1. 16th,17th, and 18th Century Society and Economy

2. Commercial Revolution 1500-1800
Causes
Roots were in the Middle Ages (e.g. Hanseatic League- German economic alliance that controlled trade in much of northern Europe well into the 16th century.
Population growth recovered to its pre-Plague level: 70 million in 1500; 90 million in 1600; thus, more consumers existed.
The “Price revolution”: long slow upward trend in prices
It resulted from increased food prices, increased volume of money, and the influx of gold and silver from the New World, which led to an increase in the supply of goods and an accumulation of capital among large landowners who oversaw the commercialization of agriculture.
States and emerging empires sought to increase their economic power.
Rise in capitalism (laissez-faire): entrepreneurs invested money in their own businesses or other business ventures.
The middle class (bourgeoisie) led the way.

3. Features of Commercial Revolution
Banking: Antwerp-->Amsterdam were the financial centers of Europe in the 16th and 17th cent.
Chartered companies: state-provided monopolies like the Dutch East India Company
Joint-stock companies: investors pooled resources for a common purpose
This was an early prime example of capitalism.
Stock markets emerged: e.g., the bourse in Antwerp
First Enclosure movement in England: Wealthy landowners enclosed their lands to improve sheep herding and thus the supply of wool for the production of textiles.
The “putting-out” Industry emerged in the countryside for the production of cloth.
Some farmers, displaced by enclosures, supplemented their income by producing textiles at home.
New industries and New consumer goods: sugar (most important), rice, and tea
Sugar production resulted in an enormous slave trade in the Atlantic.

9. Mercantilism Replaced feudalism in most areas of Europe
Presupposed that there was a limited amount of wealth in the world and so each country tried to maximize its wealth by increasing exports and limiting imports; goal was to create a favorable balance of trade
Increased the role of the government in the economy
Countries that practiced mercantilism strove for self-sufficiency
Colonies became increasingly important to economic success

10. Significance
A slow transition occurred from a European society that was almost completely rural and isolated, to a society that was more developed with the emergence of towns.
Many serfs, mostly in western Europe, improved their social position as a result. (Serfdom was revived in eastern Europe in the 18th century)
Migration to towns and cities resulted in problems such as crime, poverty, unemployment, and sanitation problems.
Town elites such as bankers, merchants, and craft guilds struggled to govern effectively and experienced inadequate resources.
The emergence of more powerful nation states occurred.
Wealth was increasingly taxed for state purposes.
The age of exploration emerged as competing nations sought to create new empires overseas.
The bourgeoisie grew in political and economic significance.

11. Golden Age of the Dutch First Half of the 17th Century and its Decline

12. Dutch Republic
It developed an oligarchy of urban gentry and rural landholders to promote trade and to protect traditional rights.
The government was dominated by the bourgeoisie whose wealth and power limited the power of the state.
The government consisted of an organized confederation of seven provinces, each with representative gov’t
1. Each province sent a representative to the Estates General.
2. Each province and city was autonomous (self-governing)
3. Each province elected a stadholder (governor) and military leader.
4. During times of crisis, all seven provinces would elect the same stadholder, usually from the House of Orange (thus William of Orange)

13. Innovations in banking and finance promoted the growth of urban financial centers and a money economy.
Amsterdam became the banking and commercial center of Europe.
It was the richest city in Europe with a population of over 100,000 people.
The Bank of Amsterdam (founded in 1609)- First central bank in European history
Offered far lower interest rates than English banks; this was the major reason for its banking dominance.
It had to rely on commerce since it had few natural resources at its disposal.
a. The Dutch had the largest fleet in the world dedicated to trade.
b. They had several outstanding ports that became a hub of European trade.
It lacked government controls and monopolies that interfered with free enterprise.
The Dutch East India Company and Dutch West India Company were organized as cooperative ventures of private enterprise and the state.

14. Foreign policy
Dutch participation against the Habsburgs in the Thirty Years’ War led to its recognition as an independent country, free from Spanish influence.
War with England and France in the 1670s damaged the Dutch Republic.
Dikes in Holland were opened in 1672 (during the Dutch War) and much of the region was flooded in order to prevent the French army from taking Amsterdam.
By the end of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713, the Dutch Republic saw a significant economic decline.
Britain and France were now the two dominant powers in the Atlantic trade.

15. The Golden Age of Spain in the Second Half of the 16th Century and First Half of the 17th Century and its Decline

16. The Spanish Empire Remember:
1. The reign of Ferdinand and Isabella began the process of centralizing power (“New Monarchs”).
2. The foundation for absolutism in Spain was laid by Charles V ( ) and Phillip II.
3. Spain’s power reached its zenith under Philip II (r )
4. The Spanish Inquisition continued to persecute those seen as heretics (especially Jews and Moors).

17. Sugar!!

19. Tribes

20. ; men; small boats; shackles, only enough food and water to survive; branding, rebellion, starvation, tossed off the boat; Middle Passage
Around 2 million during the Atlantic Slave Trade ( s); most transported to South America and Carribean (not US); many died on the way to the boat

22. Decline of Spanish Economy
The Spanish economy was hurt by the loss of middle class
Moors and Jews.
Spanish trade with its colonies fell 60% between 1610 and 1660, largely due to English and Dutch competition.
The Spanish treasury was bankrupt
National taxes hit the peasantry particularly hard.
Inflation from the “price revolution” hurt domestic industries that were unable to export goods.
A poor work ethic stunted economic growth.
a. Upper classes hated work and continued a life of luxury.
b. Capitalism was far less prevalent than it was in the Netherlands and England.

23. Decline of Spanish Empire Cont. (Politically)
England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 was symbolic of the beginning of the end for Spain. However, Spain had the most formidable military until the mid-17th century.
Poor leadership by three successive kings in the 17th century damaged Spain’s political power
a. Philip III, Philip IV and Charles II (one of worst
rulers in Habsburg history and the last)
b. Inbreeding may have played a role.**
Spain’s defeat in Thirty Years’ War under Philip IV was politically and economically disastrous.
a. Spain officially lost the Netherlands.
Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659): marked end of Spain as a Great Power
Spain lost parts of the Spanish Netherlands and territory in northern Spain to France.
The War of the Spanish Succession ( ) saw Spain lose most of its European possessions at Utrecht.

24. 18th Century Society and Economy

25. Agricultural Revolution
Before:
Open-field system and subsistence farming
Change:
Increasing population forced a change in agricultural practices
The Scientific Revolution inspired more innovative and rational thinking; more people thought to apply science, technology, and methodology to agriculture
Features:
Three-field crop rotation to allow the soil to rejuvenate
Enclosure movement
Drainage (like dike system)
The use of manure as fertilizer
The use of unclaimed lands or wastelands

26. Agricultural Revolution Cont.
Charles Townshend: Master of Crop Rotation
Jethro Tull
His innovation is an example of how the empiricism of the scientific revolution was applied to agriculture.
His seed drill allowed for sowing crops in a straight row rather than scattering it by hand.
He used horses for plowing rather than slower oxen.
Robert Bakewell pioneered selective breeding of livestock.
Larger and healthier animals were developed
It resulted in the increased availability of meat, wool, leather, soap and candle tallow.
More manure became available for fertilizing.

28. Cont. New foods from the Columbian Exchange
Second Enclosure Movement centered on agriculture: effectively ended subsistence farming and brought about the commercialization of agriculture
Parliament passed over 3,000 enclosure acts in the late-18th century and early 19th-century that benefited large landowners.

29. Impact of the Agricultural Revolution
It led to Europe’s population explosion in the 18th century: between 1700 and 1800 the European population increased from about 120 million to about 190 million people.
The Enclosure movement altered society in the countryside.
Common lands were enclosed thus changing traditional village life.
Widespread migration to cities resulted in urbanization.
Women were adversely affected as they lost their place in the home
The cottage industry emerged as a means of supplementing a farm family’s income.
Economically, the increased supply of food resulted in lower food prices that enabled people to spend more money on consumer goods.
The agricultural revolution made more food available to larger populations.
New foods such as the potato became a staple crop for the poor in many countries (e.g. Ireland).

30. Life New patterns of marriage and legitimacy emerged after 1750.
The growth of the cottage industry with its increased income resulted in higher rates of people marrying for love instead of just purely economic reasons.
Young people did not have to wait as long to become financially independent.
The explosion of births was caused by increasing illegitimacy:
Mobility encouraged new sexual and marital relationships which were less subject to parental pressure and village tradition.

31. Children
As infant and child mortality decreased and commercial wealth increased, families dedicated more space and resources to children and child-rearing, as well as private life and comfort.
However, infanticide due to severe poverty.
“Overlaying” occurred in many cases with a parent rolling over and suffocating a child in bed.
Foundling hospitals emerged, first in Paris, then throughout Europe.
Many poor women left babies on the doorstep of churches.
By 1770, 1/3 of all babies born in Paris were immediately abandoned to the foundling home; 1/3 of those came from married couples.

32. Child Rearing
Children were often treated indifferently and with strict physical discipline.
The use of wet-nurses is a good example.
Because of such high mortality rates, parents were reluctant to become too emotionally attached to their children.
Doctors often declined to care for sick children believing there was little that could be done.
“Spare the rod and spoil the child” – term was coined by novelist Daniel Defoe
Many children worked in factories at a young age and were severely disciplined.
Many believed the task of parents was to break their will to make them obedient.

33. Work Away from Home
Many young people had worked within their families until they could start their own households, but increasingly they worked away from home.
Opportunities were more limited for women than for men.
Domestic service in another family’s household was most common job.
Most hoped to save money for their parents and for marriage.
Working away from home benefited parents who had one less mouth to feed.
Girls were vulnerable to physical mistreatment by their mistresses.
The upper classes commonly exploited servants sexually.
If girl became pregnant she was quickly fired.
Prostitution and petty thievery often became the only alternatives.

34. Life Expectancy
The average life spans of Europeans increased from 25 to 35 years in the 18th century.
This was largely the result of the disappearance of the plague and starvation.
The development of public health techniques were an important breakthrough of the 2nd half of 18th century.
Improved practices in sanitation.
Mass vaccinations (from smallpox thanks to Edward Jenner)
Better clothing (due to proto-industrialization)
Improvements in developing warm dry housing
Adequate food (due to the agricultural revolution)
Diet and nutrition underwent significant changes during the 18th century.
a. The diet of ordinary people improved.
a. The bubonic plague had largely disappeared from Europe in the 17th century.
b. The conquest of smallpox was the greatest medical triumph of the 18th century.

35. The rise in prosperity produced advances in material well-being.
E. The rise in prosperity produced advances in material well-being.
1. Greater prosperity was associated with increased literacy, education, and rich cultural lives.
2. By the end of the 18th century a high proportion of Europeans were better fed, healthier, longer lived, and more secure and comfortable in their material well-being.
3. This relative prosperity was balanced by increasing numbers of the poor throughout Europe.

36. Rise of England and Industrialization

37. Rise of England Island (secluded from competition)
Excellent navy and already well-established Atlantic trading system
Practiced mercantilism in such a way that allowed for relatively free markets while also protecting British interests (Bank of England and Navigation Acts)
Natural resources such as coal and iron
Stable government
After the Treaty of Utrecht, England’s access to the slave trade and the New World significantly boosted the economy; the need for sugar increased trade
Leader of the Agricultural Revolution
Leader of the Cottage Industry and Textile Industry
Leader of the factory system
Leader of Proto-industrialization and Industrial Revolution

38. Spinning jenny By James Hargreaves

40. Water frame By Richard Arkwright

41. Spinning mule

42. Steam
Engine