Here's why:
* Collective nouns refer to a group of people or things considered as a single unit.
* "Peasantry" represents a group of people who are farmers or farm laborers, often considered as a social class.
While "peasantry" refers to individual people, it functions as a singular noun when referring to the group as a whole.
For example:
* "The peasantry has always been a vital part of the economy." (singular verb used with collective noun)
* "The members of the peasantry are struggling to make ends meet." (plural verb used when referring to the individual members)