Statistics and Comparisons The Changing Life of the People Chapter 20

Marriage and Illegitimacy Pre-1750 Post-1750 Average age of marriage 27 in English village, 25 for women and 27 for men in France 1 to 2% of births illegitimate, but 20 to 30 percent of women pregnant at the time of marriage Marriage at an earlier age (no specific statistics cited) 20 to 30% of births illegitimate, rates higher in cities than in rural areas

Peer pressure to marry after conceiving to limit illegitimacy and encourage marriage Embarrassment people into conforming to community standards –Riding stang (ex. wife who bossed her husband around, person who stole from a community garden) –Throwing vegetables at a house (craftsman accused of shoddy workmanship) –Insulting midnight serenades a.k.a. charivari (public official accused of corruption)

Infant Mortality Less women nursing their own children – so children not getting mother’s immunities and women quickly having more children Foundling hospitals created to take unwanted children –100,000 foundlings in Europe admitted annually –20-30% of Parisian children abandoned (one third of those by married couples) –St. Petersburg had a foundling hospital housing 25,000 children –50% of children in foundling hospitals died in one year, 90% died before adulthood

Attitudes about Children Common Practices Less emotional attachment, perhaps because of high mortality rate Children wet nursed Children seen as little adults, with the capacity to act like adults Children punished often Many children abandoned to foundling homes Enlightenment figures Urged emotional attachment Advocated maternal nursing Allowing children to dress and behave naturally Increased funding to foundling homes – popular charity for middle class women

Literacy in 6 literate in Scotland and France 1 in 4 literate in England 90% Scottish males literate 66% French males literate 50% English males literate Prussia was the first to make grammar school compulsory (Under Frederick William I) but there was not enough money to fund the program effectively

Entertainment Rich Lower Class Salons Fairs Spectator Sports (boxing, horseracing) Carnival Female gatherings to talk, sing & sew Male gatherings at the tavern Fairs Spectator Sports (boxing, horseracing) Bloodsports Carnival

Ri

Diet Poor – roughly ground wheat/rye bread, peas, beans, vegetables in season, fruit in the summer months as the 18 th century progressed this grew to include corn, squash, tomatoes, and potatoes Urban artisans – variety of meats, vegetables and fruits with bread and beans still forming the bulk of the diet Rich – “rapacious carnivores” with rich meat and fish dishes with sauces, sweets, cheeses, nuts and an enormous amount of overdrinking

Consumer Society More people gaining enough disposable income to buy “stuff” Upper classes become the trendsetters, everyone else tries to copy Centered in NW European cities