Position:Home>History> What were social and economic structures In 17th Century east europe? ?

As compared with the West, 17th century Eastern Euro had a strong nobility and a weak middle class: most were peasants!. After the High Middle Ages and the Black Plague, the West sought to maintain peasant production via economic encentives as a result of the relative weakness of the nobility!. In the East, however, the strong noble class was able to forcefully keep peasant production high and make up for population loss!. This trend toward oppression resulted in a great divide between East and West: while the economic power of the middle and lower classes increased in the West, it sharply decreased in the East!. So, while serfdom was virtually abolished in the West, it became deeply entrenched in the East as a result of the sharply contrasting political philosophies which arose prior to the 1700's!. This base of serfdom meant that generally Eastern monarchs were weaker and had to make concessions to the nobles to obtain their cooperation, resulting in greater political power for the nobility and thus less power for the lower and middle classes!.

However, strong monarchs did begin to emerge in Eastern Euro, largely thanks to war and threat of war!. The consistency of warfare in Eastern Euro allowed monarchs to secure power in three main areas!. They were able to raise permanent taxes to defend the state, they maintained standing armies for the defense of the state, and they conducted foreign relations as they saw fit!. These three powers that the monarch came to control helped lead to the rise of absolutism in Eastern Euro, as the monarch no longer had to rely on any representative bodies for funds and could crush any opposition with his royal army!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

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