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The Structure of 19 th Century Society. Suffering peasants in the Irish Famine. The Aristocracy. Consisted of traditional landholders as well and the upper gentry. Challenged by the new industrial wealth of the middle classes (only some aristocrats become capitalists.)
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The Structure of 19th Century Society Suffering peasants in the Irish Famine
The Aristocracy • Consisted of traditional landholders as well and the upper gentry. • Challenged by the new industrial wealth of the middle classes (only some aristocrats become capitalists.) • They still controlled most of the important positions of power in government and most of the wealth in the nation.
The Middle Class • Confident and assertive group of the 19th century. • Bankers, industrialists, professionals, and “white collar” workers. • Strongly opposed aristocratic privilege. • Middle class values of hard work, self reliance, temperance, and the patriarchal family permeate all levels of society.
Artisans and Skilled Labor • Most independent of any of the classes in their work and position. • Elimination of the guild system opened new free market possibilities. • Skill laborers faced competition from machines, but often learned to work with them. • Led labor movements with successful strikes despite labor unions being illegal.
The Working Class • Consisted of mostly unskilled wage laborers in the masses who move to the cities. • More than half the workers in factories are women and a quarter are children do to lower wages and their ability to be intimidated. • Faced dangerous working conditions. • Harsh discipline used by factory managers. • Often lived in slum conditions. Women miners in Wales
The Peasants • Still the largest class in most of Europe in the early 19th century (Britain one exception). • Position changes dramatically with the end of feudal obligations after the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. • Entering the free marked ended many protections brought by feudal obligations (some succeed as farmers, others forced into wage labor on large farms or in cities. • Often distrustful of reformers and outsiders attempting to improve their conditions.
Population • Population in Europe during the 18th century more than doubles in many areas. • Cities grow, London reaches 1 million in 1800 (6.7 million by 1900) • Population grows due to less disease, increase in food supply, improving sanitation, and lower age of marriage. • Irish Famine exposed problems of liberal economy; death of millions compounded by market forces. Once place in Europe where population declines.
Social Welfare • The 19th century saw an increase in charity despite liberal bias against it; still mainly through churches and work houses. • Child labor reform is enacted, raising ages and lowering hours. • Compulsory education is introduced in most European nations. Child laborers in mines