Colonath is a form of dependence of the peasant on the landowner that existed in the late Roman Empire. At an early stage, such relationships differed little from ordinary lease agreements. Gradually, the status of the colon degraded to an intermediate position between a free man and a slave. This system became the foundation on which medieval feudalism was formed.
Early Stage
In Italy during the Roman Empire, most agricultural land was leased. Buying and selling transactions were relatively rare. The taxation system took into account this feature. Basically, the taxes were to be paid by the tenants who cultivated the land, and not by its direct owners. Violations of the terms of contracts were considered in the courts. Relations between tenants and landowners were regulated by Roman law, which was fair to both parties to a certain extent. This is an early colonate.
Gradual change in status
During the reign of Emperor Diocletian, a reform of the tax system took place, which many historians consider the reason for significant shifts inrelations between tenants and landowners. Diocletian issued several edicts tying the columns to their plots in order to increase revenues to the treasury.
The tenants remained legally and economically free individuals who independently traded and carried out cash settlements. However, in order to facilitate the process of registering the population and collecting taxes, farmers were forbidden to leave their plot. The leased land was inherited by their children. This was the fundamental difference between the colony and slavery.
It is important to note that the rights of not only tenants, but also land owners were limited. The owners could not expel the colons from the plots. Land was allowed to be sold only together with the tenants who cultivated them. This is a colonate in the history of the late Roman Empire, which differed from both classical slavery and medieval serfdom.
Land bondage
The only restriction on the freedom of tenants was the prohibition to leave their land. In some cases, for practical reasons, the owners were able to transfer the colons to other plots without separating families. The owners had the right to catch and punish runaway tenants. The law provided for a fine for landowners who accepted foreign colonies.
Duties
Rent varies from place to place. It was installed according to custom. There was an unambiguousa ban on increasing the traditional service. The owners could not demand any additional services from the colons. If the owner increased the payment for the use of land, the tenant, being a legally free person, filed a complaint with the court. The existence of civil rights for a dependent peasant was one of the principles on which the Roman colony was based. This allowed tenants to acquire any property and pass it on by inheritance.
Restriction of personal freedom
There were two schemes for paying taxes to the treasury of the empire. Tax collectors could be either government officials or landowners. In some cases, the responsibility for paying taxes passed from the tenants to the owners. This was determined by the level of dependence of the peasants. The main features of the colony and its differences from slavery gradually changed, and the freedom of farmers was reduced.
During the reign of Emperor Justinian, a new type of tenants was formed, which was called "colonus adscriptius". Such columns were considered personally not free and close in position to slaves. They signed special contracts, according to which they were subject to the administrative and police power of the landowner. He had the right to put them in chains and subject them to corporal punishment. Tenants of this type performed a large number of duties on the estate. The owners were forced to take responsibility for paying taxes to the state treasury for personally not free columns. The only difference from slavery was the inadmissibility of the separation of the tenant from a particular piece of land.
In the sixth century, the columns became a completely isolated social group. They were forbidden to move to other classes. In accordance with the imperial decree, the columns could not marry either free people or slaves. The land to which they were attached became the eternal residence of their family. At a later stage, a very thin line separated slavery and colonization. This happened primarily due to the efforts of the state aimed at improving the efficiency of the tax system. The complete enslavement of the colons contributed to the achievement of this goal.
