Landed nobility

Landed nobility or landed aristocracy^[1] is a category of nobility in various countries over the history, for which landownership was part of their noble privileges. Their character depends on the country.

• The notion of landed gentry in the United Kingdom and Ireland varied over time.^[2]
• In Russian Empire landed nobles were called pomeshchiks, with the term literally translated as "landed estate owner". See Russian nobility for more.
• Junkers were the landed nobility of Prussia and Eastern Germany
• In Poland, szlachta were usually landowners, with magnates being the class of the wealthiest szlachta. Middle and smaller landed szlachta was called ziemiaństwo/ziemianie (from the word ziemia, land), usually translated as landed gentry.
• In some places, e.g., in Low Countries before Spanish rule, urban nobility with landed estates was distinct from landed nobility.^[3] In general, relations between landed nobility and towns was very complex in Europe.
• In the Indian Empire, jagirdar and zamindar were the landed aristocracies, which formed Indian feudalism. Sometimes, they were elevated to the status of 'princes' or 'royalty' owning princely states. Sometimes royal status was also reduced to the status of zamindars. In the south, Nairs constituted the landed gentry and owned vast amounts of l spread out in current day Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• In the Philippines, the Principalía was the ruling and usually educated upper class in the towns of the Spanish Philippines. The distinction or status of being part of the principalía was a hereditary right. This upper class was exempted from tribute (tax) to the Spanish crown during the colonial period. The principales (members of the principalía) traced their origin from the pre‑colonial royal and noble class of Datu and Lakan of the established kingdoms, rajahnates, confederacies, and principalities, as well as the lordships of the smaller ancient social units called barangays in Visayas, Luzon, and Mindanao. The members of this class enjoyed exclusive privileges, in cluding the right to vote, be elected to public office, and be addressed by the title: Don or Doña.

References

1. Barry Munslow (2011). Proletarianisation in the Third World: Studies in the Creation of a Labour Force Under Dependent Capitalism. Routledge. pp. 171–. ISBN 978-0-415-60192-4.
2. F.M.L. Thompson (19 December 2013). English Landed Society in the Nineteenth Century. Routledge. pp. 44–. ISBN 978-1-317-82853-2.
3. Study Day on the Landed Nobility and the City in Renaissance Europe, University of Warwick, 17 March 2004