Landed nobility or landedaristocracy is a category ofnobility in the history of various countries, for whichlandownership was part of their noble privileges. The landed nobility shownoblesse oblige, they have duty to fulfill their social responsibility. Their character depends on the country.
In Poland,szlachta were usually landowners, withmagnates being the class of the wealthiestszlachta. Middle and smaller landed szlachta was calledziemiaństwo/ziemianie (from the wordziemia, land), usually translated aslanded gentry.
In some places, e.g., inLow Countries before Spanish rule, urban nobility withlanded estates was distinct from landed nobility.[2] In general, relations between landed nobility and towns was very complex in Europe.
In India,jagirdars,zamindars, andmankaris were the landed aristocracies, which formedIndian feudalism. Sometimes, they were elevated to the status of 'princes' or 'royalty' owningprincely states. Sometimes royal status was also reduced to the status of zamindars.
In thePhilippines, thePrincipalía was the ruling and usually educated upper class in the towns of theSpanish Philippines. The distinction or status of being part of the principalía was a hereditary right. This upper class was exempted from tribute (tax) to the Spanish crown during the colonial period. The principales (members of the principalía) traced their origin from the pre‑colonial royal and noble class ofDatu andLakan of the established kingdoms, rajahnates, confederacies, and principalities, as well as the lordships of the smaller ancient social units calledbarangays inVisayas,Luzon, andMindanao. The members of this class enjoyed exclusive privileges, including the right to vote, be elected to public office, and be addressed by the title:Don orDoña.
Within certain communities inNigeria, the reigning monarchs (known as thetraditional rulers) are often vested with inalienable landownership due to their positions, with them either owning tracts of land outright or holding them in trust for theirstates. Some communities don't follow this pattern, however. In theKingdom of Lagos, for example, landownership is not traditionally vested in theOba of Lagos, who is descended from later immigrants from theKingdom of Benin, but is instead vested in the so-calledIdejo class of titled aristocrats, who all claim descent from the earliestYoruba settlers of Lagos.
In the Americas, theplanter class owned large plantations worked by slaves and indentured servants. While not a legally defined nobility, theAmerican gentry constituted the planter class in theThirteen Colonies and, later on, theUnited States.
