many farmers interpreted Luther's statements as support for their demands for the end of serfdom, but this was a misunderstanding. Luther himself did not see secular demands as biblically based and advocated obedience to the masters. In contrast, the reformer Ulrich Zwingli viewed the Bible as the basis of a Christian life and argued that people could depose the authorities if they violated biblical regulations.

Unity and disunity among the insurgents

The dissatisfaction of the farmers led to the formation of a movement in 1525, which met in Memmingen in March to formulate the “Twelve Articles”. These articles, which summarized the farmers' demands, were significantly influenced by Christoph Schappeler, a student of Zwingli. The central demand was the abolition of serfdom, which was viewed as servitude. Other demands included the right to freely choose the priest, better living conditions and a move away from excessive forced labor.

The gentlemen's reactions to these demands were mostly characterized by incomprehension and irony. They showed little willingness to unify, which led to the emergence of internal conflicts among the insurgents. Ultimately, the Great German Peasants' War, which began in 1524, ended tragically because the insurgents ended up fighting against each other and were unable to demonstrate a unified strategy.

Over the centuries, the role of farmers has changed fundamentally. Militant and political renewal led to the creation of movements that contained both restorative and reactionary elements. These trends ultimately led to the nucleus of National Socialism. The subsequent post-war modernizations also contributed to the decline of the peasantry and permanently changed rural communities. It remains to be seen that dissatisfaction with political decisions and the fight against industrial destruction are constant companions in the history of the farmers.

Leading figures in the more recent peasant uprisings often come from landowners or agrarian capitalists, which also reveals connections to right-wing extremists. Seesslen's article summarizes that it is historically challenging to identify a constant movement of freedom and resistance in the peasant uprisings, highlighting the complexity and diversity of the peasant movement. The challenges farmers face are still relevant today, and their fight for economic freedom and social justice is an ongoing topic.

For further information on the history of the Peasants' Wars, we recommend the articles on Friday and Planet knowledge.