CHARACTERISTICS OF EUROPEAN FEUDALISM
1.Eropean feudalism developed from slave
mode of production after the collapse of
Roman empire in the 4th
century ,i.e European feudalism came
from the womb of slave mode of production ,that’s why some
elements of slavery mode in European feudalism like the existence of the serfs, unlike in Africa where
slavery as an institution didn’t exist ,Africa feudalism
developed from communalism.
2. existence of feudal rent in three forms,
rent in money were a peasant was to pay
some agreed amount of money for using the land, rent in labor a serf was to
work some days in the
farm of the feudal lord. And rent
in kind he peasant was obliged to pay some of his produce to the feudal land as
the price for using the land. Feudalism was characterized by the granting of
fiefs, chiefly in the form of land and labour, in return for political and
military services –a contract sealed by oaths of homage and fealty (fidelity).
3. Existence of three social antagonistic
class’s i.e serfs’ peasant and feudal lords the feudal lords were dukes or
kings owned all the productivity forces. But lord and vassal (A person holding
a fief) piece of land held under the feudal system were both free men and
social peers,
4. Production was both subsistence and for surplus largely the entire
Europe was rural based
save a few towns like London by
15th century had begun to emerge
with little population.
5. Dominated by absolutism of the feudal
lords political and judicial powers ware controlled by the feudal lords the e
peasants and the serfs had to subordinate to the feudal lords they had no right
to question them anything.
6. Existence of the Roman Catholic church
dominated political and economic aspect during feudalism in Europe it was a
fashioner and maker for social life for example it taxed the peasant, to owned
land where it collected feudal rent it collected compulsory fees like Baptist
fee marriage fee burial fee and fee and everyone was to became a catholic by
birth.
7. Direct subordination .This meant that the
serfs and the peasant who are given land fief were support to subordinate to
the feudal lord in England, William the Conqueror and his successors regired their
vassals’ vassals to take oaths of fealty to them but in France was that “the
lord of my lord is not my lord”, thus, it was not rebellion for a sub vassal to
fight against his lord’s lord
8. Land was owned and divided in four forms,
in European land was owned in four forms Crown land owned by the king church
land owned by the church bishops and archbishops. Monorial land controlled by
the aristocracy these were people
working under the king for example the doctors and the solders and common land
that belonged to every body .
9. Existence of absolutism / despotism who
believe in Devine power for stance in England, all of the land belonged to the
sovereign prince – be he king or duke, marquis or count – who held it “ of no
one but God” .The prince then granted fiefs to his barons, who made their oaths
of homage and fealty to him and were
required to give him political and military services according to the terms of
the grant.
10. Productive forces were land cattle tools
and money that were privately owned by the feudal lords.
11.Eropean feudalism based rural and urban centers ,guilds and
artisan begun to develop especially from
11th century towns town begun
to spread as trade centers the
feudal lords benefited much from these centers because they were able to
collect tributes from merchants.
12. Existence of improved productive forces, in European feudalism the productive forces were somehow
improved not very crude that’s why they were able to produce surplus production tools like plough metal tools
craft industries established wind mills were discovered which
were used for pumping water .
14. Periodization by 15 century it was
ending and a new mode of production was beginning was another special
characteristic of European feudalism beginning called capitalism i.e European
feudalism co-exited with capital mode of production.
SIMILARITY BETWEEN AFRICAN FEUDALISM AND
EUROPEAN
1. Both productive forces were privately owned
by the feudal lords in case of Africa land tools and cattle were owned by
chiefs or Kings who were the feudal lords.
2. Both feudalism did exist with social
antagonistic classes in case of Europe were three social classes i.e serf the
peasant and the feudal lords and Africa two dominant social classes.
3. Both feudal rent did exist as the appreciate
price for the fief by the vassal in case of Europe to the feudal lord in case
of Africa it was rent in kind and rent
in labor, and in case of Europe rent in money also existed.
4. Both feudalism co- existed with another mode of production by 15th century in case of Africa it existed with communal
mode of production ,i.e communalism was ending and feudalism had started in some society ,and in case of
European feudalism existed with capitalism
5. Both feudalism based on agriculture as the major economic
activity and it was for substance to a
big extent, in case of European feudalism
rotated on Monarism and vassalism of land that the major economic activity was agriculture and in Africa agriculture and pastoralist were observed as the major economic activity .
6. Both Africa
and European feudalism based on inheritance as the way to determine ones
position in the feudal society ,the fief was inherited
from one feudal lord to his generation
and the vassals (those who feudal land) were transferred to the new feudal lord in case of death of a
feudal lord
7. Both African feudalism and Europe had direct subordination of the
lower class to the ruling class where by the vassals were suppose to take the
oath of allegiance to their feudal lord
in case of European and in case of Africa the peasant were to represent and
obey the royal family unquestionably.
8. Both experienced absolute leadership ,the
power of the kingdom belonged to the feudal lord who believed in
the Devine rights that there power given to them by God not anybody else they
lived in luxurious and auspicious life in both Africa and Europe, while their
subject lived in misery and serving them
DEFERENCE BETWEEN EUROPEAN FEUDALISM AND
AFRICAN FEUDALISM
1. In European feudalism there was three types of feudal rent, namely
rent ,in kind rent in money and rent in labor while in Africa there were two
kinds of rent in kind and in labor .
2. European feudalism by 15th the century
was ending and capitalism was beginning and only few societies were practicing
feudalism while many were under communal mode of production.
3. In European feudalism there existed
three antagonistic social classes namely the sefrs the peasants and the feudal lords this was so because European
feudalism developed from slave
mode of production where it borrowed some elements, the former slaves became
serf, while feudalism in Africa there existed two types of social classes
namely peasant and feudal lords.
4. European feudalism based both in rural and
urban centers were guilds and artisan
produced many ornamental for the feudal lords ,while in Africa feudalism only
based in rural areas ,that’s why
European feudalism was able to develop
into capitalism unlike that in Africa .
5. European
feudalism agriculture based on the production of both substance and
surplus production only based on substance production ,this explain why capitalism was
able develop in European unlike in Africa
6. In European feudalism the productive forces include tools land capital and labor and the productive forces
where more developed and advanced as compared with that of Africa ,while in Africa feudalism there was no money as a productive force and tools were too
rudimentary that explains why African feudalism did not develop into capitalism
like that of Europe
7. European feudalism came from the womb of slaves
mode of production i.e. feudalism came after the collapse if Roman Empire in
the century while African feudalism came as a result of centralized states.
8. In European feudalism the roman church
played a very key role in the feudal relation it owned land and collected tributes
from the peasants while in Africa the church was nonexistent political religion
were fused together, the king was to the religious leader.
MARXIST
IN INPRETATION ABOUT AFRICAN FEUDALISM.
According
to Marxist interpretation
feudalism existed in Africa
and co-existed with communalism
to feudalism ,African feudalism was to some aspect similar to that of European ,in characteristics.
It must be noted that European
feudalism came from the womb of slavery
mode of production while African
feudalism came from communal mode of
production because it based on exploitation of the lower class, By 15th
century it were few society that had reached feudal mode of production
,like Buganda in East Africa Ethiopia Mali, Egypt ,morocco ,Mwanamutapa etc.
FEATURES
OF AFRICAN FEUDALISM ACCORDING TO MARXIST
1. Existence of feudal rent; this appreciate price
given to the feudal lord by the peasant for the exchange of land security given
to the peasant it was based on inequality; the feudal lords exploited the
peasant through the payment of rents. This was paid rent in kind and rent in labor, for example in
Buganda the king owned land, Which was
given to the peasants to till and paid Obusulu
on form of produce or labor to work in
the place of the king (Olubiri)
2. Private ownership of productive forces which
included land, tool cattle and women were privately owned by the feudal lords.
The kings and his chiefs were
responsible to won all the productive
forces in the feudal society, such productive force were given to the commoners to use in exchange for feudal rent and royalty to the ruling
feudal class, for example in some feudal societies in Africa all the productive
forces in the feudal society, such productive force were given to the
commoners to use in exchange for
feudal rent and royalty to the rulling
feudal class, for example in some feudal society in Africa all the women in the
kingdom belonged to the king who would marry as many she can every choosing in
the entire society
3. Agriculture became the major economic
activity following the discovery of iron technology that improved the
productive force; in African feudalism agriculture occupied a dominant position
because land was the major productive force, means of production centered on
either land or livestock especially cattle, peasant could use the land freely
but they were required to pay rents. Although trade was conduct the trading
items were of agriculture produce
4. Existence of prognostic social classes that
based on exploitation of one class i.e feudal lords and tenants or peasant, for
stance in Africa feudalism there two
dominant social class the feudal lord and the peasant/ tenants in Buganda
referred to as Balangila (Royal family )
and bakoopi (peasants).
5. Direct subordination of the lower social
class to the upper class of feudal lords which was absolutes, the feudal lords
and had absolute power to their subjects and their subjects and they should
give loyalty to their feudal lords.
6. Existence of inheritance as a means to determine one’s position
in the society which was based on birth ,it determined the leader and
the subject .The ruler must be coming
from the ruling family not from the commoners in case of Africa on the death of
the king his first born became the next king
7. There was improvement of productive forces especially
tools that were applied for agriculture
and military warfare this was brought about by iron technology,or the rise of Neolithic revolution in the mid stone age .
8. African feudalism co-existed
with communal mode of production in many Africa societies that practiced feudalism by the
period 15th century attained feudalism from communal
mode production not slavery in case of Europe
DECENTRALIZED SOCITIES
In the decentralized societies, basic unit of political organization
was the clan, various clan authorities. The clan head was chosen from among the
clan elders when he merited the qualities of leadership such as his influence,
which was determined by age, wisdom or wealth. Decentralized societies had the
following attributes or characteristics.
1. With equal rights to other members of the clan, the ruler had the
responsibility of leading the clan, but his position was not hereditary. He
resigned from the power after the election of a new clan head, which took
[place whenever the former head became unpopular and was too old to perform his
responsibilities.
2. The clan council and the general assembly were the two bodies
that governed clan’s
3. in decentralized societies there was no outstanding army ,all
able –bodied men carried out the defense of the clan. This was due to the fact
that these society did not involve themselves in expansionistic policy .Wars therefore
were scarce.
4. The clan elders worked to solve central conflict .but if they became
difficult; they were transferred to the general assembly. Everybody was interested
in solving the disputes honestly, and this resulted in the fair and public
administration of justice.
5. a culprit was given chance
to defend himself and to be
defended by members of the general
assembly .voting made the final decision ,dissimilar to centralized societies
in which the king made the final decision
and was the final court of appeal
6. Society was responsible to impose the disciplinary measures to
the wrongdoers .Society administered punishment to help criminals reform in
character .When one the manners of a clan committed a crime against another clan,
the members punished the criminal by handling him to the offended party.
7. Decentralized states no central control of the economy .They
communally owned the major means of production
8. Practiced pastorals’ and shifting cultivation as their major
economic activity
9. Lacked permanent borders and permanent agriculture, their
movement were largely determined
10.Decentralized states had no central control of the economy .They
communally owned the major means of production
11. Practice pastoralism and shifting cultivation as their major
economic activity.
12. Lacked permanent borders and permanent agriculture, their
movements were largely determined by the environment