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The Society and Economy Under the Old Regime

The Society and Economy Under the Old Regime. Introduction. Old Regime The life and institutions of prerevolutionary Europe Politically Rule of absolutism Economically Scarcity of food Agrarian society Undeveloped financial systems Socially

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The Society and Economy Under the Old Regime

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  1. The Society and Economy Under the Old Regime

  2. Introduction • Old Regime • The life and institutions of prerevolutionary Europe • Politically • Rule of absolutism • Economically • Scarcity of food • Agrarian society • Undeveloped financial systems • Socially • Distinct social classes w/ certain privileges • Little individualism

  3. Introduction • Old Regime fosters change in 18th C • Changes in farming • Early industrial Rev. arrives • Colonization of New World • Expansion of business • Preparation for wars

  4. Major Features of Life • Social Characteristics of Old Regime • Aristocratic elites control privileges • Established churches support state • Urban workers organized into guilds • Peasants pay high taxes

  5. Major Features of Life • Maintenance of Tradition • Social • Tradition was important • Nobles held onto ancient privilege • Peasants wanted restoration of manorial rights • Economic • Except for GB, every nation’s economy was agrarian. • All gov’ts concerned about harvest

  6. Major Features of Life • Hierarchy • Medieval rank became rigid during the century • Laws regulated the dress of different classes-made social hierarchy easily visible • Lack of “individual rights”, emphasis on “community” rights (nobility, church, guilds)

  7. Aristocracy • 1-5% of the population • Wealthiest sector • Separate legal bodies • Land was source of power

  8. Varieties of Aristocratic Privilege • Aristocracy was a matter of birth and privilege • British Nobility • Smallest, wealthiest, and most socially responsible aristocracy in Eur. • 400 families, eldest males sat in House of Lords, through corruption of electoral system • Owned ¼ of all arable land • Invested in industry and commerce • immense political and social influence

  9. Varieties of Aristocratic Privilege • France • Nobles of the Robe – Civil servants • Nobles of the sword – Military • French nobles exempt from: • Taille: land tax • Corvee: labor tax • Vingtieme: rarely paid in full

  10. Aristocratic Resurgence • Nobles responded to centralizing efforts of monarchy by: • Preserving exclusiveness of titles • Reserve appointments to officer corps and gov’t bureaucracy • English Parliament, French parlement, German diets, Austrian estates, all challenge monarchy • Remain free from taxes; collect feudal dues

  11. The Land & It’s Tillers • 75% of population worked the land • Peasants/Serfs • Serfdom more common in E. Eur than W.Eur. • In GB, justices of peace oversee courts • Peasants have rights and Englishmen • In E. Eur, landowners oversee courts • Taxes were the burden of peasants/serfs on continent

  12. The Land & its Tillers • Obligations of Peasants • FR – Feudal dues & corvees. • Prus/Aust – Landowners have complete control • The Robot • Russia – “Soul” tax, forced labor. No legal recourse • Similar to slavery

  13. The Land & its Tillers • Rebellions • Russian czars degraded condition of serfs • Pugachev – Leader of largest rebellion in 18th C • Catherine the Great had considered loosening restrictions on serfs before rebellion. • Very few rebellions in W. Eur.

  14. Land & it’s Tillers • Aristocratic Domination of Countryside – England • 1671-1831: English landowners had the exclusive legal right to hunt • Poor excluded because elites believed hunting would undermine work • Merchants excluded b/c Parl. wanted to demonstrate landed wealth over commercial wealth • Gamekeepers and gentry benefited from laws • Poaching and the black market: high demand for luxury meat leads to poaching for profit

  15. The Agricultural Revolution • Goal of peasants = maintain food supply • Food prices rose steadily in 18th C due to population growth • Agricultural revolution was due to farming innovation

  16. Agricultural Revolution • New Crops/New Methods • The Dutch were leaders in farming. • Cornelius Vermuyden – land reclamation • British Innovators • Jethro Tull – seed drills and iron plow • Robert Bakewell – animal breeding • “Turnip” Townsend – crop rotation to restore nutrients • Arthur Young – documented advances

  17. Agricultural Revolution • Enclosure Movement Replaces Open-Field s • What were open fields? • Village communities which farmed land using the 2 or 3 field system • What was enclosure? • Fencing of land to scientifically study land and increase production • Who was responsible for enclosure? • Large landowners pushed laws through parliament • What was the impact of enclosure? • Commercialization of agriculture

  18. Agricultural Revolution • Limited Improvements in the East • Why did E. Eur not improve farming? • No motivation. Landlords had tight control over serfs.

  19. Agricultural Revolution • Population Expansion - 18th Century • What were the reasons for population growth? • Decline of death rate, fewer wars, fewer epidemics, better hygiene, • ***Changes in food supply - Potato • What was the impact of the population growth? • New demand for goods, food, jobs, services • Increase in migration • Traditions of the Old Regime were tested

  20. The “Columbian Exchange”

  21. The Columbian Exchange • From the New World to Europe • Diseases: syphilis • Plants: potatoes, corn, tomatoes, pineapple, tobacco, beans, vanilla, chocolate • Animals: turkeys • Gold and silver • From Europe to the New World • Diseases: small pox, measles, bubonic, plague, influenza, typhus • Plants: wheat, sugar, rice coffee • Animals: horses, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens

  22. The Industrial Revolution • Began in the 2nd half of the 18th C • Period of sustained growth • Raised standard of living • Was it an evolution or a revolution?

  23. The Industrial Revolution • Revolution in Consumption • What factors increased demand for consumer goods? • Prosperity, marketing/advertising, changes in styles to bring new fashions and inventions, rise of fashion publications made all aware of new styles. • Industrial Leadership in GB • What factors made GB the home of the I.R.? • Free trade, good roads w/o tolls, abundance of coal and iron, sound banking, efficient and fair taxation, mobility of society

  24. The Industrial Revolution • New Methods of Textile Production • What are textiles? • Cloth, which became the first mass-produced items. • How were they produced before the I.R.? • The domestic system, a.k.a “the putting out system” • How were they produced after the I.R.? • In factories

  25. Inventions • John Kay – Flying shuttle – increased production of weavers. (1730s) • James Hargreaves – Spinning Jenny – allowed more spindles of thread to be spun (1760s) • Richard Arkwright (1760s) – water-powered device to produce cotton fabric

  26. The Industrial Revolution • The Steam Engine*** • Who invented it? • Thomas Newcomen engine (early 1700s) – very inefficient • James Watt (1760s) – Made steam engine more usable • Why is it important in the I.R.? • It became the prime mover for all industry – shipping, trains, manufacturing

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