Society and Economy in Early Modern Europe 1450-1750

POPULATION GROWTH American foods improved European nutrition and diets. Increased resistance to epidemics after 1650s. Life spans increased. Infant deaths decrease. European population increased. 81 million in 1500 to 180 million in 1800. Urbanization Rapid growth of major cities: Paris from 130,000 in 1550 to 500,000 in 1650. Cities increasingly important as administrative and commercial centers. Most dramatic in Ireland, England, Poland, France, and Netherlands.

EARLY CAPITALISM Profits and ethics Early capitalism Medieval theologians considered profit making to be selfish and sinful. Renaissance merchants supported changes and arts becoming influential in society. Protestant Reformation saw profit, success as signs of God’s favor Early capitalism Led to increased influence for urban middle classes. Altered rural society. Improved material standards. Increased independence of rural workers. Capitalism generated deep social strains. Bandits, muggers, and witch-hunting. Began to impoverish urban workers.

EARLY CAPITALISM The Price Revolution Use of money replaced barter. Imports of gold and/or silver led to trade imbalances. Mercantilism demanded payments in gold and/or silver. Spain and Portugal did not support manufacturing. Both countries had to import goods. Too much money chasing, too few goods. Inflation resulted. Peasants and aristocrats. On fixed incomes. Payments from good economies suffered. Inflation drove real wages down.

COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION The nature of capitalism Private parties sought to take advantage of free market conditions. Economic decisions by private parties, not by governments or nobility. Forces of supply and demand determined price. New managerial skills and banking arrangements arose. Supply and demand Merchants built efficient transportation and communication networks. New institutions and services: Banks, insurance, and stock exchanges. Joint-stock companies Dutch East Indies and English East/West Indies Companies. Organized commerce on a new scale. Authorized to explore, conquer, and colonize distant lands.

COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION Rise of Manufacturing Colonial markets, population stimulated manufacturing Putting-out system of 17th and 18th centuries Entrepreneurs bypassed guilds Moved production to countryside Rural labor cheap, cloth production highly profitable Capitalism actively supported by governments Especially in England and Netherlands Chartered joint-stock companies Protected property, upheld contracts, settled disputes Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations Considered the founding father of capitalism Society would prosper as individuals pursued their own interests States were to support private interests, free trade

MORE CHANGES Mass Culture Arises Agriculture changes Use of some luxuries becomes common. Rise of leisure time even for poorer people. Rise of professional entertainment. Immigration by commoners to colonies. Agriculture changes New technologies applied to farming. Draining swamps, animal breeding. New tools to increase productivity. Introduction of new world crops. Example: potato

MORE CHANGES Manufacturing New Social Classes Mass produced items common. Examples: textiles and metal products Capitalism stimulates production as profitable. New jobs caused people to move into manufacturing from agriculture. New Social Classes Rise of entrepreneurial class with great wealth. Rise of a technological managerial class.

SOCIAL CHANGE AND SOCIAL PROTEST Rise of urban and rural working class. Referred to as proletariat. Paid low wages in horrible conditions. At mercy of price revolutions. Many peasants reduced to paid wages. Social Tensions Peasant revolts especially during Reformation. In France and Germany rose against landlords. Many sought more radical forms of Protestantism. Urban citizens also tended towards Protestantism. Persecution of witches.

SOCIAL CHANGE AND SOCIAL PROTEST Elite and Mass Culture Prior to Reformation, there were two cultures. Elite and Common. Two rarely intermixed or cooperated. Mass culture such as entertainment. Faith often became elite culture. The nuclear family strengthened by capitalism Families more independent economically, socially, and emotionally Love between men and women. Parents and children became more important.

GENDER ISSUES Renaissance saw expansion of women’s rights. Books written for women. Education of women allowed. Women could enter public arenas as intellectuals. Reformation took back many of the rights. Many reformers were women. Many threatened males traditional roles. Protestants emphasized family role of women.. Witch-hunts in Europe. Theories and fears of witches intensified in 16th century. Reformation fed hysteria about witches and devil worship. About 60,000 executed. 95 percent of them women.

GENDER ISSUES Commercial and Capitalist Revolution Education and Women Women needed often to support family by outside work. Many women merchants very successful. Women assumed new economic roles. Education and Women Education was one of few avenues open to women. Aristocratic women often educated. Enlightenment saw first major victories for women’s rights. Women ran intellectual salons of France. Many very prominent as philosophers. Some few feminists appeared.