Peasants Revolts Dbq Analysis

The peasants’ revolts in sixteenth century Germany were very historically significant. As such, many groups had different perspectives on the causes of the revolts as well as different responses to them. The peasants themselves cited as the cause many of the ideas brought about through the Protestant reformation: individual rights and the godliness and equality of all people. However, many nobles and government officials saw these as acts of the peasants’ own stupidity and vengeful nature. As for the response to the revolts the members of the church had widely varied responses from whole-hearted support to condemnation. The government officials responded through acts, which gave the appearance of being reasonable, but actually were not. The
Some peasants were more radical than the methods that Lotzer suggests. He highlights the idea that the peasants matter as individuals and should be respected. This is echoed in Document 3. The peasant speaker asserts that they are as hold as the Emperor and demand to be freed. This shows it inspired them to rebel. This also shows that they were the first willing to consult the government for help before the violence. In Document 8, the peasant’s perspective is relayed. Lorenz Fries writes to an archbishop who may be a victim of the revolts and may be skewing the truth. However, he does suggest that the peasants’ ideas of brotherhood are becoming radical as they discuss the redistribution of wealth. The responses to the peasant’s rebellions and concerns by the government were made to seem reasonable but were made to seem reasonable but in actuality were not. In documents 4, 10, and 12, you can see this. In Document 4, the government responds to a request by saying that for the peasants to be free they must buy themselves out of serfdom. Very few peasants would have the means to accomplish this. This may have inspired more revolts through its ineffectiveness. Another comical governmental reason falls by the