Ap European History Peasant Dbq

Peasants have always been the ones at the bottom of the food chain throughout history. They would usually suffer the most and work the hardest out of all other classes. It’s not surprising that peasants in the German states revolted from 1524-1526. The main cause of the peasant revolts was dissatisfaction and poor treatment in general, as well as religious manipulation and thus, the peasants responded incredibly violently.
In Document 1 it states, “the peasants are blinded, led astray, and made witless.” and in Document 2 it states, “Lords should no longer try to force more services or other dues from peasants without compensation.” Both of these examples show that peasants were treated extremely poorly and were treated as though they weren’t even human but rather material possessions that another more powerful, more well off person could obtain and order around. Lastly, Document 8 states, “... since they were supposed to be brothers with one another, they believed the rich should share with the poor…”. This is a cause of the peasant revolts because the peasants had different morals than the rich and this caused conflict. Religion was a cause also because Martin Luther became popular during this time and had major influence on the actions of the peasants due to the reformation of the church. Document 3 states, “ ... given that Christ has purchased and redeemed us with His precious blood, just as He has the Emperor.”   This document shows that the peasants were willing to obey authority figures but only if they were figures directed by God. Also, Document 4 states, “On the article concerning serfdom: we, your lords, purchased this right for a considerable sum of money…”. The serfs, of course, rebelled against this because they didn’t think that it was right for someone to be able to purchase another person’s soul(thus relating to religion). The peasants also believed that it was God’s will for them to rebel. In Document 6 it states, “How long are you going to...