France

Welcome, kings, queens, nobles, and loyal peasants! I am Lord Berger.

Long, long ago in the kingdom of France, there lived a lord.

In this system, the king is at the top of the chain, followed by the church leaders. As a lord, i am next in line, and below us all are those filthy peasants.

Lord

King

Priest

Peasant

Lord Berger is apart of the feudal system--a form of unlimated government because the king has all of the power and decides all of the laws.

This system began because after the Roman Empire fell, Europeans were left without a government, also meaning they had no protection, so kings of all countries in Europe decided to take initiative. In France, the king, like many others, owned all of the land, so he had control over everything, including the peasants who lived on the land.

You, my rich friend, shall be in charge of my land.

The king granted Lord Berger power over his land.

Lord Berger leased this land. He could keep as much of it for his own personal use and could also strip homes away from the peasants if he pleased.

Alright, peasants! The King granted me power of this land, so I set the rules here! I allow you to live here as long as you make pay to the king.

This makes me very rich. I can set My own taxes, and under this feudal system, I, along with king and other nobles, live lavishly while the peasants work like slaves and have pay more out of their pockets. Ha!

Soon, however, this system of living began to collapse.

Trade from the Silk Road caused numerous negative effects on not only Lord Berger's life but the feudal system as well.

Because the trade route was so heavily used, peasants began moving off of the king's land to pursue jobs as merchants, where they made more money. 

Where did everyone go?

They have jobs now so they moved to town. I'm leaving about to leave myself.