Describe the disparities among the various social classes in European urban society between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Who were the bourgeoisie? What conditions did the poorer classes endure?
What will be an ideal response?
ANSWER:
During these centuries, the contrasts in wealth were startling. The new prosperous class of urban dwellers, referred to by the French as the bourgeoisie, gained its wealth from manufacturing, finance, and trade. Its connections to the monarchy and the monarchy's need for revenue were important. Students should be able to contrast that new wealthy class with the rural aristocracy, as well as with the urban poor and the artisan classes, in areas such as marriage, education, and child rearing. Although serfdom had been on the decline in Europe for a long time, the peasantry lived under worse conditions as a result of constant warfare, economic conditions, and environmental problems. By 1700 the introduction of American crops improved the diet by providing potatoes and corn to peasants. However, with deforestation, peasants lost their source of lumber and wild game as well as nuts and berries. Many were forced to move to urban areas, where they became beggars, prostitutes, and criminals. The misery of these people erupted in uprisings and mob violence.
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a. True b. False Indicate whether the statement is true or false
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