elites and bourgeoisie Flashcards
nobles
there were a number of ways of entering the nobility (hereditary and non-hereditary).
- non-hereditary titles could be achieved for civil and military service of when of sufficient wealth to purchase,
- they were often exempt from taxation and given preferential treatments in universities and churches.
- some of the nobility worked (In Germany they were encouraged to join the army).
aristocracy
-part of the nobility but they were more exclusive and restricted. They were composed of only a few large families bound by kingship and wealth (Mayer)
bourgeoisie
those who possessed property, had a readiness to work for a living, an education and a sense of superiority to town workers and peasants. It was characterised by relative affluence.
peasants
-this formed the bulk of the population which remained dependent on agriculture.
examples in Germany where the aristocracy persisted
- in 1913, 75% of the members of the upper house in the Prussian Landtag were nobles
- Following the emancipation of peasants, many were given a huge indemnity. In Bohemia, seven families were paid nearly 7 million florins, adjusting their lifestyle to maintain large swathes of land.
many entailed their land so it could be passed to descendants. in 1850, there were 519 entails covering 1 million hectares. - 673 entrepreneurs were made councillors in Westphalia but just 9 were ennobled, including 5 members of the Essen family who had noble heritage.
-Franz Brandts was still being refused in 1888 due to his support for the Catholic centre arty which was perceived too ultra-montane.
-were economic titles conferred to compensate for a lack of political representation?
examples where the aristocracy were replaced in Germany
-Blum - sectors which required certain skills were based more on a meritocracy. In 1806, 695/8000 Prussian army officers were bourgeois but by 1865, this increased to nearly half.
Between 1888-1918, William II was responsible for 836 ennoblements of militarism officers.
- the emancipation of peasants forced many to sell parts of their land. By the end of the 19th century, only one third of the knight’s estates in the Prussian provinces east of the Elbe were still owned by noblemen.
-Burghers brought some of this land either for business propositions and other for the social cachet that accompanied owning land. In Prussia, bourgeois proprietors owned estates averaged 500 hectares.
-Ringer - in an analysis of the occupations of European elites 1830-1930 suggests that the most eminent men achieved fame through extra-professional contributions. In Germany the academics alone accounted for 44%.
-Prince Wertheim-Freudenberg married a Burgher’s daughter suggesting embourgeoisement.
- Kaudelka-Hanisch - The title designed for businessmen in Prussia was commercial councillor. They exercised a quasi-bureaucratic role within state councils of commerce. They sat alongside civil servants, giving their advice on economic matters
why was Germany not very resilient?
- poor aristocrats in the first place as they had held land in the eastern parts of the empire which was less productive
- there was thus not a huge gap in the first place.
- Because of this many sold parts of their land or were encouraged to join the military. This was more permeable/ an avenue to titles.
maintaining aristocratic titles in Russia
- Blum - In 1905 in Russia, 9% of the 107,237 noble proprietors owned 72% of the land still in the hands of nobles.
- They became involved in capitalist enterprises. In 1909, Grand Duke Vladimir Aleksandrovich owned railroad shares worth over 1 million rubles.
- Manning - Following the emancipation of slaves, local power relations changed and therefore members of the gentry, such as Alexander Izwolsky, became ‘justices of the peace’, replacing the dominion that former serf-owners had had over the peasantry. They fulfilled much the same role.
- many serfs were still landless (in 1902, 84.4% of all farm labourers were live-in farm hands of farm servants)
changes to the aristocracy in Russia
- Emancipation of serfs meant that many brought previously owned noble land. They still had a much higher land tax than nobles, however. By 1877, Russian peasants either as individuals or in communes owned 118 million desiastins and by 1905 their holdings amounted to 63% of all privately-owned land in European Russia
- Mayer - Industrialisation transformed the nature of warfare allowing for the expansion of troops beyond the capacity of the landed nobility to command them and with technology that now required specialist training. This gave capitalists a competitive edge against the landed aristocracy with non-hereditary titles now being given for civil and military service. By 1895, nearly half of the 31,350 army officers were of non-noble birth.
persistence of the aristocracy in France
- in France, 75-300 French army generals were noblemen. Most seats in the upper chambers were reserved for noblemen.
- in 1902 in France 30% of the boards of directors of railroads were members.
- Unlike in Russia where the nobility still retained large amounts of land, it was rarer in France. A property of over 100 hectares was considered large.
- Rothschild and Joseph de Villele (noble) worked together to finance the Spanish expedition.
- -During the restoration, the lower chamber never held a proportion of less than 40-60% of nobles on the benches of the deputies in 1831, one in ten of the deputies were old regime aristocrats and the number of nobles increased in parliamentary office during the July monarchy.
changes to the aristocracy in France
- Higgs - in 1790, nobles were legislated out of existence. However, it acc grew
- there was no longer a legal sanction and therefore affluent families added de to their name to elevated there status.
- the divide between the educated and the entrepreneurial-technical elites was not as pronounced in France as in Germany. There were Ecole Centrale and Ecole d’arts et metiers acted as technical institutions. The Ecole Polytechnique was a school of military and civil engineering but also trained a small number of technicians and business leaders. It prepared 28% of the business and technical leadership between 1830-1930. Technology got a degree of prestige that was unparalleled in Germany and Britain
- Capitalists encouraged their children to marry into the nobility. This united the grands bourgeoius of champagne, sugar, steel with renowned dynasties like d’uzes and Polignac
persistence of the aristocracy in Britain
- the aristocracy remaining both landed and loyal to the crown, church and empire as opposed to just the acquisition of profit
- by 1914, 9/10 of the membership of the House of Lords were landed aristocrats and it remained invariably true until the turn of the century that Britain’s wealthiest men were landowners
- Between 1800 and 1914, only one Manchester cotton manufacturer left an estate of over a million. Personal wealth may have increased but could no rival the existing aristocracy.
- Mayer - The church sanctified those who were born noble, powerful and wealthy and this had established strong ties between the church and the landed elite, providing the legitimating force of time. - Among the most highly educated groups in Britain, the clergy ranked much higher than it did on the continent while the liberal and entrepreneurial-technical elites ranked lower.
- Among the most highly educated groups in Britain, the clergy ranked much higher than it did on the continent while the liberal profession ranked much lower. (15.7% 1830-1930 vs 0.9% in France)
changes to the aristocracy in Britain
- between 1886 and 1914, approximately sixty-two out of a total of two hundred and forty-six new titles went to representatives of business and finance with Salisbury claiming the premiership from Gladstone in 1886.
- Britain and France have more capitalists to marry and therefore emulate. This led to permeation. Van der built family went bankrupt and married Consuela into the Churchill family. Similar social circles made this possible
persistence of the aristocracy in Italy
- surviving probate records show that of the 86 large landowners whose estates went through probate between 1862 and 1885, 78% came from the ranks of the aristocracy.
- Cardoza - In piedmont, a prominent landed family, the Avogadro Della Motta doubled their already substantial properties in the plains of Vercelli between 1748 and 1865
- Piedmont - they pioneered land reclamation, the construction of irrigation canals and the expansion of rice cultivation. They could therefore exert social power even if The statuto Albertino confirmed the equality of all citizens before the law regardless of their title or rank.
- The number of titled gentlemen who served as directors on the boards of joint stock companies quintupled between 1895 and 1905.
- As late as 1910, nobles still served as mayors in more than forty rural communes
changing aristocracy in Italy
- within provincial cities of the north, power seemed to shift from the old landholding families to a new elite of ambitious professionals.
- Lyttelton - Lawyers became the personnel of government. This was party because, at the turn of the century, improvements to education in Italy meant law faculties were producing twice as many lawyers as there were vacancies.
- Between 1911-21, the number employed by central government increased by one third
