Life in the Era of Expansion (1650-1800) Flashcards
marriage patterns and families
to research this topic historians have to use registers of births, deaths and marriages.
normally, when young europeans married they established their own households away from their parents (nuclear families). in the 17th and 18th centuries most people did not marry at a young age.
in eastern Europe it was different: multigenerational household was the norm and marriage occurred much earlier.
work away from home
many young people worked within their families until they could start their own households but many others left to work elsewhere; boys became apprentices or did some other tough work available in towns and girls left to become apprentices or domestic servants and such.
wages for women were much lower and they were more easily abused than men.
premarital sex and community controls
premarital sex did not result in a large proportion of illegitimate births in most parts of Europe before 1750.
this could be amounted to the knowledge of contraceptive methods but only a little as they were not sophisticated. it had more to do with community pressure to marry. this pressure in traditional villages also meant that premarital sex was not entered into lightly and mostly happened between people who were already in a relationship or engaged.
community remained engaged in the couples lives even after the marriage and the humiliation tactics were seen as something that helps to hold individual moral standards.
community controls
a patter of cooperation and common action in a traditional village that sought to uphold the economic, social and moral stability of the close knit community.
charivari
degrading public rituals used by village communities to police personal behaviour and maintain moral standards
illegitimacy explosion
the sharp increase in out-of-wedlock births that occurred in Europe between 1750-1850, caused by low wages and breakdown of community controls.
new marriage patterns and illegitimacy
second half of the 18th century led young people to make decisions about their marriage for themselves. this increasing freedom of action was translated from the increasing economic freedom that young people experienced.
this loosening of control resulted in the illegitimacy explosion in western Europe as people engaged in sexual activity much more often. however, marriage happened less often as men did not follow through when wages dropped and everything became more expensive.
sex on the margins of society
prostitution was quite popular among married and unmarried men. however, after a long period of tolerance prostitution experienced harsh and repressive laws in the 16th and 17th centuries. the repression did not stop the business from flourishing even in the 18th century. women who were forced to work as prostitutes maintained their worker contacts but when they were caught they could be imprisoned or banished. they also faced a threat from diseases. courtesans had it better off as they had wealthy protectors who provided for them.
same sex relations were even more taboo than prostitution as they went against the bible’s limitations for sex. nobles could indulge in it more openly if they also produced heirs. in the late 17th century the bigger cities saw a rise in homosexual subculture.
same sex relations also happened between women but they received less attention and condemnation. at the end of the 18th century the beginnings of a distinctive lesbian subculture emerged in bigger cities.
child care and nursing
the joy of pregnancy was overshadowed by fear for the infant and its mother as childbirth was dangerous and many died as infants or in childhood.
breast feeding was normal among the poorer in the countryside. it helped to prevent pregnancy and also made the child’s chances of survival higher.
areas or classes that did not breastfeed saw higher rates of infant mortality. alternatives were cow’s or goat’s milk and paying lactating women to provide milk. wet-nursing was common practice but it did raise the chances for infant mortality.
wet-nursing
a widespread and flourishing business in the 18th century in which women were paid to breast-feed other women’s babies.
foundlings and infanticide
abortion was illegal, dangerous and rare and when women could not or did not want to take care of their children they could hide their pregnancies, deliver in secret and killed their child (illegal and happened in the countryside).
another option was to give them to orphanages which numbers increased in the cities across Europe.
attitudes towards children
varying opinions:
- high mortality rates prevented parents from forming emotional attachments to young children.
- there is evidence that parents did care to some extent if not a lot.
- discipline of children was very severe as it was influenced by the overall violent and brutal society.
- after the enlightenment the critics called for greater tenderness toward children and proposed new teaching methods.
spread of elementary schools
in the second half of the 17th century schools aimed at educating the children of common people started to emerge and grow in numbers.
religion played an important role in the spread of education.
popular literature
thanks to the spread of education the literacy rates went up. this promoted the growth in reading. bible retained its importance but short pamphlets were the staple of popular literature. entertaining and humorous stories were other favourites. some popular literature was highly practical (agriculture, crafts, etc.).
common people had contact with enlightenment ideas especially in urban areas through gossips and pamphlets.
leisure and recreation
in the villages culture still remained largely oral.
a common recreational practice for men was to go to a tavern to drink and talk with his buddies and more and more strong liquor was favoured.
larger cities offered pleasure gardens, theatres, lending libraries, urban fairs, spectator sports.
religious festivals and popular recreation merged as well.
blood sports
events such as bullbaiting and cockfighting that involved inflicting violence and bloodshed on animals and that were popular with the 18th century European masses.
carnival
the few days of revelry in catholic countries that preceded lent and that included drinking, masquerading, dancing, and rowdy spectacles that upset the established order.
new foods and appetites
ordinary men and women (before the shift) depended on grain (bread), water, wine, beer. they also eat peas, beans and vegetables. fruit was available in the summer months. milk was used to make cheese and butter. meat was something very special and not eaten often.
small traders and artisans ate more diverse food. meats, vegetables, fruits, bread, beans.
the rich ate very differently; abundant meat and fish, sauces, sweets, cheeses, wine.
later on more people had access to more diverse foods, especially when tomatoes, potatoes, corn and squash entered the markets.
tea, sugar, coffee, chocolate, tobacco spread across classes.
just price
the idea that prices should be fair, protecting both consumers and producers, and that they should be imposed by government decrees if necessary.
toward a consumer society
this shift led to a society in which people derived their self-identity as much from their consuming practices as from their working lives and place in the production process. new notions of individuality and self-expression developed.
merchants at the time actually tried to incite demand with marketing campaigns, diversified selection of products and acceleration of turnover of styles.
women took the lead in the spread of fashion and they consumed much more than men.
new attitudes about privacy, individualism and intimate life also emerged.
standards of public and bodily hygiene also improved.
church hierarchy
religion became much more important in the 18th century. the parish churches remained very important in community life. state, however, had much more control over the church leadership and organization, especially in protestant areas but papal authority was weakened.
church hierarchy
religion became much more important in the 18th century. the parish churches remained very important in community life. state, however, had much more control over the church leadership and organization, especially in protestant areas but papal authority was weakened.
catholicism did see a revival to some extent as many groups did missionary work and helped to converge protestants back.
protestant revival
it started in Germany and was known as pietism, but it soon spread to Scandinavia.
pietism
a protestant revival movement in early 18th century Germany and Scandinavia that emphasized a warm and emotional religion, the priesthood of all believers, and the power of Christian rebirth in everyday affairs.
methodists
members of a protestant revival movement started by John Wesley (1703-1791), so called because they were so methodical in their devotion.
catholic piety
baroque art still flourished in catholic churches and people participated more in formal worship. church had an integral part in the community life and popular culture. catholics also had their own version of protestantist pietism called Jansenism.
Jansenism
a sect of catholicism originating with Cornelius Jansen (1585-1638) that emphasized the heavy weight of original sin and accepted the doctrine of predestination; it was outlawed as heresy by the pope.
marginal beliefs and practices
in the countryside many people continued to hold marginal religious beliefs or even pagan ones. there was often also strong christian faith that was combined with time-honored superstitions.
faith healing and general practice
this type of practice remained very popular especially in the countryside. apothecaries in the cities sold herbs, drugs and patent medicine for every thinkable disease. most of these were made with plants from the colonies.
physicians (mainly men) were popular, but did not normally conduct a physical examination. they did experiment with new methods but the traditional way was deeply rooted.
improvements in surgery
surgeons begun to study anatomy very seriously and improved their art. army surgeons led the way in innovations. painkillers, however, were non-existent and operations were conducted in unsanitary conditions.
midwifery
these women continued to deliver the majority of babies and treated female problems. after some innovations were made (forceps) surgeon-physicians tried to monopolize over this business as well. women also continued to deal with the nursing. as such women continued to conduct the bulk of the informal medical care.
conquest of smallpox
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (early 18th century) made the first breakthrough as she learned of the smallpox inoculation in the Muslim lands. Edward Jenner (1749-1823) made the crucial breakthrough when in 1796 he performed the first vaccination and in 1798 he published his findings.
