Tag: Henry VIII

The bourgeoisie grew out of the peasantry. These were primarily ‘men’ of the ‘peasant’ class who made themselves indispensable to the feudal aristocracy (or those who held all the political power), by linking the ‘desires’ of such people to the craftsmen and artists who knew how to acquire supplies and raw materials and construct the (often ‘luxurious’) goods required by these over-lords. These ‘lords’ and ‘ladies’ would bestow goods, money, titles and land upon an effective ‘mercer’ or ‘merchant’ – that is someone who specialised in the exchange of ‘goods’ (barter) and ‘money’ (sales), etc. These peasants would break out of their usual peasant-lifestyle and through self-effort develop a deep and profound knowledge of who owned what, who could acquire what, and who could make what! They then ‘sold’ this knowledge (and ‘ability’) to the highest bidder and slowly, overtime, developed a new and highly wealthy group of people with considerable power and influence! Eventually, the ‘bourgeoisie’ or ‘mercers’ were able to even purchase ‘armies’ and fight the aristocracy! This is how the British bourgeoisie took political power (that is took control of the ‘means of production’) from King Charles I in 1649 – and has kept hold of it ever since!