there were craftsmen and tradesmen,

工匠和零售商
and there were cottagers and laborers.

以及佃农壮丁
You'll find definitions of these different groups on your handout.

讲义里面阐述了这些群体的详细定义
Yeomen are sometimes defined as being owner-occupiers

自耕农有时被说成是业主居住者
who possessed freehold land and they sometimes were,

他们当中确实有人拥有可自由支配的土地
but in fact most of them were tenant farmers.

但事实上他们绝大部分人是佃户
The crucial thing about yeomen is that

自耕农最重要的特征是
they were substantial tenant farmers:

租用别人的大量土地
people who employed labor;

他们是可以雇佣劳力
people who could produce a substantial marketable surplus

他们可生产出具有市场价值的剩余产品
which they could sell to the towns.

这些产品可在城镇中兜售
These were the people who were sometimes described

这些人有时被称作是