History Notes Reformation to Revolution 1517-1789 Notes
Extremely useful alongside the "magic and witchcraft" notes as they compliment each other. These notes detail the various ways in which religious pluralism and the development of centralised state affected toleration and persecution and different examples of toleration throughout Europe.
Notes concerning the development of cities throughout the early modern period, specifically focused on European cities. Details of the different ways in which various cities developed alongside historiographic...
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Question: Why did the population of Europe experience a period of sustained growth in the eighteenth century, when in previous centuries such growth had proved temporary?
Reasons:
Fall in average age at first marriage
Wrigley and Schofield
Couples married for longer – more children
Infant mortality falls – children more likely to survive to adulthood
Multiplier effect if these children marry and reproduce young
Fewer and less destructive wars
The end of plague in western Europe
Better medical care available to more people
Better living conditions for more people
Development of cities
Increased food production and better distribution
Write about how each individual factor affected:
Birth rate
Death rate
Fertility, average age of marriage, availability of medicines
Paragraphs:
Introduction
Agriculture
Fertility rates improving along with diet; birth rate increases; farming techniques developing increasing yield; death rate decreases because more food; ability to raise children to adulthood; without agricultural developments the demographic increase impossible; people need feeding; technology lowers death rate link to next paragraph by talking about bad nutrition making the populace more prone to epidemics
Disease
Impact of plague on previous society; death rates exceeding birth rate; idea that plague not the worst disease, fevers killing more people over time – death rate; infant mortality rates; better nutrition from agricultural advances leads to reduction in epidemics throughout Europe; link to next paragraph by talking about the spread of disease by an army
War
Perhaps the actual violence of war would not affect death rates too much – small armies; marching soldiery spread diseases and disrupted agriculture and infrastructure – this was the real impact of war – massive effect on death rate; link to next paragraph by talking about the impact of industrialisation on
Industrialisation
Influx of population into cities in previous centuries makes them disease centres; expansion of cities leads to less cramped conditions – slower spread of disease; death rates lower; more people working; introduction of commerce; people buying food instead of growing it; economic developments lead to people having more money – more food – better nutrition – lower death rates; more people in closer proximity – higher birth rate; escape from Malthusian trap due to technological advances improve living not just increase people; link to next paragraph by talking about impact of industrialisation on age of marriage
Marriage rate
Average age of marriage fell – birth rate increased because people start reproducing earlier; coupled with decreased death rate and infant mortality (agricultural developments and medicine) the children more likely to survive, to have more children; the Malthusian trap was avoided because of increased living quality (industrialisation)
Conclusion
General idea that there has always been a high birth rate, the reason that the population expanded so much during the eighteenth century was that the agricultural developments led to better nutrition and infant mortality decreased; more people were living to an old age and having children, cyclic reaction. Agriculture most significant because without the food the demographic increase would not have been possible
Read:
T.C.W Blanning. ‘The Eighteenth Century: Europe 1688 - 1815’ 1st edition, published in New York, 2000.
‘We need to bear in mind that sexual behaviour patterns and consequently population movements were determined mainly by economic factors” page 53
‘A chain reaction began that led to an unprecedented...
Buy the full version of these notes or essay plans and more in our Reformation to Revolution 1517-1789 Notes.
Extremely useful alongside the "magic and witchcraft" notes as they compliment each other. These notes detail the various ways in which religious pluralism and the development of centralised state affected toleration and persecution and different examples of toleration throughout Europe.
Notes concerning the development of cities throughout the early modern period, specifically focused on European cities. Details of the different ways in which various cities developed alongside historiographic...
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