The Saxon Peasants' Revolt (german: Sächsischer Bauernaufstand or ''kursächsischer Bauernaufstand'') of 1790 was a military conflict between the nobility and the peasants. The hot spots of the insurrection were large areas around Dresden, Leipzig and Zwickau. The disputes over hunting rights within

gamekeeping A professional hunter (less frequently referred to as market or commercial hunter and regionally, especially in Britain and Ireland, as professional stalker or gamekeeper) is a person who hunts and/or manages game by profession. Some professional ...

reserves established by the nobility initially led to unrest in game in Wehlen, which rapidly spread to other districts (''Ämter''). However, the government in Saxony was able to bring these riots under control by early July. The previous harsh winter of 1789/1790 and the drought in 1790, however, increased the potential for conflict. So in the summer of 1790, more and more peasants rebelled against the Saxon state, the revolt being centred on

Wechselburg Wechselburg () is a municipality in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is well known for its twelfth century Benedictine monastery, the Wechselburg Priory. The lordship and the castle were owned by the House of Schönburg fr ...

. One of the best known spokesmen for the peasants was Christian Benjamin Geißler, also called "the Rebel of Liebstadt" (''"Rebell von Liebstadt"''). By mid-August, the farmers had taken control of fifteen patrimonial court districts, covering an area of 5,000 square kilometres. The areas around

Stolpen Stolpen ( hsb, Stołpin) is a town in the district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, in Saxony, Germany. It is a historical town, that grew at the foot of the ''Schloßberg'' with the castle ''Burg Stolpen''. Burg Stolpen Burg Stolpen is ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

Radeberg Radeberg is a small town in the district of Bautzen, Saxony, Germany. It is located approximately 20 kilometres north-east of Dresden. The town has an Evangelical and a Roman Catholic church, and an old castle. History Radeberg was mentioned ...

Dippoldiswalde Dippoldiswalde ( Saxon: ''Dipps'') is a town in Saxony, Germany, part of the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district. It is situated 23 km east of Freiberg, and 18 km south of Dresden. The town is situated on the Weisseritz railway, ...

, the two

Lusatia Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...

s and

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces first ...

were now affected by the uprising. The riots took place in a disorganized and very spontaneous manner. Thus, in the area of Königstein and in Upper Lusatia labour was withdrawn. There were even assaults on castles and Saxon military units were disarmed by the peasants. On 23 August in Meissen, 2,000 peasants, armed with

flail A flail is an agriculture, agricultural tool used for threshing, the process of separating cereal, grains from their husks. It is usually made from two or more large sticks attached by a short chain; one stick is held and swung, causing the othe ...

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

and

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

s, forced the release of imprisoned rebels. The main demands of the peasants were the abolition of hunting privileges, the abolition of

socage Socage () was one of the feudal duties and land tenure forms in the English feudal system. It eventually evolved into the freehold tenure called "free and common socage", which did not involve feudal duties. Farmers held land in exchange for cle ...

, the prohibition of the conversion of contributions in kind into financial

interest In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distin ...

by the lords or Saxon district offices. Initially the peasants succeeded in getting the lords to waiver all duties, socage and interest. Some lords were even expelled by their peasants. But a major military operation in September 1790 finally overthrew the rebellion.''Sächsischer Bauernaufstand 1790'' at Bauernkriege.de. Accessed on 28 Apr 2011
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References

Sources

* Siegfried Hoyer: ''Die Ideen der Französischen Revolution und der kursächsische Bauernaufstand 1790'', Neues Archiv für sächsische Geschichte, 65th vol., 1994, p. 61-76 * Christian Richter: ''Der sächsische Bauernaufstand von 1790 im Spiegel der marxistisch-leninistischen Geschichtsschreibung der DDR'' GRIN Verlag 2008, * Daniel Jacob:''Kurfürst Friedrich August der Gerechte und der sächsische Bauernaufstand von 1790'' * Michael Wagner:''Der sächsische Bauernaufstand und die Französische Revolution in der Perzeption der Zeitgenossen'', in Geschichte und Gesellschaft. Sonderheft, Vol. 12, Soziale Unruhen in Deutschland während der Französischen Revolution (1988) {{Medieval and Early Modern European Peasant Wars Social history of the Holy Roman Empire Peasant revolts Conflicts in 1790 1790 in the Holy Roman Empire 18th century in Saxony 18th-century rebellions