Peasant

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/peasant

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the primary economic function?Generation of agricultural surplus essential for supporting non-agricultural sectors and state functions
2. How did peasants help build cities and armies?The food they grew gave extra food for people in towns, helped pay for armies, and gave money to build big buildings.
3. Why did peasants sometimes fight back against lords?They had to give work or money to landowners, so they sometimes asked for fair treatment or protested when they were treated badly.

Subsistence Farming: Agricultural practices focused on producing enough food for the farmer's own family with little surplus for sale.
Serfdom: A condition of bondage where peasants were tied to the land and owed labor and dues to a lord.
Agrarian Society: A society where agriculture is the primary source of wealth and livelihood for the majority of the population.