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