Society and Economy Under the Old Regime

Chapter 16

EQ: What was life like in 18th century Europe? How did agricultural and industrial innovation change life? Why was life dominated by “rich people”?

Themes This chapter focuses on life and institutions in

Europe that existed before the Revolutionary period that started in 1789

The main force in power was the OId (ancien) Regime, made up of the aristocracy and landed nobility who supported absolute monarchies, large political bureaucracies, trading companies and noble led armies

This period is marked economically by food shortages, agrarian economies, slow transport of goods, very little industrial production early on, weak financial systems and emerging overseas expansion

Society and Aristocracies The society of pre-revolutionary Europe was traditional and

hierarchical…it ranged from: Governing aristocratic elite An urban middle class Urban labor force (guild labor) Rural peasants

Society also reflected corporate and privileged interests…men were more interested in communal organizations/group rights than individual liberty

Old Regime also was not very static, it did foster changes including agricultural and industrial revolutions (via investment), development of new consumer products and goods, population expansion and still had bones to pick with other nobles and monarchs in the regions which they lived

Society and Aristocracies Nobility only represented less than 5% of any nations population, but

held the majority of wealth and power…many nations had their own legislative bodies for nobles (ie. House of Lords in England) and those legislative bodies were the only forms of political representation for average people in some nations (Poland and Hungary)

British Nobility Came to invest in capital and state ventures at home and abroad…

owned most of the farmable land in England…had few legal privileges but had most direct control over local government

French Nobility You were either “of the sword” (title through military service) or “of

the robe” (titled through bureaucracy or purchase)…despite differences, both were cooperative…they were exempt from many taxes (taille), the vingtieme tax which few nobles paid in full…most of their taxes to the crown they collected form their peasants anyway!

Eastern European Nobility Character differed by nation…in all, most nobles did not pay

taxes…in Prussia, the nobles (Junkers) were a part of the military…in Russia, Peter had suppressed the boyar nobility and forced their state service…however, his successors loosened this policy

The Peasantry The economy of the 18th century depended

on the landed aristocracy and agriculture…the work was done by peasants

In the west, peasants were free, working for a wage…in the east, the peasants were still serfs

Both groups were subjected to pay dues and taxes to their nobles

A growing cause of eventual peasant discontent became the nobles desire to change the methods of traditional agricultural production (Revolution) to maximize their profits while not changing taxes

Discontent led to rebellions in some locales, most noted was Pugachev’s Rebellion in southern Russia

The Agricultural Revolution Rising grain prices gave landowners more

money to spend on changing the agricultural process while reducing their labor costs (machine replacing human labor)

Innovators included: Jethro Tull – the seed drill Charles Townsend – crop rotation Robert Bakewell – animal breeding

Growing crops was changed from the Open 3-Field Method of Medieval days to the Enclosure method…enclosure is what it sounds to be, taking large tracts of land and “closing them up” with fences and hedgerows and dividing them for various uses…NO land was left fallow (unlike in the 3 Field method)…all was used for some kind of agricultural production (crops were planted and rotated based on price, season and need)

The Industrial Revolution  The most far-reaching, influential transformation of human

culture since the advent of agriculture eight or ten thousand years ago, was the industrial revolution of eighteenth century Europe.

The consequences of this revolution would change irrevocably human labor, consumption, family structure, social structure, and even the very soul and thoughts of the individual.

What drove the industrial revolution were profound social changes, as Europe moved from a primarily agricultural and rural economy to a capitalist (mercantile) and urban economy, from a household, family-based (artisan) economy to an industry-based mass production economy.

Another factor that drove the advent of the revolution was population growth…more people created more demand for products and more people demanded a faster, easier way to produce goods.

The Industrial Revolution While it's hard to pinpoint a beginning to the

Industrial Revolution, historians generally agree that it basically originated in England, both in a series of technological and social innovations.

The Industrial Revolution started in England around 1733 with the first cotton mills…the flying shuttle and the Spinning Jenny

While the spinning jenny is frequently pointed to as the first, major technological innovation of the industrial revolution, the invention that really drove the revolution in the eighteenth century was invented several decades earlier: the steam engine….Thomas Newcomen created the first static version, James Watt developed the first practical transportable version

Methods in created iron also changed…for centuries, iron was forged through a “pig” process using charcoal to super heat the furnaces…coal (coke) became the new fuel over blast furnaces and proved 10x more effective in quickly heating iron ore

Population Growth In 1700, the population of Europe was estimated to be

between 100-120 million…by 1800, it was closer to 200 million…population had grown by leaps and bounds like this before, however, wars, plagues or even famines often came along as natural controls…these events were extremely LIMITED during this time period

Several causes attributed to this rapid growth: Life expectancy improved Personal hygiene and sanitation improved Medical advances improved Food supplies increased, new crops improved diets

(potato) Urban areas saw the most growth during this period as

opportunities changed and people migrated from the rural country side

The Growth of Cities European cities grew considerably during this time period,

though in some countries, urban areas still only contained around 20% of the total population of the country

Cities did not form as industrial centers during this time, rather were built around mercantile activities, banking, or political institutions

Cities came to define the new system of social hierarchy in Europe, one that we still have today: the wealthy upper class, a new middle class (bourgeoisie) and poor classes made up of rural laborers, shopkeepers and old school artisans

Urban areas were generally overseen by nobles, wealthy merchants (overseas investors), bankers, the clergy and elected officials

The bourgeoisie was a landless class that generally labored for the above groups, but had more and more wealth than those who continued to labor for traditional agriculture or artisan outfits

JEWS!!! A growing Jewish population lived in urban areas in

Europe, largely devoid of privileges and rights that other citizens enjoyed

Jews were always regarded as “aliens”, outsides, kind of like immigrants in this country…that status was always at the mercy of the monarchy/legislature of certain Europe nations

Jews did live together in “ghettos” in urban areas or in some consolidated villages in rural areas (Eastern Europe)

Though there were some Jews of wealth who helped finance noble ventures in war, agriculture or industry, most were rural poor peasants…those many faced religious persecution rather than racial prejudice…this severely limited the ability of Jewish people to participate in the civic process