APEURO Lecture 4D

Mrs. Kray

Life in the 18th Century

Demographic Changes

Causes of 18th c. Population Explosion

Agricultural revolutionProduced more abundant

food supplyThe potato became a key

food staple (1 acre of potatoes could feed a family for a year)Became a staple of the

peasant diet in Ireland, Russia, and Prussia

Little Ice Age ended

Advances in transportationReduce impact of local

crop failures

18th c. wars were less destructiveFought by professional

armies w/specific geographic and economic objectives

0

Decline of the plague

Medical advances DID NOT play a significant role in population growth

The Agricultural Revolution and Proto-

Industrialization

European Open-Field System

Developed in the Middle Ages

Animals grazed on the common or open lands

Villagers divided the remaining land into long, narrow strips Fences and hedges did not divide

this open land Fields farmed jointly by the

community

Utilized a two- or three-field system of crop rotation to restore exhausted soil In practice, it meant that one-third

to one-half of the land was allowed to lie fallow on any given year

Low Countries were the most densely populated region in EuropeFarmers forced to seek maximum yields form their landsGrowing urban population created demand for farm

products

New innovationsEnclosed fields allowed farmers to experiment with

innovative techniquesContinuous crop rotation

Alternating grain crops with nitrogen-storing crops (peas, beans, turnips, alfalfa)

Effects: More fodder for animals = more meat for the people = more manure for fertilizer = more food in general

Use of manure as fertilizerPlanting a variety of cropsUse of drainage to reclaim marshes

Innovations in the Low Countries

Charles “Turnip” Townshend advocated continuous crop rotation using turnips, wheat, barley, and clover

Jethro Tull invented a seed drill that allowed for sowing crops in a straight row

Robert Bakewell pioneered selective breeding of livestock

English Agricultural Innovators

The Enclosure Movement

English landowners consolidated previously scattered pasture lands into compact fields enclosed by fences and hedges

The new enclosed farmland enabled landowners to rapidly implement agricultural innovations. This encouraged the development of market-oriented agricultural

production

More on the Enclosure Movement

The English government passed Enclosure Acts allowed wealthy landowners to buy up

common lands & enclose it within large manors

Much historical debate whether enclosure was a good thing or a bad thing more efficient; enclosure system was

fair forced peasants off the land

Reality Forced many poor rural people to move to

cities and work in factories Tenant farmers ,who rented the land from

big landowners, benefitted By 1815 a tiny minority of English &

Scottish landlords owned most of the land

Putting out system was based on rural workers producing cloth in their homes for merchant-capitalists, who supplied the raw materials and paid for the finished goodsWomen would spin, men

would weaveHelped reduce the problem of

rural unemployment and provided cheap goods

Challenged guild monopolies

The Growth of Cottage Industry:The Putting-Out System

Advantages of Putting Out System

Peasants could supplement their agricultural incomes Especially during winter

Merchants could avoid higher wages and often demanding regulations of urban labor Easier to reduce number of

workers when economy was bad

Merchants could acquire capital, which would later play a part in funding industrialization itself

Peasants acquired future skills

Young people could start separate households earlier, thus contributing to population growth

Disadvantages of Putting Out System

When demand rose (which it did in the 18th c) this system proved inefficientMerchant-capitalists found it

difficult to induce peasant-workers to increase their output

This dilemma eventually led to the factory systemAll the workers were

concentrated in one place under the supervision of a manager

Water or steam power could easily be applied there

Class System of the Old Regime

Most of Europe divided into “estates” (legally defined classes) and most nations granted privileges based on

hereditary descent.

The Nobility

This estate was guaranteed to most privileges. Generally dominated political, cultural, but not always economic life

in most European countries.

The Peasants’ BurdenLabor and tax system

throughout Europe unjustExample: Nobility

exempt from taxes in France

Eastern European Peasants in worse shape than Western European PeasantsThe issue of serfdom

Serfs peasant bound to the land and owned by a feudal lord

Few limits on the amount of forced labor the lord could require (robot)

Serfs could be sold

Townspeople/BourgeoisieCommercial Revolution

had greatly increased their wealth and influence in European society

Not guaranteed the same privileges as the nobility

Technically the same status as peasants Disliked privileges the Old Regime system guaranteed to noblesWould often intermarry

with nobility to increase status

Family Life and Child-Rearing

Most European married couples lived in nuclear families with a patriarchal structureException: Eastern Europe sometimes extended

familiesA combination of parental authority and strict laws

exercised tight control over marriage

Married mid-to late 20s for both men & womenDelayed wedlock until they were able to support selves

economically

Labored as an economic unit w/tasks divided by genderEven children were expected to do their part (ex. cottage

industry)

Families in the Early 18th c.

The growth of the cottage industry increased income and helped young people become financially independent As income rose, arranged marriages

declined

Increased mobility reduced parental and village controls Strong community controls in early

modern Europe ensured couples avoided having children out of wedlock

1750-1780s Illegitimacy Explosion Led to infanticide and foundling homes

Young peasant women increasingly left home to work as domestic servants

Marriage and Family after 1750

High infant mortality rate = decreased emotional attachment to children

Children viewed as sinful “sprigs of Adam” “spare the rod, spoil the child;” rule of thumb” Swaddling to restrict movement and instill discipline

Middle-class women used wet nurses

Child-Rearing in the Early 18th c.

Enlightenment thinking encouraged parents to provide a warm and nurturing environment for their children Rousseau’s Emile stressed that

children were innocent creatures in need of tender love and guidance through stages of development

Upper-middle-class (bourgeoisie) parents began to place greater emphasis on child-rearing Denounced wet nursing and swaddling

Childhood became a separate phase of life Needed different clothes, reading

materials, games, toys

Late 18th c. Child-Rearing: The Influence of the Enlightenment

Society and Culture

Before 18th c. peasants and nobles partook in similar cultural experiences; this changes in the 18th c.

Elite culturePrint culture: novels, periodicals, newspapers, philosophical

treatiseStrong Enlightenment influenceSalons, coffeehouses, reading clubs, librariesAppreciation for scientific knowledge and secular learning

Peasant cultureOral tradition: story-telling, legend, symbolic imagery of a

religious serviceLargely untouched by EnlightenmentSuperstitious and still dominated by religion

Popular vs. Elite Culture

Lower-class reading interests Chapbooks, almanacs Both told stories of chivalric

romances, religious stories, folk wisdom, etc.

Taverns 18th c. lower classes turned to

stronger and cheaper spirits like gin and whiskey

English ad “drunk for a penny, dead drunk for two”

Alcoholism became a major social problem for the first time

Bloodsports Fisticuffs, bear baiting, cockfighting

Carnival time Saw a combination of religious

celebration and popular recreation

Popular Culture & Leisure

William Hogarth’s Gin Lane

Local parish church remained important in daily life

General trend of more state control over church and religious life

Protestant Revival Growth of “Pietism” which stressed religious enthusiasm, popular

education, and individual religious development John Wesley’s Methodism

Troubled by religious corruption, decline, and uncertaintyHis Methodist movement rejected the Calvinist idea of predestination and

stressed salvation through faithHis ministry brought on a religious awakening, particularly among lower

classes

Catholic piety In Catholic countries the old religious culture of ritual and

superstition remained popular Catholic clergy reluctantly allowed traditional religion to survive

Religion and Popular Culture

Huge increase in the amount of printed material Cause and result of an increased literacy rate Strongest among males and the middle class

By 1780 most European cities supported publications of at least one daily or weekly newspaper Richard Steele and Joseph Addison’s Spectator

Books Remained expensive Often reflected a secular focus or took a more critical view

of religion Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Novels = biggest sellers England pioneered this area Samuel Richardson’s Pamela: Or, Virtue Rewarded

The Reading Public

Effects of New Literacy General increase in knowledge

Increased emphasis on education Still mostly for elites Signs of change: German

realschule offered practical skills to prepare young men for business

“cult of sentiment” Belief that open emotional

displays equated with sincerity and that humanitarian impulses elevated society by sustaining reform movements

Novels in particular showed this

More Government censorship Largely ineffective in the

long-run, why? Decentralized nature of

intellectual life States lacked enthusiasm or

manpower to enforce

Development of “public opinion” Could the American or

French Revolutions happened without the political energy generated by a reading public who was both informed and concerned about politics?

►Derived from the French word, rocaille, or pebbles, referring to the stones & shells used to decorate the interior of caves.

► Complex compositions.

► Ornateness and fussy details.

► Gaiety, lightness, and airyness --> the Rococo style “dances.”

► Portrays the carefree life of the aristocracy -- landscapes like fairy tales.

Rococo Art and Architecture,1715-1774

►Centered in France --> associated with Louis XV. [also Germany and Italy]

► Light, elaborate, decorative style.

► Pastels.

► A backlash to the darkness of the Baroque --> less formal & grandiose.

► Eventually replaced by Neo-Classicism, the artistic style of the American & French Revolutions

More on Rococo Style

“The Marriage Contract”Jean-Antoine Watteau, 1713

“The French Theater”Jean-Antoine Watteau, 1714

“The Pleasures of the Ball”Jean-Antoine Watteau, 1717

“The Pleasures of Life”Jean-Antoine Watteau, 1718

“The Swing”

JeanHonoréFragona

rd

1766

“The Stolen Kiss”

JeanHonoré

Fragonard

Late 1780s

“A Young Girl

Reading”

JeanHonoré

Fragonard

1776

“The Triumph

of Venus”

François Boucher

1740

“La Toilette” – François Boucher, 1742

“The Marquis

de Pompado

ur”

François Boucher

1756

“Morning

Coffee”

François Boucher

1739

A Rococo Room

Wall Clock

“Love Conquering

Time”

CharlesCressent

1740

“Fire Dog”

François-Thomas Germain

1757