The Study Of Rural Governance In East Elbe Of Prussia During 17th And 18th Century

From 17th to 18th century,the rural areas of East Elbe of Prussia were jointly governed by Territorial kings,Junker and peasants,forming a governance pattern of Territorial kings’ governance + rural autonomy.The formation of this governance pattern was closely related to the balance of power in the rural society of east Elbe in the historical background of Prussia during 17 th and 18 th century.In 1618 the Hohenzollern family territory in the east Elbe region merged the Duchy of Prussia on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea from the former electorate of Brandenburg eastward to form Brandenburg-Prussia.From then on until the end of the18 th century,the Hohenzollern family’s territory in east Elbe continued to expand,including Pomerania,West Prussia,Silesia,South Prussia,and new East Prussia.With the increasing territory,Prussian Territorial kings had to integrate their territories and build up their states in order to unify and effectively control the various regions.Territorial kings’ process of territorial integration and state-building in the villages of east Elbe was the process of rural governance of this region.From the 17 th to the 18 th century,Prussian princes brought rural governance into the state governance by reforming the judiciary,unifying taxation,building a standing army and implementing agricultural protection policies.Junker’s dominant position in the rural areas of east Elbe was gradually broken with the deepening of the state’s governance over the rural areas.Before the 17 th century,Junker enjoyed high dominion over the peasants under a system of Gutsherrschaft.But after the 17 th century,especially after the middle of the 17 th century,the Junker landlords were more and more affected by the power of the Territorial kings,and their ruling power in the countryside fell,but did not decline rapidly.The Junker landowners remained the main force of rural autonomy in the East Elbe of Prussia.The labor conditions of the peasants in Gutsherrschaft reflected the great control that the landowners still had over the peasants.Appointing landlord’s agent（Schulze）was an important means for Junker to conduct manor autonomy.Juncker administered autonomy to the villages by entrusting landlords’ agents to act as judges and daily affairs managers of village courts under the manor.The Manor court（Patrimonialgericht）was the institution that Junker exercised jurisdiction in the manor,and it was another important means for Junker to develop rural autonomy.Under the background of judicial reform carried out by Prussian kings in the 18 th century,certain jurisdiction of Manor court was deprived,and the professionalism of judicial personnel was also guaranteed to a certain extent,which reflected some new changes in the autonomy of Gutsherrschaft under the influence of territorial kings’ governance.Peasant as another component of Prussian east Elbe rural society except Junker,peasant groups could independently manage village affairs and maintain village order internally and defend common interests externally by relying on village community organization（Gemeinde）to a certain extent.Therefore,village organization is an important carrier for farmers to carry out village autonomy.In the 17 th and 18 th centuries,under the background that the power of territorial kings gradually penetrated into the villages of the East Elbe,the judicial reform and farmer protection policies carried out by territorial kings ensured the rights and interests of farmers to a certain extent.Farmers are increasingly turning to regional high courts（Landesherrliche Kammergricht）to settle disputes with Junker landowners.Farmers’ lawsuit is another important way to participate in rural autonomy.In addition,peasants’ resistance to Prussian conscription in the 18 th century also belonged to peasants’ participation in social governance at the village level.In the 17th and 18th centuries,the rural governance in east Elbe of Prussia,which was jointly participated by Territorial kings,Junker and the peasants,had some impact.First of all,the struggle or cooperation between the three subjects on the rights and obligations of Junker and peasants promoted the Prussian General State Law（Allgemeines Landrecht für die Preu?ischen Staaten）of the late 18 th century to define the rights and obligations of Junker and peasants in legal form.Second,the agricultural protection policies of the 18 th century were inherited by the agricultural reforms of the 19 th century.Finally,peasant protections in the 18 th century also set the stage for the liberation of Prussian serfs in the 19 th century.