AGRARIAN REVOLUTIONS OF THE PAST 29 



The English government at first seemed inclined 

 to negotiate with Ket, but finally sent a military 

 force to crush the movement. This force was 

 strengthened by 1,400 German mercenaries. The 

 peasants were soon completely routed by the trained 

 soldiers and dispersed to their homes. "This was 

 the last tune/ 7 says Fordham, "that the English 

 peasantry rose in sufficient force to make an effec- 

 tive demonstration against the forces of the king; 

 but local protests against enclosures continued, the 

 most noticeable being the action of the Diggers and 

 the Levellers during the first half of the XVIIth 

 century." 12 



Agrarianism in France 



Agrarianism in France has a different history from 

 that of England. The general conditions of land 

 holdings in France and England did not differ ma- 

 terially during the Middle Ages or the early modern 

 period. The feudal system prevailed in both coun- 

 tries, and rural organization was very much the same 

 wherever this system existed. Particular variations, 

 when they occurred, were due to different social 

 conditions, rather than to fundamental differences 

 in land tenure policy. 



The French peasant experienced the injustices 

 of the feudal regime previous to the Revolution, 

 and he has had his difficulties since that tune. But 

 the conflicts between peasant farmers and land- 



13 Op. cit., Chap. VI, p. 86. 



