<P> The word "peasant" is--and long has been--often used pejoratively to refer to poor or landless farmers and agricultural workers, especially in the poorer countries of the world in which the agricultural labor force makes up a large percentage of the population . The implication of the term is that the "peasant" is uneducated, ignorant, and unfamiliar with the more sophisticated mannerisms of the urban population . </P> <P> The word peasantry is also commonly used in a non-pejorative sense as a collective noun for the rural population in the poor and under - developed countries of the world . </P> <P> The word "peasant" is derived from the 15th century French word païsant (compare Italian paesano), meaning one from the pays, or countryside; ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district . </P> <P> Peasants typically made up the majority of the agricultural labour force in a pre-industrial society . The majority of the people in the Middle Ages were peasants . </P>

Write a note on the condition of peasants and workers in modern europe