Details
Publisher
Commons Press
Edition
1st
Year of publication
2023
Number of pages
93
ISBN
978-1737481072
A Brief History of England
4.000 BC – Yesterday
England’s development from European backwater to world power was the product of its many revolutions. One of the most important of these produced the Forest Charter and its companion, the Magna Carta. Rights won in battle and recognized in these documents were the first steps in the farmers curbing the power of the elites and fighting their way out of serfdom. The creative genius of these now-free farmers produced the soaring increases in agricultural production that powered the rise of a merchant class, towns, manufacturing, trade, and England’s rise to world domination.
When farmers were victorious in their fight for greater freedom, whole civilizations advanced; when they were defeated, as in Germany, societies stagnated and collapsed into more centuries of feudalism and war. Looking at history from the perspective of the farmers and other working people allows us to understand why history took the course it did and better prepares us for battles that lie ahead.
This booklet is an excerpt from The Power of Peasants: Economics and Politics of Farming in Medieval Germany.
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Reviews (3)
FEATURED REVIEW
“In inviting prose with polemical power, Dees digs into greater detail to focus specifically on the Magna Carta and the Forest Charter, which, he argues, were the first documents to place the law above the king, granting the common people effective rights.…. Dees writes in a loose and humorous tone but with real passion and attention to detail.”
All reviews (3)
Michael Roberts Blog
“Within his two volume opus, Dees inserts his more detailed analysis of the history of England from pre-historic times that he previously published separately. This is a highly entertaining robust account of invasions, wars, class rule and rebellions that is worth a read on its own account.”
Kirkus Reviews
“Readers will find this to be a perspective that deserves a rigorous hearing.…reads more like a political pamphlet than a scholarly study…tone is more activist than academic”.
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Further reading
Excerpts from the main book, published seperately
The Power of Peasants
Advances in agricultural production by farmers played the decisive role in the great advances in civilization in Europe. Looking at history from the perspective of the farmers and other working people allows us to understand why history took the course it did and better prepare us for battles that lie ahead.
VIEW BOOK PAGE →
The Malthus Fraud
The defeat of the British government by American revolutionaries and the role of the laboring classes in overthrowing the French monarchy in the late 1700s inspired confidence among working people and fear among the elites, posing the need for an ideological counterattack.
VIEW BOOK PAGE→