1. In Western Europe, serfdom withered away after the Black Death as markets expanded. Serfs acquired legal equality in England and the Netherlands. Peasants dealt with landlords through rental markets and land sales. They dealt with employers in labor markets with free contracting of terms of employment.
Why did serfdom evolve toward market relationships in Western Europe?
2. In Eastern Europe there emerged “the Second Serfdom.” After the Black Death, the conditions of the peasants deteriorated, both in term of the labor obligations the serfs owed to their lords, and their rights to move and to elect their own leaders. The conditions of the serfs worsened even as the grain market expanded, as grain was shipped to the growing economies of Western Europe.
Why did the condition of the serfs deteriorate in Eastern Europe?
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