Social Structures 600-1450

* **Social stratification** was the normal, with **hierarchies, and caste systems** still in place. People followed **agriculture** and **herding**. **Urbanization** led to **social mobility**, craftsmanship and labor organization. **Patriarchy** and **gender inequity** increased and in some cases worsened
* Cities
* Some cities expanded, and some declined
* **Urbanization** increased globally, and cities grew and expanded
* Banking and commerce increased
* **Specialization of labor** also increased 
* Social Structures and Labor Management
* **Hunting and foraging** remained important to several **nomadic** groups
* **Settled societies** had complex class structures
* Hierarchies and Caste Systems 
* **Elite Class** was 10-15% of the population. It included **high-level clergy** and top civil servants
* They had ownership of the land
* The **middle class** was the **commoners** worked as **professional** occupations and were literate
* **Merchants and bankers** were also part of the middle class
* The **common class** included **artisans** and craftspeople. They formed **guilds** to keep monopoly on their trade
* **Shopkeepers, unskilled laborers,** members of the **urban lower classes** were further down the scale
* **Farmers and peasants** worked in agriculture
* The bottom of the hierarchy was **slaves, unfree laborers,** and **“untouchables”**
* **Social mobility** was limited, and in many places **caste systems still remained in place**
* Coerced Forms Of Labor
* **Slavery** and other forms of **coerced labor** were common
* Foreigners added to the burden of African enslavement. The **Arab slave trade** grew heavily. Soon enough the **Atlantic slave trade** would begin
* Muslim armies created militaries from **mamluks,** who developed tight-knit bonds, and a sense of professional pride
* Turkish revised the **devshirme** system to form armies. They served as privileged slaves in the civil service.
* Where peasants and slaves did not work, **serfs** did
* **Serf:** not technically slaves, but were not legally free and could not change profession or residence without the permission of their landowner
* They worked in agriculture and **corvée labor projects** such as building roads, and cutting down forests
* Social Unrest and Labor-Related Revolts
* Peasants and laborers faced harsh punishments and intolerable treatment which eventually led to **labor-unrest and revolts**
* **Peasant uprisings** became more common during famine or disaster
* **Basil the Copper Hand, An Shi Rebellion, Red Turban Revolt**
* Gender Roles
* **Patriarchy and gender inequity** continued to be the norm
* Women’s Occupations
* Women’s roles and occupations were more sharply restricted than those of men
* Although rare, women from elite classes would govern states
* On rare occasions, women even led wars and troops
* Women’s (Limited) Rights and Freedoms
* Few societies oppressed women completely
* Women could generally own and inherit **property**
* A **dowry** or **bride price** provided women with some economic security
* **Divorce** was possible in mist places, but harder for wives to achieve than husbands
* Women enjoyed some **legal safeguard**
* The cult of **chivalry** made men look stronger, and women frail and weak
* **Sub-Saharan Africa** women were highly valued
* Restrictions on Women’s Lives
* Aside from **secondary status**, women were forced into certain practices
* **Arranged marriages**
* **Veiling** and **Seclusion**
* **Concubinage:** taking openly-acknowledged lovers in addition to a wife
* **Polygamy**
* **Witch hunts**
* **Sati**
* **Foot binding**

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