The Changing Life of the People AP European History

Essential Questions What changes occurred in marriage and the family in the course of the eighteenth century? What was life like for children, and how did attitudes toward children evolve?

Marriage and the Family Extended and nuclear families The nuclear family, not the extended family, was most common in preindustrial western and central Europe. This conclusion is based on new studies of “parish registers.”

Marriage and the Family Early marriage was not common prior to 1750, and many women (perhaps as much as half) never married at all. In a typical English village, women and men married at twenty-seven. Marriage was commonly delayed because of poverty and/or local law and tradition.

Marriage and the Family Work away from home Many boys left home to work as craftsmen or laborers. Girls left to work as servants—where they often were physically and sexually mistreated.

Marriage and the Family Premarital sex and community controls. Illegitimate children were not common in preindustrial society; premarital sex was common, but marriage usually followed. The traditional (open-field) village system was a check upon both illegitimacy and early marriage. Public action against domestic disputes and marital scandals was frequent—often taking the form of degrading public rituals. Birth control methods were primitive and undependable.

Marriage and the Family New patterns of marriage and illegitimacy Between about 1750 and 1850 the number of illegitimate births soared—in some places from 2 to 25 percent of all births. Fewer young women were abstaining from premarital intercourse and fewer young men were marrying the women they got pregnant. One cause for this was that the growth of cottage industry (and later, the factory) resulted in people marrying earlier and for love. Another cause was that more young villagers were moving to towns and cities where they were no longer subject to village controls. Low wages, inequality, and changing economic and social conditions made it difficult for women to acquire a marriage based on romance.

Children and Education Childhood was dangerous because of adult indifference, neglect, and even abuse. Child care and nursing Infant mortality was very high. Breast-feeding of children was common among poor women. Breast-fed infants were more likely to survive than the infant who was fed artificial foods. Middle- and upper-class women hired wet nurses. The occupation of wet-nursing was often exploitative of lower-class women

Children and Education Foundlings and infanticide “Killing nurses” and infanticide were forms of population control. Foundling hospitals were est. but could not care for all the abandoned babies. Some had as many as 25,000 children. In reality, many were simply a form of legalized infanticide.

Children and Education Attitudes toward children Attitudes toward children were different from those of today, partly because of the frequency of death. Parents and doctors were generally indifferent to children. Children were often neglected or treated brutally. The Enlightenment brought about more humane treatment of children. Critics like Rousseau called for more love and understanding of children. The practice of swaddling was discouraged.

Children and Education Schools and popular literature Formal education outside the home became more important for the upper classes in the sixteenth century. But education for common people did not begin until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Both Catholic and Protestant reformers encouraged popular education. Protestant Prussia led the way in universal education. Education was important in Presbyterian Scotland and elsewhere.

Children and Education Literacy increased, especially in France and Scotland, between 1700 and 1800. The Bible was still the favorite book, but new pamphlets called chapbooks became popular. Another form was popular literature, such as fairy tales, romances, and fictionalized history. Some popular literature dealt with practical arts; most new literature did not challenge the political and social system. It includes many kinds of printed material such as pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, folk tales, children's literature and almanacs. Where there were illustrations, they would be popular prints. The term is derived from chapmen, chap coming from the Old English céap meaning "deal, barter, business", a variety of peddler, who circulated such literature as part of their stock.

Questions to assess your understanding At what age did most people marry in 18th century England? Why was the marriage pattern later (ages) during this time? What did young boys typically do for a job? What did young women do for a job? Prior to 1750 how would you characterize frequency of premarital sex? What were a baby’s chances of survival at a foundling home? Who was Vincent de Paul? What was Daniel Defoe’s perspective on child-rearing? Which European country was the first to mandate compulsory education? What was an underlying cause of the illegitimacy explosion? To what can you contribute neglectful attitudes toward children in preindustrial Europe? What types of texts/books were popular among European peasants? How did common people treat those who violated social norms in a village? Around 27. Poverty/Local traditions Craftsmen or laborers Servants It was commonplace. Unlikely. High death rates. A Saint who started “foundling homes” “Spare the rod and spoil the child” Prussia Growth of the cottage industry The high infant mortality rate Chapbooks With embarrassment