HIST 115 Lecture 9: History 115 - Lecture 9
Document Summary
Marriages were generally arranged, and after marriage the sons were expected to remain on the ancestral land to protect the family plot and provide for the needs of their elders. The demands of rice farming influenced the average vietnamese"s life. Few had enough rice land for themselves and their families to do more than just eke out a bare existence, litany had too little land or almost none. They were either forced to lease land from the rich, at exorbitant rents at times, or to sell themselves as hired labour. Most villages also reserved some common land that would be temporarily distributed to the needy. All too often, however, the rich were also confiscating this property for their own purposes. Life was tough even for those farmers with sufficient ground. Although rice is one of mankind"s most productive grain crops, its cultivation requires considerable human labor for planting, weeding, maintaining the irrigation system, and harvesting.
