Peasant population of Yelets district in the first third of the 17th century

Introduction. The study of the peasant population of the Middle Don region in the 17th century is of significant interest in contemporary historical science, as peasants played a crucial role in the economic development of this area. The focus is on the rural population of the Yelets uyezd in the early 17th century. The article aims to analyze the census books from the first half of the 17th century, with the objective of determining the size of the peasant population in the Yelets uyezd, the number of peasant households, and assessing their average population density.

Methods and materials. The methodological framework is based on general scientific, historical, and interdisciplinary research methods, particularly employing a microhistorical approach to address the research questions. The source base consists of the land survey and boundary books of the estate and landholdings in the Yelets uyezd by Leonty Pogozhev and Kirill Semyonov from 1628-1630.

Analysis. The peasant population of the Yelets uyezd in the first third of the 17th century lived in four districts. Peasant households were distributed unevenly across the districts and settlements. The analysis of the tax data revealed that the average household size was 1 person. In the Yelets estates and landholdings, their share reached up to 94%. The scribes, when describing villages and hamlets in the Yelets uyezd in 1628/1630, noted at least one person in a household to register it as «inhabited». At the district level, the prevalence of «single-person» households corresponded territorially to the predominance of estate landownership. The close interrelation between the peasant and the landowner is indicated by correlation data, showing that around 90% of all peasants and landless labourers in the district lived on estate lands.

Results. The placement of peasant households in the villages and hamlets of the Yelets district in the first half of the 17th century was determined by several key factors. The impact of external threats, particularly from the regular raids by the Crimean Tatars in the first half of the 17th century, was of particular significance. This situation considerably slowed down the development of the land and led to an uneven distribution of the peasant population. In the context of external danger from the Crimean Tatars and frequent instances of peasant flight, it was crucial to document the household owner – a person capable of cultivating the land and bearing obligations to the landowner. Both landowners and the state had a vested interest in this.

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