Every month we all go to the box office of our management companies to pay bills for water, gas and electricity. We also visit the tax authority once every six months in order to pay tribute (from about 100 rubles and more) to the state. Nowadays it is commonly called the “tax”. And this obligation has existed for so long that it seems unrealistic to name the exact date of its origin. And no matter how historians strain their scientific heads, when the first gathering from a person took place, we no longer know. However, you can consider earlier gatherings, beginning with the first kings and ending with the times of Kolchak.
When in history is especially vividly mentioned collecting from the people?
The century of feudal lords was especially distinguished in this regard. Of course, ordinary people were "plucked" before, but they began to do it especially professionally at that time. Forced in-kind or cash collection from peasants is, in other words, corvée and quitrent. In the first case (corvée) it was a question of peasants paying a tax in kind to their master. Refers to labor. Heavy, long and unpaid. In the second case (quitrent) everything is much simpler - the labor was paid for by the harvest, the proceeds from it, and the products obtained from it. But there was one “but” - all this had to be given to his landowner. The question arises of what they themselves ate and what they lived on. By the way, historians also find it difficult to answer. And this is no joke.
Quitrent
So, forced natural or monetary collection from peasants had the first stage of their development during the feudal lords. It was a quitrent. It consisted of paying the landowner money for the opportunity to work on his land. The cost was calculated based on the location of the estate: from a quarter of a penny per acre and above. Naturally, not all peasants had money. Therefore, “caring” landowners took food instead of money. They either went to the master's table or were sold at the bazaar, and the proceeds went to the master's pocket.
Do not forget that the compulsory in-kind or monetary collection from the peasants, levied by the feudal lord, concerned not only peasants, but also peoples captured during military campaigns. Thus, a feudal lord was appointed on their lands, to whom the tribes living there had to pay tribute for the opportunity to live and work further.
In general, feudal time constrained the people and their masters. A forced in-kind or cash collection from peasants contributed to this most of all.
The corvée is replacing
However, the high demands of the owners did not always allow the peasants to pay tribute with money and food. Rather, it practically did not work out. In the best case, tribute was not paid in full. At worst - in times of crop failure - peasants in fear took their families and went on the run. Therefore, the feudal lords developed a new system.
Thus, compulsory in-kind or cash collection from peasants became simply compulsory and in-kind. The landowner no longer demanded money or a harvest from the peasants. The farmer paid him the fact that he worked for free on the land of the owner.
This system appealed to the exploiters and lasted until the 19th century. And according to some sources - even until the 20th.
The discontent of the peasants and the consequences of this
But the matter was not limited to constant requisitions. The attitude to the peasants in those days was no better than to the land itself, which they plowed. By giving land for rent, the feudal lords gave along with it the peasants themselves. In other words, the peasant is nothing but a resource, thing, currency, but not a living soul. On top of that, there was no sympathy from the authorities. Moreover, the decree of Catherine 2 completely deprived the people of faith in any justice. And the decree was that the peasants had no right to complain about their landowners. There was no such estate where this or that crime would not occur in relation to the farmer or his family. And almost every one of these cases went unpunished.
At the same time, the landowners considered themselves fair, generous patrons, and forced natural or monetary collection from the peasants was the answer for their kindness. It is unlikely that any of the gentlemen at least once thought about the reality of fulfilling their conditions. Know did not consider it necessary to do this and closer to the 1970s.
Peasants in the Pugachev Uprising
The situation in the country was worse than ever, in view of the changing wars from one to the other. In addition, there was a “Gallant Century” in the courtyard, which required the feudal lords to pay a lot for their person. All this squeezed the neck of a simple person even more.
However, any patience comes to an end. The oppression, bullying, criminal acts and forced natural or monetary tax levied on the peasants received a response in the form of constant strikes and uprisings. The most famous of them is the adjoining of a large number of peasants to Pugachev. It was the rebellious farmers who made up a considerable part of his army, which only contributed to the growth of the uprising to such previously unprecedented proportions.
Cancellation fees
There were few peasants who could afford to acquire their land. The rest had no choice but to work for the landowner, subject to constant requisitions. And no matter how this may be fought by eminent personalities sympathetic to him, compulsory in-kind or monetary collection from peasants did not exist until the end of the 19th century.