Society and Economy Under
the Old Regime
Social History in the 18th Century
Characteristics of The Old Regime
• Absolutism
• Large Bureaucracy and Armies
• Urban Labor Force: Guilds
• Rural Peasantry: Taxed heavily
– Pay for Aristocratic Privilege
• Desire to maintain status quo
Challenges to the Old Regime
• Increase population
• Increased Consumer Demand
• Increase of Food Costs
• Increased Intellectual Developments
• Peasants on the Verge of Famine
• Changing Social Classes
– Growth of Cities and Urban Population
– Greater Demand on Crop Production
Western Aristocracy
• British Nobility
– Most Responsible of Aristocrats
– Balanced Interest in Parliament
• House of Lords and House of Commons
– Smallest and Wealthiest Nobles in Europe
– Noble and Common Man Pay Taxes
– Dominated Local Government (Counties)
Western Aristocracy
• French Nobility Split
into Two Groups
– Nobility of the Sword
and Nobility of the Robe
– Exempt From Taxes
and Corvées
– Expensive to maintain
prominent status in
government
Eastern Aristocracy
• Polish Nobility (Szlachta)
– Right of Life and Death Over Serfs
– Exempt From all Taxes
– Relatively Poor but the Few With
Immense Estates had Political Power
• Austria and Hungary
– Broad Judicial Powers by Manorial
Courts
– Local Nobility Wield Significant Power
– Various Degrees of Tax Exemption
Eastern Aristocracy
• Prussia
– Nobles Made up
Bureaucracy and Army
Officers
– Extensive Judicial Authority
• Russia
– Table of Ranks
– Widows Inherited Rank
(Title) of Husband
– Harshest Repression on
Serfs
– Exempt from Personal
Taxes
Family and Economy in the 18th Century
• Agricultural Revolution
• Urbanization
– Emerging modern class system
– Upper class rule cities
– Poor artisans and shopkeepers
organize into guilds
• Early Industrial
Revolution
– Begins in Great Britain
– New Methods of Textile
production
– The Steam Engine
– Iron Production
– Coal Consumption
• Lower Class Riots very
common
Impact on Family
• Cottage Industries (West)
• Family means of
•
• Urbanization
– Cities serve as
•
•
•
•
production and
consumption
East vs West
– Western Families Grow
Smaller, nuclear (Preindustrialized)
– Eastern Families remain
large and extended
(Agrarian)
Industrial centers
Market towns
Financial centers
Capital cities (National and
Regional)
• Growth overwhelms city
•
•
governments
Conditions for poor are
atrocious.
Private philanthropy
assist poor
Impact of Women and Children
• Women
• Increased role in
•
•
•
household economy
Decreased role in
textiles (temporary)
Displaced peasant
women become
servants
Increased promiscuity
and unwanted
children
• Children
– Participated in Family
economy
– Son would carry on
family business
– Extras would become
servants as teens or
join the work force
– Increase in orphans
– Infanticide