The lives of the aristocracy and the peasantry during the eighteenth century

 

The eighteenth century is one of the most important periods of history because it allowed for the beginnings of the modern world as it is known today. It was a period of considerable developments, especially in the move from an agrarian society to an industrialized one as well as changes within the political scene as aristocrats gradually lost their power. While the latter may be the case, it is important to note that the eighteenth century was also a time when the lives of the aristocracy and peasantry were very different. This paper makes a comparison of aristocratic and peasant households, on one hand, and opportunities for social advancement, on the other.

During the 18^th century, the aristocracy made up the top of the social hierarchy in society. It was not only the ruling class in society, but it also practiced near absolute dominance over the other classes. The aristocratic households relied significantly on servants, who were a pertinent factor when it came to their running and it is estimated that “approximately half of all young people of both sexes between 15 and 24 years of age were servants” (Reher 205). Servants played an important role in a diversity of aristocratic household tasks, including raising children, the provision of basic education, and the catering to other needs of the aristocracy. However, the same was not the case in peasant households, because of the relative poverty that they experienced. Peasants had to work the land in order to eke out a meager living, with most of their labor being provided to the aristocracy that owned most of the land. Most peasants did not receive an education and instead, there was often the expectation that the children of peasants would end up following in their parents’ footsteps and working the land, which shows that “peasant households were the unit of production” (Kertzer 163). The latter evidence shows that there was an extensive gap between the aristocracy and the peasantry to such an extent that they essentially lived in different social environments.

Another aspect of the lives of the aristocracy and peasantry that can be contrasted is that of social advancement. Opportunities for social advancement in peasant households were almost nonexistent for a majority of the individuals in this class. However, many of those who sought advancement or better opportunities would often move to cities where they would take up a trade (Wyżga 236). Individuals form peasant backgrounds would become apprenticed to masters in their desired trade for a number of years until they became proficient enough to start out on their own. The aristocracy, on the other hand, gained their position in society through inheritance and strategic marriages (Cannon 2). Because of the way that they gained their social position, the aristocracy often took it for granted, to such an extent that despite having the power to improve their lives of the peasantry, there were no serious attempt to do so in the eighteenth century. Instead, the aristocracy retained its social dominance despite increasing dissatisfaction among the peasantry. The status quo in the 18^th century remained with the sole exception being the French Revolution, which saw the breaking of the power of the aristocracy.

The lives of the aristocracy and the peasantry in the eighteenth century had a significant impact on the lives of people in the western world in the later centuries. This is because it was a period that showed the realities of the inequalities between these two classes in society. Thus, the political changes that took place in the nineteenth century can be considered to have been an attempt at change in western society. With the coming of industrialization, the influence of the aristocracy over society reduced significantly while the peasantry gained more opportunities and would eventually stop their reliance on their land as more of them gained new opportunities in urban centers.