Final answer:
The historical hardships faced by farmers and peasants included malnutrition, debt, and economic vulnerability due to factors like high-interest rates for borrowed seed, the disruption of credit systems due to war, and rampant inflation that led to widespread poverty and starvation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question touches on the historical socio-economic struggles faced by farmers and peasants throughout different periods and locations. These groups often dealt with multiple hardships including malnutrition, high levels of debt, insufficient revenues from their harvests, and the overwhelming financial demands of taxes and living expenses, all of which often led to land loss and further impoverishment.
For example, during the Han period in China, farmers had to borrow seed at high interest rates if the state did not provide it, leading to a cycle of debt and potential loss of land. Similarly, in the South during the post-Civil War era, farmers who were "land poor" relied on a system of credit for seeds and supplies, which was disrupted by the war, causing difficulties in covering debts when their war-reduced harvest came in. Rampant inflation in the 1860s also made food prohibitively expensive, exacerbating starvation and economic vulnerability.
The difficulties experienced by farmers were not limited to the agricultural sector. As they were unable to pay their debts, it led to a ripple effect where banks seized their property, but land values had decreased so much that banks couldn't resell the farms, impacting the economy at large.