Place: “Germany”
Time: 18th Century
By: Dan C. Heinemeier
(Still in 18th Century Germany with Dan C. Heinemeier)Class distinctions were emphasized in most of the German states, in part as a technique of social control. Nobles, clergy, army officers, professional men, merchants, and peasants constituted separate classes, and the last were more numerous than all of the others together. Within each category there were grades, each of which stiffened itself with scorn on the next grade beneath. Marriage outside one's class was almost unthinkable, but some merchants and financiers bought nobility. The nobles had a monopoly on the higher posts in the army and the government, but many of these earned their privileges by bravery or competence. Perhaps more common were the uniformed parasites who competed for social precedence at the court.
The nobles, especially, tended to mimic the French court which was their model, even if they could not afford it. As one moved to the end of the scale represented by the peasants, life was more German in its outlook. After the turn of the century, the middle classes found an improvement in the social, economic, and political conditions.
There were universities, generally good by European standards. The education system in general was not good. Initially, most education was the responsibility of the churches, but it eventually passed to the control of the state. With this shift, there was less Latin and more German taught. School teachers were not well paid, and were not well regarded. With the inflation of the late century, teachers were extremely hard pressed to make a living. The teachers often had to go from house to house asking for meals and back wages.
Some of the inflation came about because the swelling population overtook agricultural production, and foods were scarce and expensive. For example, rye prices rose 80%, from 1740 to 1800, while wages generally increased only 10%. There was a glut of manual labor, so wages were held in check by the willingness of some of the labor force to work for their bare sustenance.
Cattle plagues were a problem in the century. This also put pressures on the food prices. These plagues could be severe, as in 1711 to 1714, and in 1744 to 1745, when 50% to 90% of the stock died. Most cattle were small and poor draft animals. Selective breeding had not produced superior breeds. Milk yields might be measured in cups per day.
Reforms in agriculture were slow to come, in part because of the conservatism of the peasants. Production failed to keep pace with population growth. In the third quarter of the century, potato culture was introduced as a desperation measure and it proved to be a successful advance.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.