Peasant War in Germany (Engels)

Peasant war in Germany - the work of F. Engels . It was written in the summer of 1850. It was first published in the double 5-6 issue of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung. Politisch-okonomische Revue. In a work written based on the application of the materialistic method of researching history, Engels analyzed the revolutionary events in Germany in the 16th century and compared them with the events of 1848-1849. The Reformation and the Peasant War in Germany in the 16th century were caused by socio-economic reasons that took on a religious form in the Middle Ages: the class struggle of the German peasants with the inconsistent support of the burghers against feudal oppression.

And during the so-called religious wars of the sixteenth century, it was primarily a matter of very definite material class interests; these wars were also a class struggle, as were later internal conflicts in England and France. ^[one]

The main reasons for their defeat were the fragmented actions of the masses, the lack of centralization and the treacherous position of the burghers.

After all, even the peasants and plebeians in most parts of Germany could not unite for joint action and stood across the road. ^[2]