Everyday Life of the 1600S and Early 1700S

Everyday life of the 1600s and early 1700s, and the Agricultural Revolution (and the early Industrial Revolution)

A. Population and health A. Still several outbreaks of plague in 1600s which affected large areas but these begin to be more controlled as health measures get better. B. More children survive to adulthood (though many still die very young) C. Population grows tremendously in early 1700s and begins uphill climb till now (no more peaks-and-valleys cycles of population numbers) D. Scientific Revolution encourages experiments to find cures rather than relying only on folklore. The view of the body as a system that can be fixed also leads to innovations in health care.

B. Nutrition A. Better supplies of a bigger variety of food because of a general improvement in climate of Europe at this time and an investment by the governments in better transportation systems B. In England, growing techniques change so that fields didn’t have to lie fallow every third year. Instead, different crops are planted in a cycle to balance out the soil’s nutrition, including turnips and clover. Turnips fed the livestock, which then provided manure! Clover helped increase nitrogen in the soil. C. New crops from the New World and the Asian countries added variety and often let lands be used that had not been used before. Many of the new crops are also more productive (per acre) than the older crops. D. The new transportation routes meant that crops could be sent further, and allowed areas to specialize in certain crops rather than having to grow all their crops in one area (i.e., certain parts of Italy became devoted to producing rice, and certain parts of Ireland were dedicated to growing potatoes). E. Leftover crops mean that animals get more food too, and since they are fatter they provide more protein in the diet. More animals meant that breeders could experiment to create bigger livestock. F. The development of a new “seed drill” allowed seed to be planted directly in the soil, rather than hand-scattered, which meant that more seed actually took root. G. In other parts of Europe, peasants are still more or less serfs. Their existence does not allow for experimentation like in England, so change comes much more slowly.

C. Economics A. The economy is still uncertain during the 1600s, but becomes more stable in the 1700s. Inflation grows slowly enough to stimulate economy and not cause extreme hardship for the peasants. B. However, most peasants still had a rough life compared to merchants, nobles, and landowners. The tendency of large landowners to put up fences (called “enclosure”), either to protect their fields or to create grazing lands for sheep, meant many peasants had no land available to rent. C. The “putting out system” helps some peasants supplement their farming. Merchants give them raw wool or cotton, peasant families process it in their homes and return finished cloth to the merchant. D. Banks play a stronger role in stabilizing the economy in various countries (especially England, where the Bank of England was created in 1694)

D. Class Distinctions A. Peasants are still peasants and aristocrats still aristocrats. But the merchants move between worlds. B. Peasants have almost as rough a life as they had during the Middle Ages, especially in continental Europe. 1. Their diets are still mostly restricted to stables and they are often subject to the whim of the local Lords, who control the judicial system. 2. Serfdom in Eastern Europe is almost slavery. 3. Villages are the most important social unit. 4. Superstition is still a fact for most peasants, who do not read the latest scientific discoveries. Accusations of witchcraft are still a potent way to control those who are “different” (especially women) and give reason to the inexplicable. Witch crazes pop up in various parts of Europe, wherein thousands of accused witches are put to death. C. Nobles (2-3% of the population) have exclusive privileges, but not all are wealthy —some are as poor as peasants. 1. Nobles disparage merchants, but many marry into a wealthy merchant family in order to save their family inheritance. 2. Some countries have working nobles, who help administer the government while others have military nobles, who are the officers in the armies (whether or not they are good), and others have nobles who are only to entertain the King at court. 3. A complex hierarchy developed among nobles, based on their family, titles, and wealth. 4. Country homes (often mansions) were the most important of places for the nobility (especially in England) though they often had homes in a city as well. These were grand places with lots of rooms. Privacy was valued and servants lived in whole separate wings. 5. Women were segregated from men in many areas. It became custom for men to retire after dinner to a separate room to smoke, drink and discuss important matters, while the ladies retired to the drawing room to gossip. 6. Young gentlemen were expected to go on the “grand tour” of Europe to become more sophisticated. They visited Italy, France, Germany—all the “great cities” and viewed all the great sites of antinquity.