Eigendomsrechten als motor voor sociale ontwikkeling in Groningen: Van beklemrecht tot uiterst gepolariseerde samenleving

In the 16th century most of land in Groningen was owned by (religious) institutions, nobles and the like and mainly in use by rather big farmers. The right of these tenants to use the land increased strongly in the 17th and 18th century. As a consequence land owners no longer were allowed to easily change the rent or evict the tenants from the land. By 1800, tenant farmers could dispose of the land they used in any way they wanted. Groningen Farmers in this way became the actual owners of the land and formed a rural upper class, that was much more wealthy than the rest of the population. Due to these early-modern strengthening of property rights on the use of land, the Groningen countryside became characterised by rich farmers and a huge social inequality in the 19th and large parts of the 20th century.