The economic and political system that dominated Europe before the Industrial Revolution was known as feudalism. This hierarchical system structured society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labor. Lords owned large estates and provided protection to vassals in return for military service and agricultural production. This system shaped medieval life and governance, concentrating power among nobility while the peasantry worked the land. The transition away from feudalism was spurred by changes in trade, agriculture, and the eventual rise of centralized nation-states during the late medieval period, paving the way for the Industrial Revolution.