Abstract:

In the 18th century, the serfdom was prevalent in Prussia, where the state formed an alliance with the lords and restricted their excessive exploitation of serfs. In the first half of the 19th century, royal power extended to the grass-roots level, with lords surrendering some of their power. The Autonomy of Landgemeinde was recognized by law, but lords still retained privileges in areas such as county magistrate appointments and rural security, and Landgemeinde in the eastern and northern regions did not receive autonomy. After 1871, the Prussian royal government realized that rural governance must be adjusted with the emancipation of serfs, and formulated county and Landgemeinde regulations for the eastern and northern provinces. These regulations normalized rural autonomy and established the authority of the state by nationalizing the police, professionalizing county magistrates, and expanding the participation rights of the bourgeoisie and peasants, thus promoting the modern transformation of the rural governance system. After the implementation of the county and Landgemeinde regulations, large landowners represented by Junkers still had a significant advantage in rural governance.

YUE Wei is an associate professor of School of History and Culture,Central China Normal University. His research is mainly about modern history of Germany.

Published on Economic and Social History Review, Issue 1, 2024.