1 / 9

18 th Century Social and Economic Change

18 th Century Social and Economic Change. The Dawn of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. . Economic and demographic changes. 1700, 80% of western Europeans were farmers; higher % in eastern Europe Most people lived in poverty.

august
Download Presentation

18 th Century Social and Economic Change

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. 18th Century Social and Economic Change The Dawn of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions.

  2. Economic and demographic changes • 1700, 80% of western Europeans were farmers; higher % in eastern Europe • Most people lived in poverty. • Significant population growth until 1650; slows down until 1750 when it starts to dramatically rise again.

  3. Population Explosion after 1750 • Limits to population growth before 1700: - famine, disease, war • Reasons for population growth: • disappearance of plague • improved sanitation, • improved transportation for food distribution (canal and road building in western Europe), • increased food supply (esp. potato).

  4. Falling Death Rates • With the exception of England, birth rates did not significantly rise, but death rates fell. • A better nourished population (due to better weather, better agricultural practices, and better transport) led to people living longer.

  5. Impact of Profit Inflation • Inflation due to rising population and increased demand. • “Profit inflation” stimulated economic growth. • By the end of the 18th century, prices outperform wages, leading to hardship for the poor, particularly in France. • Wealth moved more and more from the poor to the wealthy due to high rents and low wages • Regressive tax structure that put the burden on the poor in France and much of the continent caused hardship and led to financial crises.

  6. Protoindustrialization • Cottage Industries: first and foremost a family enterprise (also called “putting-out” system) - Occurred during Agricultural Revolution • Putting-out system: city manufacturers took advantage of cheaper labor in the countryside • increased rural population eager to supplement agricultural income. • began to challenge urban craft industry

  7. The European Linen Industry

  8. Conclusion • Demographic changes in the 18th century were allowing population growth to occur due to expansion in agricultural production. • Population growth contributed to the increased demand, leading to “protoindustrialization” in the textile industries.

More Related