The Reform Era
nThe serfs were emancipated in 1861;
•They received land but did not gain any political
freedoms.
•They were tied to their villages until they paid for the
lands they had
received.
•The payments, plus increasing taxation, kept most peasants very poor.
•The emancipation did create a larger urban labor force, but it did not spur agricultural productivity.
•Peasants continued to use old methods on their small holdings.
