Yeoman

"Yeomen" were a distinct group in the second colonial wave that settled on the planet Manticore after the outbreak of the Great Plague.The name derives from its use to describe "sturdy yeoman farmers" in medieval and later English society on Old Earth.
They were those immigrants who were financially able to retain their base land grant or perhaps enlarge upon it, becoming free landholders with voting rights beginning one Manticoran year (1.73 T-years) after their arrival on the planet. The contrast was to 'zero-balancers' who arrived essentially without resources other than their personal skills.
While all Manticoran citizens were equal before the law, whether enfranchised to vote or not, there were distinct social differences between shareholders, yeomen, and Zero-balancers.The social system of early Manticore somewhat resembles the headright system of 17th Century CE colonial America.. During the centuries, there was always greater prestige in claiming a yeoman as a first ancestor than a zero-balancer. Of course direct descent from a full shareholder was the most prestigious of all three. (, "House of Steel")
== References ==
Category:Manticore
Category:Society