One technique used by the rulers, large and small, to prevent people from leaving their realm was to tax them heavily if they wanted to leave. This was a new type of endeavor which would not have been possible in the previous century. In that war-torn century, many people simply fled their homes to what they judged would be a safer place from the plague-carrying armies.
In the Eighteenth Century, the taxes took two forms, one on the people who were leaving, and one on their property. There was another aspect to emigration which involved serfdom. Serfs, in theory, belonged to the ruler and could make no decisions on their own. If serfs desired to emigrate, they first had to apply and pay a large fee for manumission. All of these taxes created a need for an expanded bureaucracy to collect the taxes. Most people had had no reason to consider themselves as serfs. But with the desire to emigrate, it was necessary to show or prove one's status. A potential emigrant might be faced with three taxes, the manumission, the property tax, and the permit to emigrate.
For the rulers, it meant an increased source of revenue and it was still a discouragement to emigration. It also meant more state employees were needed to oversee the work. Tens of thousands of government records attest to the fact that people were emigrating and that taxes were collected. But not everyone obtained permission and paid the fees. Many left in the dark of the night, slipping quietly out of their homes. (In the Germanna community, a fine was levied on Melchior Brombach to be paid by the family members who remained. Melchoir had not obtained the proper permits and had not paid the taxes.) Fogleman, whose book, " Hopeful Journeys ", which I am using, thought the practice was most common in the Kraichgau, the area from where many of the Second Colony people came.
Agricultural practices shifted in the Eighteenth Century away from the common field system to a more capitalist economy using new methods. In spite of the increase in the production per unit of land, the land was able to support only so many people. With the growth of the population, the production per person fell. Many people were forced from the land and into other occupations. Labor was a surplus item and therefore wages were low. Real per capita income fell.
On the farms, the peasants began plowing and planting fields that had lain fallow. There were improvements in sheep and cattle breeding. More fruit trees, potatoes, and high-yield crops came into greater use. Clover and manure were used to improve the farms. In spite of these improved procedures, the standard of living went down for many. Emigration looked increasingly attractive.
(28 May 03)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.