 In 1819, from 194,000 families subject to taxation, 76,000 had been wholly or partly exempted.Tax farmers, in particular the "Ispravnici", acted in an increasingly predatory manner, and, in various cases, tortured peasants into paying more than their share.In the 1800s, a reformist Prince Constantine Ypsilantis sided with the peasants, cracking down on abuse and even threatening capital punishment; this episode failed to address the causes, and abuses continued to be recorded into the 1810s.