(Discussion of Hesse, continued from Note Nr. 1618.)
The town of Marburg in Hesse had more than 6,000 inhabitants in 1618, at the start of the Thirty Years' War. When the Seven Years' War broke out in 1757, Marburg had only 5,100 citizens. In a century and a half, the population had declined by about twenty percent. Poverty was very much the way of life for the majority of the people. Even in the guilds, where the workers would normally be rated as above average citizens, the members suffered from poverty. About half of the population kept a small farm with livestock as a means of getting by. The towns of Hesse in general were described as walled-in villages.
New forms of production in early factory-style concerns began to loosen the grip of the guilds. Another positive factor on production was the introduction of Huguenots into Hessian life. The increased production brought about a fall in prices, which did not help the producers. In the last quarter of the Eighteenth Century, many new tradesmen came to Marburg. Cabinet makers grew from 15 to 26, tanners from 32 to 58, bakers from 94 to 119, shoemakers from 121 to 169, but the butchers fell from 78 to 69, as did the small shopkeepers from 103 to 93. Hauling and transportation were important services, and 32 names were in the business in 1776.
A large increase occurred in the pottery-making industry. From 1750 to 1785, their numbers increased from 5 to 25. They were using a new process for coating the wares, which included bowls, pots, beer steins, plates, coffee cups, and similar table items. Much of the production was exported to areas adjacent to Hesse, using the rivers as much as possible. The markets continued to grow even after 1800, as wares were shipped to the northern seaports.
Another well known local industry was beer brewing. It collapsed in the difficult economic times as a cheaper, poorer-quality product became common. A government ordinance attempted to regulate the quality. Wine was not common. With the poor beer, brandy consumption soared. In 1776, the 5,000 Marburgers were purchasing the output of 27 brandy making operations (227 kegs per year). Or stated differently, every 20 Marburgers were drinking a keg of brandy per year, when half of the population was less than ten years old. The lower classes were greatly sapped by drunkenness.
(During the period of about 7 March to 12 March, Rootsweb was having trouble with the server hosting the GERMANNA_COLONIES Mailing List. As a result, many subscribers to the List did not receive my daily Notes, specifically Nrs. 1608 through 1616. I will attempt to send a few of the missing notes each day. I have already re-transmitted three of the notes. If they look familiar to some of you, you were the lucky ones who received them already; however, a number of people missed them. Unless I am sick or away, I usually try to have notes six days a week.)
(Continued in Note Nr. 1620.
(15 Mar 03)
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.