Social Systems

Abstract

Far too often historians, obsessed with the drama of politics, have taken 1789 to be the turning point in modern European history. They would appear to have had good reason. The assault upon monarchy, the nobility and church in France, the destructive consequences of interminable war, and the determination of the allies in 1815 to ensure that revolution would never again threaten the established social and political order, had prolonged effects. Nevertheless it needs to be stressed that economic structures and social systems — even in France — changed only slowly. The populations of Europe in the 1840s remained predominantly rural. Industrial workers made up 25 per cent or more of the population only in Britain, France and Belgium and most of these worked in small workshops. Even in Britain less than 10 per cent of the population was employed in factories. Poor communications and fragmented markets, together with low incomes and purchasing power restricted the development of large-scale, homogeneous markets.