Society & Economy Under The Old Regime 18th Century
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Transcript Society & Economy Under The Old Regime 18th Century
Society & Economy Under
The Old Regime 18th Century
AP Euro Chapter 15
Pre-Revolutionary Europe
Society Prior to
1789
Is referred to the
“Ancien regime”, or
“old regime”
Features of Old Regime
1. Aristocrats
inherited privileges
2. Urban labor force
organized into guilds
3.Rural peasantry
subject to taxes
Visible Social Hierarchy
1. Laws dictate what different classes
can wear
2. Your rights depend on your social
class
3. Not all have to pay taxes
4. Certain activities restricted to upper
class
The Aristocracy…
1. Consist of 1% to
5% of the
Population in any
given Euro. Country
2. Inherit wealth &
Land
3. Ruling Class
The Aristocracy
4. Set the example
of manners &
conduct
5. Lead “lives of
idleness”
6. Have certain
privileges
British Nobility
400 elite families
Average estate size:
a thousand to 50
thousand acres !!
Own ¼ of arable
(good) farming land
British Nobility
Oldest son inherits
title & Right
to sit in House of
Lords = Political
power
British Nobility
Younger Sons Must
Choose Profession:
Commerce, Military
Officer, Church
Office.
Peerage System :Titles of
Nobility Amongst Aristocracy
The peerage a collective term for people who
possess certain titles of honor.
The Titles in The Peerage ( In descending
order):
Duke or Duchess
Marquess or Marchioness
Earl or Countess
Viscount or Viscountess
Baron or Lady
English Game Laws
1671-1831
Exclusive right of
aristocrats to hunt
hares, partridges,
pheasants, deer etc.
I am a Pheasant, not a
Peasant
British Noble Women
"...the greatest
challenge faced by
females of the
leisured classes was
how to be
leisured..."
Upper class women
had tutors, learned
“womanly activities”
and had lots of free
time!
18th Century English Trends:
Men
Noble Men wear
“Banyan”
“man of the house”
outfit
An Asian inspired
outfit for staying at
home
Noble Hairstyles 18th Century
By 1780’s younger men
wore lightly powdered
natural hair
1795 English
established tax for hair
powder
Which caused the
demise of the powdered
wig/hair
18th Century English Trends:
Women
Clothes Reflect:
“softness,
prettiness, delicacy”
Colors reflect
natural world
Decorative elements
18th Century English Trends:
Women & Cosmetics
Pieces of leather or
fabric applied with
adhesive on face to
hide imperfections
Lead face powder
Rouge made from
plaster of Paris &
Carmine
Aristocrats In France
Different From England
Nobility acquired through:
1. Birth- inherited
2. office - awarded
3. “letters”- King’s order
French Titles of Nobility
Duke
Marquis
Comte (Earl)
Vicomte (viscount)
Baron
French Aristocratic Families &
Prestige
how long had a given
family been noble
(l'ancienneté),
into what other families
did it marry (les
alliances),
what positions its
members achieved and
what offices they held
(les dignités),
what actions they
performed (les
illustrations)
French Aristocrats
400,000 nobles
Divided Into:
“Nobles of the
sword”-military
service
“Nobles of the robe”bureaucracy
Second estate
French Nobility
Hobereaux –
provincial nobility
Not as wealthy
But “nobles” non the less
French Aristocrats
Exempt from taxes
Rarely had to pay
vingtieme income
tax in full
Hunting & Fishing
privileges
French Aristocrats
Known for
extravagance in
manner , dress,
court culture
Remember
Versailles?
Peasants & Serfs
Rural Reality
The Importance of Land
Economic basis 18th
cent. Europe
Foundation of status
& power for nobility
Source of
oppression for
peasants
Rural Reality
3/4ths of all
Europeans live in
rural areas
Work the land
Peasants & Serfs: What’s the
Difference?
Peasants – are “free” tenants (Western
Europe)
Serfs- are not free. More like slaves
(Eastern Europe)
French Peasants
Seigneur or Land
Lord can:
Require labor from
peasants
Charge feudal dues
Russian Serfs
Nobles wealth
measured by serfs,
not land acreage
Barshchina- 6 day
work week
Serfs can be
punished
Like slaves
Russian Serf Rebellions
Over 50 in 1762
Pugachev’s Rebellion in Southern
Russia (1773-1775 )
Emelyan Pugachev Promises:
Serfs land of their own
Freedom from landlord
Russian govt. crushes rebellion
The Family Economy & The
Household
Rural Living Pre-Industrial / PreRevolution
The Household…
Basic unit of
production
also known as “The
Family Economy”
2 models:
1. North Western
Europe
2. Eastern Europe
1. North Western Household
Household consists of the Nuclear
Family:
Married couple, children , maybe a
servant (younger person, a social equal,
works until marriage).
Children live with parents until teen
years
1.North Western Household
Neocalism- when
child moves away
from home
Men marry at 26
Women marry at 23
Considered “late”
marriage
2. Eastern Europe Household
Household consists of Extended
Family:
Married couple, children, grandparents
etc.
Larger households
Younger Parents
Idea is to “add” to household, not leave
Family Economy
1. Impossible for ordinary people to
support themselves independently
2. Everyone in household works
3. Goods produced for benefit of
household
4. “self contained” unit
Those Who Lived By
Themselves…
seen as suspicious!
Potential criminals,
or beggars
Remember, even
servants lived with a
family…
Women and the Family
Economy
Marriage regardless of class, an
economic necessity!
Number 1 concern: maintaining house
Number 2 concern : bearing and rearing
children
Life of Lower Class Women
At age 7, girls
considered old
enough to help
around the house
Once a girl left
home, she had to
support family, and
save up for her
dowry
Women & Children
High mortality rates for children –
disease
Unsanitary conditions
The poor could not afford babies
Foundling Hospitals
Paris, London
Homes for
abandoned children
“orphans”
Most children
illegitimate
Parents could not
afford them/gave
them up
Abandoned Children
Link between
movement of people
and an increase in
abandoned children
Link between rise of
food prices and
abandoned children
The Sad Truth…
Only 10 % of abandoned children lived
to the age of ten.
The Agricultural Revolution
Changes in the midst…
Developments That Transform
European society & economy
Agricultural Questions 18th
Century
1. How do you
produce surplus
crops?
2. How can you
bring down the price
of crops?
Agricultural Revolution
Innovations in
agriculture led to
improvements in
agricultural
production
And
Transformed the
“traditional” family
economy
Jethro Tull (1674-1741)
English
Developed Seed
Drill
Seed drill Allows
seeds to be planted
in rows, rather than
by casting seeds
randomly
Charles “Turnip” Townsend
(1674-1738)
English;
Introduced Crop
Rotation – wheat,
turnips, barley,
clover
Crop rotation
Restores nutrients in
soil
Robert Bakewell (1725-1795)
English;
Pioneered new
methods of animal
breeding
Bred stronger
animals
Enclosure System
1. The fencing off of common lands
2. Commercialized agriculture (no
longer a communal ritual)
Improvements in agriculture
1. Impacted the food supply in a positive
manner
2. Allow landowners to have a
“disposable” income – money left over
to purchase manufactured goods, or
invest in other business opportunities
Demographic Changes
Europe’s Population Rose
1700 – 100 and 120 million
By 1800 – 190 million
By 1850 – 260 million
Mortality rates declined due to Changes
in food supply
Industrial Revolution
Mid – Late 1700’s
From Domestic System to
Industrialization
Industrialization
Second Half of 18th
Century
Focus on
“Manufactured
goods”
1. Led to movement
of people
2. Growth of cities
3. Industrialization
Industrial Revolution Begins in
Great Britain… Why?
1. Economic Center
2. Print Media : Newspapers, Magazines,
advertising
3. Good roads & waterways to transport
goods
4. Stable banking system
5. Mobile society & Large Population
6. Rich deposits of coal & ore
7. Transformation of Textile Industry
“Domestic” System (“Putting Out
System)
1. Peasant home #1
would spin thread
at home for extra $.
2. Agent would take
finished thread to
peasant home #2 .
This family would
then weave thread
into fabric.
Domestic System of Textile
Production
Was basic feature of family economy
until Mid 18th Century
The demand for cotton textiles grew
more rapidly than production,
So …
Investors searched for faster ways to
produce fabric & clothing
1. Water Power
1700’s Water
Wheels power first
machines &
factories
Thus, 1st factories
had to be built by
water source
2.The Flying Shuttle (1730’s)
Invented by: John
Kay
Allowed weavers to
work fast
Problem: they
outpaced spinners
3.The Spinning Jenny (1764)
Invented by :
James Hargreaves
Spun many threads
at the same time (16
originally)
4. Water Frame (1769)
Invented By:
Richard Arkwright
Used water power to
speed up spinning
5. The Steam Engine
1. Thomas
Newcomen’s
original invention
1712 – large,
inefficient
Used to pump water
out of coal mines
5. The Steam Engine
2. James Watt’s
Modified Version
1769 –
revolutionized
industry
Use of steam engine
spread slowly until
1800’s
6. Power Loom (1780’s)
Invented by:
Edmund Cartwright
Did not gain
importance until
1830’s!
By then, more
power loom weavers
than hand loom
weavers
Growth of Cities
Population Growth
between 1500-1800
However, less than
20% of population
lived in cities
(in France, and in
Great Britain)
Growth of Capitals & Ports
(1600-1750)
1. Growth of Ports – a reflection of
expansion of overseas trade
2. Growth of Capitals – a reflection of
the success of monarchical state
New Cities Emerge, Small Cities
Grow (mid 18th cent)
1. Innovations in agriculture – improved
crop production led to growth of market
towns
2. Factories Near Water – towns “grew”
around factory as People moved.
Social Divisions
differences between rich & poor
Nobles : Attempt to secure & expand
privileges. Live “beautiful” lives
Poverty: found in both cities, &
countryside. Live “filthy” lives. Lower
classes have no rights, no chance at
social mobility.
The Middle Class or
“Bourgeoisie”
Urban residents
Merchants, trades people, bankers,
Lawyers, Professionals
Grow wealthier and wealthier
Want political power and Social Prestige
Inequality of the Social Classes
Leads us to…
The French Revolution 1789-1800
To be continued…