Aristocrats- 5% of population Controlled majority of land Aristocrats used existing government institutions to limit the power of the monarchy
Consists of 400 of families Game Laws- gave English exclusive rights to hunt from 1671 to 1831 to hunt Owned ¼ of all arable land Controlled the House of Lords and House of Commons (limited power of Monarcy)
Consisted of Military Officers and Bureaucrats Two major groups: ◦ Those who were at Versailles (wealthy and power) ◦ Those who were not Versailles
Polish exerted complete control over serfs and had sole political representation Austria and Hungary-exempt from taxation Russia 1785 Charter of the Nobility- Catherine the Great defined the legal rights of nobles and their families in exchange for nobilities voluntary service of state
¾ of all Europeans lived in country during 18 th century Great Britain- Technically had rights of English Citizens (court run by landowners) France- Responsible for amount of forced labor corvee. Paid feudal dues
Prussia- complete control of serfs Russian Serfs- slaves, had no legal rights ◦ Numerous revolts between 1762 and 1769 ◦ Pugachev’s Rebellion between
Relatively free because of high demand of labor Could leave landlords if choose Gave more power within system
Households in Northwest Europe- consisted of married couple and children (immediate family) Children leave in teens and find work to support family Neolocalism- leave and form own families around 20s (stayed relatively close to home)
Marriage much earlier (before 20) Wives older than husbands 3 or 4 generations lived under same roof
Production improves in Netherlands (Golden Age) ◦ Built Dikes ◦ Expanded Land ◦ Experimented with new crops
English Landlords popularized Dutch innovations ◦ Jethro Tull- financed experiments permitted land to remain cultivated longer ◦ Robert Bakewell- new methods of Animal Breeding ◦ Charles Townsend- use of fertlizer and crop rotation Enclosure Method: ◦ replaced open field method (village commons) of farming. ◦ Commercialized agriculture and maximized profits for landlord
Made possible the production of more goods and services than ever before Iron Production- redefines gender roles: men to mines; women to cottage industries New machinery invented (from animal to machine power) ◦ Spinning Jenny ◦ Water Frame ◦ The Steam Engine
The Growth of Cities (urbanization) Agricultural Revolution- allows for urban centers to grow Industrial Revolution- requires workers to live nearby factories Social Divisions- upper classes; middle class; artisans; and peasants
Majority lives in Eastern Europe (exception Netherlands) Russia- Catherine the Great intolerant of Jewish population discourage settlement Jewish population were persecuted all across Europe