A History of the European Rural Life

The history of the European peasantry, which has undergone many upheavals over the centuries: from its rise in the Middle Ages after the fall of the Roman Empire, through the oppression of the nobility and the Church, to the struggles for freedom and modernization in the present era.

Overview Seasons Similar

Created By	Stan Neumann
Status	Ended
Original Name	Le Temps des paysans
First Air Date	April 23, 2024
Last Air Date	April 23, 2024
Seasons	1
Episodes	4
Episode Runtime	NaNmin
Language	English, French, Irish, Italian, Spanish
Original Language	French
Production Countries	France
Production Companies	ARTE Les Films d'Ici
Networks	ARTE ARTE arte.tv

S01E04

Against the Rest of the World / Peasant Masses

In the 19th century, Europe's farmers were finally free. But the Industrial Revolution and modernization precipitated their decline. Deserting the countryside, they left en masse for the cities. As the rural exodus gathered momentum, conservatives saw peasants as the embodiment of all traditional values. Reputed to be more obedient and hard-working than workers, they were the main cannon fodder of the First World War. Fascism and Nazism took this mystification to the extreme, invoking the eternal peasant as the guardian of soil and blood. But the real peasant is subject to the dictates of the state, technocrats and agronomists. Unaffected by political regimes, the steamroller of industrial agriculture has continued to advance ever since. Yet the peasants are still there, making other voices heard.

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