(1600-1800)
I.
Intro
II.
Society’s Structure
III. Nobility
A. England vs. French
IV.
The “Masses”
A. Mortality Rates
B. Family
C.
Women’s Lives
D. Peasant Life
• Pugachev Rebellion
E. Urban Workers &
Guilds
F. Fun/Entertainment
Key Terms
• Bourgeoisie
• Family Economy
• Cottage Industry
• Dowry
• Corvée
• Emelian
Pugachev
• Apprentice
• Journeyman
• Master

• General term for “middle class” (primarily in
France)
• Included shopkeepers, skilled workers, business owners, bankers, etc.

Nobles/Lords: 1-5%
Clergy: 5-10%
Bourgeoisie: 5-10%
The “Masses”
75-85%

England
• About 400 families
(House of Lords)
• Passed all laws
France
• Nobles of Sword
(served the king);
Nobles of Robe
(purchased a title)
• Nobles did not pay taxes!

• Bolshoi Ballet started as a dance school in
1700s
• Theater opened in
1800s
Bolshoi Theater, Moscow

• Gambling, adultery, hunting, tennis, opera, ballet, dances & elaborate dinner parties, salons, etc.
• Food: Breads and wine/hard liquor & coffee; greater amounts of food were available & exotic spices

(Dress & Manners)
Men wore wigs; 1,200 shops
Culottes
(Knee breeches)
The diameter of some dresses was nine feet across

• Average life expectancy: 15-20 years shorter for the “Masses” than nobility (H ôtel Dieu)
• Disease & Accidents = biggest killers
• Diet was monotonous & not balanced:

Staples-Black bread & beer

For most, very little meat or fresh vegetables
Hospital For The Poor

• Men/Fathers: Plowing, planting, running a shop; also became migrant workers
• Women/Mothers: “Carriers,” childrearing/ raising, “Deputy
Husbands; earned extra $$$
• Children: Laborers (age seven)
– 25% of infants died before age one; 55% before age ten
• Servants: Laborers, but weren’t slaves
Peasant Family in France

• Spinning Wheel
• Women set their own pace & made extra money

• She worked as a servant to help earn money for her family
• Others might work to earn money for a dowry
Griet

Dowry
– Wealth given by a bride to her husband upon marriage
– Women often worked 10 years to build their dowry
 Childbirth & Abandonment; many women worked as “wet nurses” or prostitutes (40-
60,000 in Paris)
 “Rule of Thumb”
 It was legal to beat one’s wife with a stick as long as the stick was no thicker than the husband’s thumb

• About 75% of Europe’s population lived as peasants/serfs.
• Peasants “rented” land from Nobles.
• Peasants could be bought, sold & traded.

• Nobles & Clergy-did not pay taxes; Peasants
& Bourgeoisie paid taxes

Those with the least wealth paid the most in taxes

Peasants worked 12-15 days of unpaid labor per year for the state (roads, bridges, etc)

(1773-1774)
Emelian Pugachev
(c. 1742-1775)
• A former soldier who led a mass rebellion attacking serfdom & monarchy of
Catherine the Great.
• Controlled a large area in eastern Russia including
Kazan.
• He was captured, tortured and executed; ending the rebellion.

(Early industry)
• Master
- Shop-owner (if they had enough money & connections).
• Journeyman
- After completing seven year apprenticeship they could receive “Journeyman
Papers .” Received wage plus room & board.
• Apprentice
-worked for room & board only
(seven year term), but with a hope of advancement .
• Unskilled Laborer
-received room & board with little or no hope of advancement.

Journeymen
Master
Apprentice
Unskilled Laborers

Public Punishments

Gambling/Card-playing, Casinos, Lottery

Gambling On Cockfights
Razor-sharp

Taverns
In London, the average male consumed 100 gallons of beer or ale per year (one quart per day).

Religious Ceremonies: A Christening

Soccer

(1600-1800)
I.
Intro
II.
Society’s Structure
III. Nobility
A. England vs. French
IV.
The “Masses”
A. Mortality Rates
B. Family
C.
Women’s Lives
D. Peasant Life
• Pugachev Rebellion
E. Urban Workers &
Guilds
F. Fun/Entertainment
Key Terms
• Bourgeoisie
• Family Economy
• Cottage Industry
• Dowry
• Corvée
• Emelian
Pugachev
• Apprentice
• Journeyman
• Master