EUROPEAN SOCIAL TRENDS OVERVIEW
By Honor Crandell, Kristin John, Ann Marie Kennedy, and Carly Owens
1450-1648
1648-1815
1815-1914
1914-present
Social Class Structure:
--Key Concept 1.6: The
capitalization of urban and
agrarian economies
redistributed wealth across
social groups and regions
of Europe.
-Not much social mobility;
people knew their place,
and often had little
ambition for change
-With the Age of
Exploration, trade began
to increase, thus creating
a class of wealthy
merchants
-Power of Nobility was
checked under new
monarchs (centralized
power), and new noble
classes were created
-Most people lived in rural
areas on subsistence level
farming, and never went
far from where they were
born
-Serfdom began to
crumble in many areas,
but persisted in E. Euro
-Rise of the Middle Class
-Strict traditional social
structures & punishments
for those who didn’t
comply (Witchcraft trials,
Charrevarre)
-The Reformation did not
seek to redefine social
structure
Social Class Structure:
-European society
continued to be divided
into estates (classes)
which determined one’s
status
-There was an increased
importance on the gain of
wealth
-Nobles married into
wealthy merchant families
(status and wealth)
-Nobility still hard on the
peasants (taxes, fees, etc)
-Key Concept 2.4
The experiences of
everyday life were shaped
by demographic,
environmental, medical,
and technological
changes.
-Peasants went through
somewhat better
conditions (better diet and
improved weather)
**Discontent over feudal
system evident with
Pugachev Revolt in
Russia
-Towns attracted migrants
from the countryside
-Cities grew in size and
were overwhelmed with
the problem of population
and crime
Social Class Structure:
-- Key Concept 3.2: The
experiences of everyday
life were shaped by
industrialization,
depending on the level of
industrial development in
a particular location.
-Development of selfconscious economic
classes
-Proletariat and
bourgeoisie
-Industrial middle class
gained wealth and status
from the profits of
industry
-Increased standard of
living for each individual,
higher wages
-Society became more
diverse and less unified
Social Class Structure:
-Increased standard of
living among all classes
-Education available to
masses
-Civil Rights Movement in
the United States
-Labor unions
-Classes were not clear,
only distinguished by
lifestyles
-Social welfare available
more widely
-Guest workers prominent
in the US and Germany
Family Life:
-Nuclear family (exception
in Eastern Europe)
-Families were a
production unit
-Most families worked
together on the farm (or
shop, etc)
Family Life:
-Nuclear family (exception
of eastern Europe)
-Mid-late 20’s was the
marrying age for both men
and women
-In short, couples delayed
wedlock until they were
Family Life:
-Increasingly separate
spheres for men and
women
-Women expected to
work in the domestic
sphere and be
homemakers; Victorian
Family Life:
- Married at a later age
- Families became “twocareer” as women got
white-collar jobs
- Following WWII,
marriage and divorce rate
increased significantly
-Each family member was
expected to contribute
-During the Age of Crisis,
marriage age went up due
to economic instability
-Families spent a great
deal of time together,
sometimes even sleeping
in the same bed
economically stable
-For the most part,
families labored together
as an economic unit
***Illegitimacy increased
between 1750-1850 due
to the opportunities
provided by the cottage
industry
Ideal
-Smaller families became
the standard, longer life
expectancies
-Younger generation
rebelled with more drugs,
alcohol, and provocative
culture
-Ideal middle class family
in 1950s and 1960s
-Generation gap creates
tensions
Women/Gender Roles:
-Women had few legal
rights, often considered
second class citizens
-Many women needed a
dowry to secure a good
marriage; the dowry was
technically the woman’s
property, and gave her
some power in the
marriage
-Women made some gains
in education during the
Renaissance
-A large gap in marriage
age led to inequality in
marriage in Renaissance
Italy
-In the Ref., marriage and
family life were glorified,
but women lost much of
their role in religion
-As state regulation of
morality increased, as a
result of the Ref.,
prostitution was outlawed
in many areas
-More unmarried women
were sent to towns to work
and bring money back for
their families
-Women were the victims
of Witchcraft trials due to
belief in unmarried
women’s licentiousness,
and suspicion of healers
-Women were largely
excluded from scientific
societies during the
Scientific Revolution
-Discoveries during the
Scientific Revolution were
used to rationalize
womens’ lower statuses.
Women/Gender Roles:
-In agriculture, work was
divided based on gender
-Young women worked in
domestic settings as
maids to earn a sufficient
dowry
-Wet nurses
-Women also worked as
shopkeepers and assisted
their husbands working in
towns
Women/Gender Roles:
--Key Concept 3.2: The
experiences of everyday
life were shaped by
industrialization,
depending on the level of
industrial development in
a particular location.
--Key Concept 3.3: The
problems of
industrialization provoked
a range of ideological,
governmental, and
collective responses.
-Suffragettes advocated
for more rights for
women, mainly the right
to vote
-Middle class women
began to organize and
expand their rights
Women/Gender Roles:
-Key Concept 4.4:
Demographic changes,
economic growth, total
war, disruptions of
traditional social patterns,
and competing definitions
of freedom and justice
altered the experiences of
everyday life.
-Invention of birth control
gave them more
independence
-Women were no longer
married at a young age
nor did they get pregnant
often which allowed them
to build their lifestyle and
career
- Strong reawakening of
feminism in 1960s and
1970s
- Women began wearing
shorter skirts and swearing
in public
-Worked in factories during
the wars
-Believed in “reproductive
rights” such as birth
control and legalized
abortion
Children:
-Children during the
Renaissance, mostly boys,
were to be educated in a
well-rounded way (The
Renaissance Man)
-In order to avoid
unwanted children,
infanticide and the use of
contraception rose
-Children were viewed as
adults from a very young
age
-Extra children the family
couldn't feed were sent to
cities or towns; if they
were lucky they became
part of guilds
Children:
-Expected to contribute to
household
-In towns, boys were
apprenticed to local shops
-Foundling homes to care
for poor children
Key Concept 2.3
The popularization and
dissemination of the
Scientific Revolution and
the application of its
methods to political,
social, and ethical issues
led to an increased,
although not
unchallenged, emphasis
on reason in European
culture.
-New Enlightenment ideas
of childhood innocence
Children:
-Children viewed as
children, given schooling
if the family could afford it
-Increase in education
among middle class
Children:
- Media had large effect on
children
-Child labor laws issued
-Education became
mandatory by 1920
-Recreational activities
grew in popularity
- Baby Boom children
criticized parent’s way of
life
Leisure Time:
-Leisure time was dictated
by the season, and what
time the sun rose and fell.
-During harvest time,
families often spent the
entire day working
-Winter was full of idle time
for rural families
-Festivals served as
entertainment, and a
chance to toss off social
custom for a short period
of time, but reinforced
traditional social structure
-The upper classes read
heavily, but the price of
books remained too high
for many, even after 1455
-Protestantism frowned
upon many of the rowdy
Catholic festivals and
banned prostitution in
many areas. Excessive
drinking became
punishable at times
Leisure Time:
-Grand Tour for male
aristocrats to experience
European culture and arts;
also led to much
prostitution
-Divergence of elite and
popular culture
Leisure Time:
-Difference between
leisure time and work
time becoming
increasingly clear
because of the less
engaging working
environment
-Organized sports grew
throughout Europe,
paralleled military
discipline and promoted
nationalism
Leisure Time:
-Increased standards of
leisure
-Mass cultural
entertainment such as the
television and radio
-Global economy exposed
people to new goods and
technologies
-Increased role of sports,
both recreationally and
professionally
-More interest in fashion
-Cinema
-Dance halls and clubs,
especially during the disco
era
Population:
--Key Concept 1.6: The
capitalization of urban and
agrarian economies
redistributed wealth across
social groups and regions
of Europe.
-Urbanization rose
-Rebound from the Black
Death
-The population rebound
led to the Price Revolution;
this led to economic
hardships
-Slowing birth rate due to
economic instability
-The Thirty Years War led
to massive casualties,
especially in Germany,
and caused a population
slump in that area
-Malnutrition and illness
were widespread, causing
high infant mortality rates
and low life expectancies
Population:
--Key Concept 2.4: The
experiences of everyday
life were shaped by
demographic,
environmental, medical,
and technological
changes.
-Population increase
begins throughout 18th
century
-This due to many factors
including improved diet,
illegitimacy, better
weather, etc.
Population:
--Key Concept 3.2: The
experiences of everyday
life were shaped by
industrialization,
depending on the level of
industrial development in
a particular location.
-Industrialization and
improved public health
and medicine allowed the
population to go 75%,
from 260 to 450 million
-Increase was fueled by a
decrease in the death
rate, not an increase in
birth rate
-Germany and the US
surpassed Britain in
industrial production
Population:
--Key Concept 4.4:
Demographic changes,
economic growth, total
war, disruptions of
traditional social patterns,
and competing definitions
of freedom and justice
altered the experiences of
everyday life.
- More people lived in
urban areas for the first
time rather than rural
-DPs created multiethnic
communities
- Birth control resulted in
decline of birth rate
following 1960s
- Decline in birth rates
during world wars and
Great Depression
-Baby Boom in 1945
-Decolonization led to
change in demographic
patterns
-Life expectancy increases
with new medical
advancements
Social Time:
-For many, life was same
as it was during the MA’s
-Some attempted religious
reform by people like Jan
Huss
-Christian Humanism
pushed for religious reform
from the inside
-Religions struggled for
power after the
Reformation, leading to
many wars
-Baroque Churches
brought people into
worship and be awed by
god/the RCC
Social Time:
Key Concept 2.4: The
experiences of everyday
life were shaped by
demographic,
environmental, medical,
and technological
changes.
Social Time:
-Mass politics arose from
the Dual Revolution;
represented by mass
communication,
democracy and
authoritarianism, and an
increase in conflict
Social Time:
-Sociology became a
popular topic and became
a subject in universities
-Revolts of 1968
-Homosexuality was
decriminalized