The Rise And Fall Of Copyholder In England

The copyholder is an important part of the English peasant class.This paper mainly studies the period from the middle and late 14 th century to the first half of the 20 th century,and is divided into three chapters.The first chapter describes the initial development of copyholds.From villain to copyholder,it is a change of farmer’s identity and an important manifestation of social environment change in medieval England.The copyhold,with its long life and low fixed rents,has grown rapidly in Britain.The second chapter deals with the relation between enclosure movement and copyholder.The author takes the outline of enclosure in Tudor dynasty and parliament period as an example to illustrate the changes faced by different types of copyholders in the enclosure movement in different periods.The enclosure movement was generally carried out within the framework of the law.Not only did copyholders have legal protection during the early enclosure movement,but also they became an important source of the yeoman class.Later in the government-supported parliamentary enclosure,the importance of individual rights in land ownership was clarified through the reconfiguration of land rights.After enclosure,the social structure of rural England was changed.The landlord agricultural revolution,which mainly took place after the 18 th century and was characterized by the merger of enclosure and farms,involved the copyholders of inheritance,whose land was bought out by large landlords,became an annual agreement or a few years’ lease.In the case of copyholders of lives,when the landlords did not renew the agreement,they lost their land and became hire labour,provides the basic conditions for capitalist production.The third chapter deals with the enfranchisement of copyholders.The continuous penetration of capitalism into the English countryside has raised the demand for productivity and production efficiency.Some old customs of copyholds have increasingly hindered the development of society and failed to meet the needs of society.For the remaining copyholders,the government gradually established and improved the relevant mechanism to abolish them,and finally completely dealed the remaining copyholders in the first half of the 20 th century.Social and economic development determines the living conditions of each copyholder,and the living conditions of each copyholder vary greatly from place to place.Through the relevant research on copyholders,it is helpful for us to understand and understand the changes of the social and economic environment in Britain in different periods,which not only shows the rise and fall of the way of renting land,but also reflects their strong desire for freedom and tenacious struggle with the Lord.The rise and decline history of copyholders is a revelation of the complex social reality of Britain and an important clue for scholars to study the social and economic development of Britain.