# Europeans — The Servile State character guide

> Europeans in The Servile State by Hilaire Belloc.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** our

**First appearance:** 0006-ii-our-civilisation-was-originally-servile

## Who they are

Collective reference to European peoples in historical analysis.

## Relationships

### [Citizen A](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/characters/citizen_a)

_social_

Citizen A engages with Europeans, possibly as outsiders or representatives of foreign influence within the servile state.

### [Citizen B](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/characters/citizen_b)

_social_

Citizen B has limited but meaningful contact with Europeans, possibly as a cultural or political contrast.

### [Citizen A](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/characters/citizen_a)

_social_

Citizen A engages with Europeans, possibly as outsiders or representatives of foreign influence within the servile state.

## In the story

### [Preface to Second Edition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/chapters/preface-to-second-edition)

Mentioned in the context of European civilization and the universal nature of societal changes.

### [The Servile State](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/chapters/the-servile-state)

Referenced as 'our' society, representing the Western civilization undergoing the transformation described.

### [I: Definitions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/chapters/i-definitions)

Implied as the society in which the modern tendency toward reestablishment of slavery is examined.

### [II: Our Civilisation Was Originally Servile](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/chapters/ii-our-civilisation-was-originally-servile)

Europeans are described as having a bloodline that took slavery for granted for thousands of years, with no distinction between races in the institution.

### [III: How the Servile Institution Was for a Time Dissolved](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/chapters/iii-how-the-servile-institution-was-for-a-time-dissolved)

European society collectively undergoes the transformation from pagan slavery to Christian serfdom and then to a free peasantry.

### [How the Distributive State Failed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/chapters/iv-how-the-distributive-state-failed)

Referenced as 'our' society and the societies of Western Christendom that were economically free at the close of the Middle Ages.

### [V: The Capitalist State in Proportion as It Grows Perfect Grows Unstable](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/chapters/v-the-capitalist-state-in-proportion-as-it-grows-perfect-grows-unstable)

Referenced as 'our' society, the context of English capitalism is used as the primary example.

### [VII: Socialism Is the Easiest Apparent Solution of the Capitalist Crux](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/chapters/vii-socialism-is-the-easiest-apparent-solution-of-the-capitalist-crux)

Referenced as 'our race and history' in the context of past distributive states.

### [VIII: The Reformers and Reformed Are Alike Making for the Servile State](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/chapters/viii-the-reformers-and-reformed-are-alike-making-for-the-servile-state)

Referenced as 'our' society in the context of modern England's social change.

### [IX: The Servile State Has Begun](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/chapters/ix-the-servile-state-has-begun)

The English industrial society is the primary subject, with the narrator referring to 'our' laws and society.

### [Conclusion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/chapters/conclusion)

Referenced as the societies that broke with Christian civilization in the 16th century, particularly North Germany and Great Britain.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/chapters/endnotes)

Implied as the 'we' in discussions of trusts and legislation.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/characters/europeans
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_servile_state_se/characters