01:510:102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Early Modern Europe, Winter Wheat, Field System
12 May 2018
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Chapter 15 - The Experiences of Life in Early Modern
Europe, 1500-1650
Economic Life
• Class dictated culture more than country or geography
1. Nobles from across Europe had more in common with each other
than with peasants on their own manors
• Trends:
1. Increase in agricultural production - more land brought into
cultivation and cleared
2. Increase in population
3. Increase in commodity prices
Rural Life in the 16th Century:
• 90% of the people lived on farms and small villages
1. Social organization revolved around three factors: Manor, Parish
and rural administration
• Cost peasants up to 50% of their income
• Bad harvests presented a constant threat
• Household: family unit (home)
1. Life centered on the hearth
2. Few possessions: wooden chest, few clothes, straw bed, table +
chairs (luxury)
3. Rarely traveled outside village
• Agriculture:
1. Northern Europe: 3 field system - winter wheat / rye, spring
barley, peas, beans
2. Mediterranean World: 2 field rotation, olives and grapes
supplemented income
3. Mountains: Animal husbandry - sheep (mountains), pigs
(woodlands), cattle (farms)
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4. Impact: agriculture was the main profession, land was the
principle resource
• Lords owned land - rented it
• Western Europe peasants owned a greater percentage of
land
• Feudal contracts dominated social / econ. Relationship
• Fields were planted / harvested communally
• Town Life
1. Guilds dominated social / econ. Life
• set standards for training, labor conditions, wages and
quality standards
1. Towns were interdependent upon one another and the
countryside
2. 25% poverty rate, general welfare better than the countryside
3. Larger the town the greater the specialization of labor
• Economic Change:
1. Population explosion between 1550 and 1650
2. At first an increase in agricultural production (increased land in
production)
• Cycle of growth resulted in surplus labor and commodities
for urban growth
• Eventually population outgrew production (new farm land
tended to be less productive)
1. Population increases caused problems in cities
• Increased poverty, crime, lower wages
Price Revolution:
• Between 1500 and 1650 cereal prices increased 5 to 6 times,
manufactured goods 2 to 3 times
1. Causes:
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Document Summary
Chapter 15 - the experiences of life in early modern. Relationship: fields were planted / harvested communally, town life, guilds dominated social / econ. Price revolution: between 1500 and 1650 cereal prices increased 5 to 6 times, manufactured goods 2 to 3 times, causes, population increase, war and increased state deficits led to debasement of. Increase in precocious metals (new world) currency: highly susceptible to inflationary problems, long term rents (99 years), rights to purchase products at fixed prices. Impact: new understanding of wealth: people used to see land / tenants as wealth (asset), shift to liquid assets as a sign of wealth. Life was in a state of change: new worlds, centralization of state, war and religious reform. Local communities: guided by lords (acted as administrators of justice) and priests (conduits of communication) Weddings: public events which served as a rite of passage into the adult community, property was exchanged and status was conferred (maintained a stable society)
