316 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



This is, vei'y briefly, without going into details, the history of the 

 agricultural communities of the Middle Ages, in so far as these com- 

 munities were from the first communities of freemen. We must not 

 forget, however, that most of the medieval communities were origi- 

 nally colonies of laborers, slaves or serfs, — simply capital put upon 

 the land by the freemen for their profit. The colonies of slaves or 

 seifs were put under the charge of agents, who took care of them, 

 just as in our own time the superintendents of factories take charge 

 of the factories for their employers, and collect the produce for their 

 benefit. 



Wherever the rule of indivisible estates was adopted, as it was in 

 many places, the colonies of serfs remained undivided. Under the 

 system of inheritance by primogeniture, the colonies passed to suc- 

 cessions of individuals. Under the feudal system, they were dis- 

 tributed among the feudal lords and their vassals. Some of them 

 remained in the domain of the lord ; others were given out as 

 benefices. 



As time went on, the serfs were emancipated, and we have, instead 

 of colonies of serfs, colonies of freemen, — free tenants of the land. 

 The serfs who became freemen began very soon to act as freemen. 

 They began to hold meetings ; they began to make rules and regula- 

 lations regarding the conduct of local affairs ; they began to appoint 

 officers and magistrates to represent them, and to carry out their reso- 

 lutions, — to see that their rules and regulations were obeyed. Again, 

 local governments were established upon democratic principles. The 

 history of the serf colonies, from this time on, is only a repetition of 

 the history of the proprietary villages or towns already described. 

 On the one hand, we have equal suffrage in the town meeting ; on the 

 other hand, unequal holdings of town land. Then we have townsmen 

 who have no holdings of town land, who nevertheless attend the town 

 meetings and exert an influence therein. Then we have an effort on 

 the part of the non-holders of land to obtain rights which belong 

 properly only to those who are holders. In some cases, the efforts of 

 the non-holders were so successful that they were able to have the 

 pasture land, including the forest or waste, defined as the common 

 property of all tlie townsmen, including the non-holders of land. 



With the overthrow of the feudal system the communities of free 

 tenants, originally colonies of serfs, became communities of proprie- 

 tors. As such, they are undistinguishable from the communities of 

 proprietors first described, which were free and independent from the 

 beginning. 



