822 B
822 B
Freeholder Yeomanry
Definition
Independent small landowners who possess freehold property and enjoy political rights through their land ownership, representing a class of economically secure and politically influential farmers who have direct stake in land improvement and national prosperity.
Source Chapter
Book III, Chapter 2
Context
Smith presents the English yeomanry as uniquely prosperous and respected compared to continental Europe, attributing this to legal protections including secure leases, the forty-shilling freehold vote qualification, and laws preventing landlords from exploiting improvements made by tenants without leases.
Economic Domain
Production