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History Notes General History III: 1400–1650 (Renaissance, Recovery and Reform) Notes

Capitalism Notes

Updated Capitalism Notes

General History III: 1400–1650 (Renaissance, Recovery and Reform) Notes

General History III: 1400–1650 (Renaissance, Recovery and Reform)

Approximately 43 pages

These notes provide comprehensive cover of the General III Preliminary paper. They were the sole resource that I used for my preliminary examination revision, in which I achieved a mark of 69%. They include a wealth of specific and detailed examples spanning across the whole of Europe, as well as discussion of a broad range of historiography, making them a complete resource for studying for the prelim in General III. They are often structured around key questions, meaning that they also come in u...

The following is a more accessible plain text extract of the PDF sample above, taken from our General History III: 1400–1650 (Renaissance, Recovery and Reform) Notes. Due to the challenges of extracting text from PDFs, it will have odd formatting:

GIII Revision Notes.

Capitalism.

1. What caused the transition from feudalism to capitalism?

  • Organise into 4 categories:

  • Class struggle.

  • Agricultural, technological and organisational innovation.

  • Exchange of goods.

  • Background factors (demographics, religion, culture).

  • BRENNER DEBATE = key.

  • Marxist: saw class struggle as cause of change, rather than changing prod methods.

  • Tensions came from small-scale agriculture’s inability to innovate.

  • Growth in population and rising grain prices made land more valuable, and ENGLISH farmers leased it to large capitalist farmers.

  • In the unique class environment of England, the landlord-capitalist tenant structure was strongest, enabling capitalism to develop particularly well there.

  • Credits this with England escaping relatively unscathed from crisis of C17th.

  • Despite some protestations (e.g. Kett’s rebellion 1549), landlords controlled 70-75% by C17th.

  • Overseas expansion had some impact, although Brenner stresses LIMITATIONS.

  • Depending on overseas produce could be damaging e.g. Dutch over-reliance on overseas grain 1750.

  • “Self-perpetuating dynamic” (Brenner) central to Eng success.

  • Contrasting situation in France: peasants stronger.

  • E.g. villages acquired common rights.

  • Impacted the way that the two countries’ monarchies developed.

  • In France, state developed in comp with lords – kept rents low so peasant taxes high.

  • Peasants defined themselves more in opposition to the state in France than in Eng.

  • ^ emphasises importance of class structure.

  • Croot & Parker criticise: say Brenner over-emph’s French peasantry strength.

  • Class structure is also cited as a reason for the development of capitalism by Croot & Parker, who credit the “celebrated class of English yeomanry” and their enterprising attitude (in contrast with pov-stricken mass in France).

  • Other side of debate focuses on MALTHUSIAN CYCLES (demographics).

  • Says had to improve techniques to feed pop (>20 mill in France c. 1600).

  • Pop did grow significantly: doubled 60-120 mill. Brit & Scandinavia x 3.

  • Fewer famines and epidemics (e.g. compared to 1347-50 Black Death).

  • Poverty had an impact.

  • B Geremek’s argument: low wages = “a driving force in the evolution of capitalism”.

  • E.g. developed esp quickly in Florence, many impoverished craftsmen.

  • Put forward in Marx’s Capital.

  • Low wages = max profits.

  • Increasing power of landlords:

  • Enclosure gave more power to big landowners.

  • Development of money lending also gave power to wealthy businessmen.

  • Culturally, the period saw an increased emphasis on the importance of a strong work ethic.

  • E.g. loss of f’dom and enforced work for criminals and unemployed.

  • E.g. 1552 Eng – special commission called for by Edward VI and Nicolas Ridley, Bishop of LDN drafted proposals for confinement of vagrants to poorhouses with a strict work regimen. ‘Bridewell’ at Bridewell est before 1557. 200 ‘Bridewells’ set up shortly after.

  • Contributed to by Protestantism: emphasis on the individual, working hard to find calling and achieve salvation.

  • R S DuPlessis talks of a “Protestant ethic”.

  • Evidenced by ^ desire to harness time (Kamen).

  • Ev by ^ clockmakers, e.g. 0 in Geneva 1515 v 27-30 masters by 1600.

  • Agricultural improvement led to growing home markets for goods, ESPECIALLY IN ENGLAND.

  • Also meant that more could enter industry in towns (long term).

  • Brenner talks of “a nearly unique symbiotic relationship between agriculture and industry”.

  • Specialisation in crops led to more opps for wage labour, as early as C14th.
    E.g. wine growing.

  • Overseas expansion and the subsequent increase in wealth impacted.

  • Labelled “the prime solvent of Europe’s feudal order” by Immanuel Wallerstein.

  • Note geographical variation.

  • Emph’d by Brenner: “wholly disparate overall patterns”.

  • “By no means unilinear” (Friedrichs).

  • Note: happened sporadically – not all developments favourable to capitalism.

  • E.g. Le Roy Ladurie has argued (from C16th and 17th Languedoc) that wars distracted people from economics and the ‘capital of human energy’ was wasted on relig wars.

2. What were the features of the shift from feudalism to capitalism?

Were these different in towns compared to in the countryside?

Did the period see significant globalisation?

  • “The first half of the sixteenth century is marked by a sudden upsurge of agrarian capitalism in western Europe” – Croot & Parker.

  • Beginning of money lending.

  • E.g....

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