Posad population is an estate that was formed around the 15th-16th centuries. in medieval Russia. This term was called a category of people who lived in the suburbs and were engaged in trade, crafts and crafts. In terms of their legal status, they formally remained free, since they were not personally dependent, like, for example, serfs, but they were forced to bear a number of duties in favor of the state. This work will give a brief description of this class, which played an important role in the socio-economic life of the country.
Formation
Posad population arose along with the development of cities. The heyday of the latter in Russia falls on the 17th century - the time of the formation of the all-Russian market. It was during this period, according to the definition of most historians, that trade and craft begin to play a prominent role in the economic life of the country.
Commodity turnover took on a wider scale than during the period of fragmentation, when there were no economic ties between individual principalities. With the growth of the city, the townspeople also took shape. When cities began to turn from guard fortresses into trade and craft centers, merchants began to settle in their vicinity,petty bourgeois, peasants, who later united in a community.
Management
She was ruled by an elected zemstvo headman, whose candidacy had to be approved by a majority of its members. As a rule, this was a literate person, actively participating in the life of the settlement. He represented the interests of the people before the state. Also, the townspeople elected his assistant - the person who was in charge of collecting taxes.
Despite the existence of the right of self-government, the inhabitants of the settlements were controlled by the royal governor, who represented the supreme power. A feature of the management of the suburbs was that their residents were also forced to participate in the performance of public service, but this was not a privilege, but another duty, since participation in tax collection, litigation took their time and distracted them from their main activities, but in no way paid.
Slobody
Posad population in the 17th century was not homogeneous. Some residents preferred to settle in the so-called white settlements, which were exempted from state taxes. No wonder they were richer and more developed. These settlements were under the patronage of a we althy privileged landowner, who had an immunity right, which saved his possessions from state interference. On the contrary, the black settlements bore the brunt of state duties. Therefore, the townspeople in the 17th century, who lived in their territories, often complained in petitions that they had to carrystate tax. As a result, the authorities took active measures to limit the transition of people to white settlements.
Relations with the state
The life of the townspeople was determined by royal decrees. Until the middle of the 17th century, it was regulated by the Code of Laws of 1550, adopted during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. There were also numerous royal decrees concerning the private aspects of society. In 1649, they were brought together in the Cathedral Code, created under Alexei Mikhailovich.
This document finally attached the residents of the posad to their place of residence. One of its provisions stated that the occupation of trade and handicrafts was a privilege for urban residents, but at the same time they were charged with the obligation to pay taxes to the treasury. Thus, the life of the townspeople was strictly regulated by the official authorities, who were interested in regular tax revenues.
Classes
The population of the suburbs was mainly engaged in crafts and trade. Most merchants had their own shops, for the maintenance of which they contributed a certain amount to the treasury. Craftsmen of various speci alties lived in the cities - from skillful and pottery masters to goldsmiths. However, it should be noted that peasants who farmed often lived in the settlement, and the merchants and artisans themselves often held small plots of land. The life of the townspeople in the 17th century was generally peaceful.
Residents rarely accepteddirect participation in the uprisings, of which there were so many in that century. However, they were not passive and often supplied the rebels with money and food. Fairs were often held in the cities, which gathered a large number of people. This suggests that the level of development of trade was quite high.
Men's clothing
Despite the fact that the life of the townspeople in the 17th century was closely connected with the development of cities, which, as you know, have always been a conductor of new trends, the population lived according to old patriarchal traditions that have not changed for decades and even centuries. This can be seen very well in the appearance of people.
Posad population in their way of life, in principle, differed little from the peasants. The basis of the men's suit was also a shirt and ports. However, since merchants had more funds, they could afford some extra items.
Over the shirts, a zipun was put on, which was customary to embroider with patterns. The clothes of the townspeople, however, were distinguished by their simplicity. On top of the zipun they put on a caftan. Rich people decorated their fur coats with fabrics.
Women's suit
It was based on the same design as the men's suit. The main attribute was a shirt that fell below the knees. From above, the girls put on a sundress. Depending on the financial situation of women, they sewed it from different materials. Peasant women made their own clothes from simple coarse linen,those who were richer used brocade or silk. The front of the dress was decorated with beautiful embroidery. In the cold season, women wore soul warmers, which were also held on their shoulders on special loops. The wives of we althy merchants sheathed it with expensive fabrics and borders. In the intermediate seasons, women wore a letnik - a wide, closed dress with large wedge-shaped sleeves. The main headdress was the kokoshnik, which was sheathed with pearls. Girls wore fur hats in winter.
Life
The daily life of the townspeople was closely connected with their activities, which determined the daily routine, especially residents. The basis of any courtyard was a hut, and in the 17th century such houses appeared that brought smoke outside through a chimney. The shop was the main place of trade. This is where merchants and common traders kept their goods.
Fairs were of great importance. They were held regularly and served as the focus of the economic life of cities. There were fairs of all-Russian importance (for example, Makarievskaya). Interesting facts of the townsman's life include the fact that his whole life was based on the rules of Domostroy - a set of instructions on the routine of home life, which was compiled in the 16th century. Its author prescribes adherence to the old patriarchal traditions, which ensured the strength of the family and the prosperity of the economy.
Dwellings
The life of the townspeople, on the one hand, was not much different from the peasant one in the sense that the majority of the population led approximately the same imagelife, with the only difference that they were engaged not in agriculture, but in trade and craft. However, the rich and prosperous elite in their way of life was close to the boyar nobility. Nevertheless, the basis of housing was a hut - simple for ordinary people and built in imitation of towers - for we althy people. The main territorial unit was the yard, where, in addition to the hut, there were numerous outbuildings - cages, pantries, warehouses, where goods and household items were stored in chests.
The shop in which the townspeople traded was exposed outside - that is, towards the street. Household utensils, in principle, were the same for all strata of the townspeople. However, we althy people bought more expensive dishes, had precious jewelry, and could afford foreign goods. Literate merchants had books, which indicates the rise of culture.
