The King wielded unparalleled authority in the medieval feudal system, with traveling justices extending his power by gathering taxes and implementing royal justice throughout the land. Yet, this concentration of power left the barons annoyed as they became progressively omitted from the realm's governance. Their frustration grew under King John, whose autocratic rule and military blunders deepened the rift. This caused a significant turning point-- the Magna Carta of 1215-- developed to measure the King's power and preserve legal defenses for the barons and other subjects.
Feudalism in the Colonies: When European inhabitants arrived in the Caribbean, they brought with them their custom-mades and religion and the feudal ideas of landownership and hierarchy. In British Colonies like Barbados, the plantation economy resembled a feudal estate, with rich landowners at the top and a rigid social hierarchy below them. These plantation owners wielded considerable power, controlling large tracts of land and the labor of enslaved Africans who worked under harsh conditions.
Although the Caribbean's social and economic truths varied from those of middle ages Europe, the underlying concepts of land-based power and hierarchical control were comparable. Gradually, this transplanted system adapted to the regional context, developing a distinct colonial society that showed European impacts and the extreme truths of life in the Caribbean. Discover more about how the decrease of feudalism paralleled completion of slavery in the Caribbean.
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