Family Structure:Ancien Regime and Industrial Europe The intention is to lok at tehn famiy structure in Europe, and be abel to make some commentary about the changes that tak eplace as Europe transitoions from the AncienRegime to the First industrial age. We are looking at the time period fro 1500 – 1850.

Family Structure:Ancien Regime and Industrial Europe Pre-induistrialm Europe was essentially an agrarian society with the beginnings of a mercantile class in te cities. The majority of the population lived an agrarian existennce, and clung to the vestiuges of the medieval structure of landed aristocracy and feudal taxation and responsibilities.

Family Structure:Ancien Regime and Industrial Europe The family was the basic unit of consupmtion, and there were rarely any business as such that would employnmore than ten or so peoiple. Hence, we have a Europe that I pre industrial, and pre consumption of goods. The household mwas the basic unit of both producton and consumption, an even in the cities where they may be an artisan class,and small scale manufacturing, we do ont see the isdea fo someone “going off to work”.

Family Structure:Ancien Regime and Industrial Europe Hence, the “family economy” was the bedrock of European society, and as a result the family structure was the basi fo all life in Europe. Here are some genberal coment son the characteristics of the famlily unit at this time. An important point that you can make as wll isn that there was a grave difference between the lives of thoise in Easterna d western Europe.

Family Structure:Ancien Regime and Industrial Europe North Western Europe: Basic family unit was the nuclea rfamily, consistingh of the husband, wife and children, wihtn a rare family that had more than two ngenerations under the same roof. A combination fo high mortality and marriage later inlife simply precluded the extendee family lfe that existed in centuriews previously.

Family Structure:Ancien Regime and Industrial Europe The idea that extende families had been the jnorm inpore-industria Europe had bene debubnked, and w ehave now learend that children more often tha not had left by their early teens, and only th shioldeen of an artisan might lstay lingr, and only then to properly learn the craft of their fathers.

Family Structure:Ancien Regime and Industrial Europe Neolocalism is the term that refers to the practice of children moving out and starting their own households, usually in their early tgwenties. Prem,atiral relatios were supriosingly common at thjs tiem, and there was huhge societly pressure ot marry once the wopman was withy child.

Family Structure:Ancien Regime and Industrial Europe It was comon to employ servats as wel, yuet we muct ont mistake them for domestics loking after the need of some wealthy fmaily, like on a PBS series. These servants wer hired undr contract to work, ansd inexchangen thye wer given room and board by the family they were employed by. Beinga servant was often seen as transitonal work until a person could get on their feet.

Family Structure:Ancien Regime and Industrial Europe Further, it was the very act of being servant that often lead to later marriage, because oyung men and women would work for serveal years to save money for marriage.

Family Structure:Ancien Regime and Industrial Europe Eastern Europe Movig east meant a clearly discernable change in the family structure. Men and owmen both married before they wer etwenty, and children were borh to much younger parewnts. Because of the rigid nature of the agrarian siciety, and the prevalance of the system of serfdom, inivbidual freedoms were restricted by large landholders, and marriage was often the province of th ladn lord.

Family Structure:Ancien Regime and Industrial Europe In Russia, it was comon for the family ot have nine or more children, and since the lords of the manor cntrolle rents, they would make sure that their serfs would not and coud not move away because fo a maritalm union. Mariratge could be, for ecample, forbidden in places like Russian and Poland, and there was simpy not a ssytem of servants liike iun the west.

Family Structure:Ancien Regime and Industrial Europe Larger families were encourages for obvious reasons, not the least of which was the fac that a multi-generational family meaant the illness or death would not leave the ladn unattended and unclutivated. Let us now take a look at what th family economy meant during this time.

Family Structure:Ancien Regime and Industrial Europe