They began this process by transitioning to a system of commercialized peasant agriculture. First the state took control of all land. Farmers could then gain permanent title to the land after working it for 12 years and paying the appropriate taxes. New laws supported private ownership. The Transfer of Property Act (1882) and the Land and Revenue Act (1879) gave farmers full title to the land, with the right to buy, sell, lease, give, exchange, or mortgage it as they pleased. The Registration Act (1909) made a set of rules for transferring land to other people and the taxes that the government could collect on these transactions. The peasant gained the freedom to farm.