Society and Economy under the Old Regime in the

Eighteenth Century

     This chapter discusses what life was like in the eighteenth century in Europe before 1789. Why only until 1789? That is when the French Revolution began. They called this time period the Old Regime or ancien regime. This term stands for the following:

1. Politically, the term stood for absolute monarchies, large bureaucracies, and armies led by aristocrats.

2. Economically, it was marked by the lack of food, agrarian economy, slow transport, little iron production, unsophisticated finances, and sometimes commercial overseas empires.

3. Socially, it was exemplified by tradition and hierarchy.

     In this chapter you will also learn about family structures and the family economy system. Also, you can't forget two revolutions in this chapter (that change everything in Europe)! The agricultural and industrial revolutions. Enjoy!

Things you should know:

• The varied privileges and powers of Europe's aristocracies in the Old Regime and their efforts to increase their wealth.
• The plight of rural peasants.
• Family structure and family economy.
• The transformation of Europe's economy by the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions.
• Urban growth and the social tensions that accompanied it.
• The strains on the institutions of the Old Regime brought about by social change. 

Review Questions

1. What kinds of privileges separated European aristocrats from other social groups?
1. How did their privileges and influence affect other people living in the countryside?
2. What was the condition of serfs in central and Eastern Europe?
3. Define the term family economy.
1. How did the family economy constrain the lives of women in preindustrial Europe. 
4. What caused the Agricultural Revolution?
1. How did the English aristocracy contribute to the Agricultural Revolution?
5. Why did the peasants revolt in the eighteenth century?
6. Why did Europe's population increase in the eighteenth century?
1. How did population growth affect consumption?
7. What was the Industrial Revolution and what caused it?
8. Why did Great Britain take the lead in the Industrial Revolution?
9. How did consumers contribute to the Industrial Revolution?
10. How did the distribution of population in cities and towns change?
11. How did the lifestyle of the upper class compare to that of the middle and lower classes?
12. What were some of the causes of urban revolts?
13. Where were the largest Jewish populations in the eighteenth century?
14. What were the sources of prejudices against Jews?

Terms

1. Old Regime (ancien regime)
2. Game Laws
3. Pugachev Rebellion
4. Agricultural Revolution
5. Jethro Tull
6. Charles Townsend
7. Robert Bakewell
8. Enclosure system
9. Industrial Revolution 
10. John Kay
11. James Hargreave
12. James Watt
13. Richard Arkwright
14. Edmund Cartwright
15. Urbanization
16. Bourgeoisie
17. Jewish Ghettos
    

Here is the PowerPoint for this chapter. 

Start now! Don't procrastinate!