Reform, Prussian-style: the October Edict

The end of serfdom and other fundamental reforms transform Prussia

Devastating defeats at the hands of Napoleon at the battle of Jena–Auerstedt in 1806 left Prussia teetering on the brink of total collapse. Shorn of half his territory and with the rest under French occupation, King Frederick William III fled to Memel on the outer edge of his empire. Desperate to survive, he agreed to a comprehensive programme of reforms. Amongst the sweeping changes initiated by the dynamic ministerial duo of Karl vom und zum Stein and Karl August von Hardenberg was implemented in the edict of 9 October 1807, which ended serfdom. At the stroke of a pen, peasants were freed from the land they had tilled and could choose what they wanted to do in life. This meant that land could be bought and sold, and the trade guilds – which had previously controlled access to the trades and regulated their practice – lost their privileges.

At that time, serfdom was not a significant factor in the rural economies of large parts of central and southern Germany. In predominantly rural Bavaria, for example, serfs accounted for no more than 2% of the population by the end of the 18th century. In contrast, the East Elbian Junker landlords exercised almost complete control of all aspects of social, economic and political life. Whilst the lord of the manor held police powers and exercised complete legal jurisdiction, his serfs were required to work on manorial estates, pay additional taxes and required his permission to marry. Although Stein and Hardenberg’s reforms were a mixed blessing for the rural population, they laid the foundations for Prussia’s transformation from an absolutist, agrarian state into a national, industrial state during the 19th century.