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Nuclear Family
The Nuclear Family was a product of Western Europe. It was comprised of a couple and their children, which was the basic social unit of European society after the 17th century. Extended families became much less common during this time as well. Socially, this changed the basic social unit of society and promoted moving away from home and establishing a life beyond your extended family. The nuclear family excludes aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. -
Agricultural Revolution
The Agricultural Revolution was a period where poor farmers experienced a growth in farming technology that boosted the economy due to the spike in productivity from better crop yields. Some innovations include crop rotation and better fertilizer. Increased crop yields and varieties of crops allowed for a change in the economy. By increasing domestic business and foreign imports and exports, wealth increased in the realms of both countries' economies and poor farmers. -
The Putting Out System
The growth in population due to the successes of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolution led to the growth of industry in rural areas. Families turned to making goods that they could sell out of their homes for extra income to support themselves. This was called the Putting Out System, which economically boosted the positions of peasant families and put more into the market. This changed European economics by putting peasant goods into the market and expanding wealth. -
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a war between many of the global powers, but specifically the French and British had a dispute in North American territory over land. In the end, this economically changed trade and commerce for European powers with the Americas. Britian gained control over the northern territories in North America and opened up trade and new markets to the world. This heightened their economic power and saw the change of Britiain into a superpower. -
Atlantic Slave Trade
The Atlantic Slave Trade was the practice of trade specifically between Africa and the Americas that reached a peak in the 1760s. In order to sustain the growing demand for cheap labor in the Americas, the social status of Africans was undermined and justified by scientific racism and Social Darwinism. Socially, this continued the trend of racism being justified by "science" and social norms. African slaves were put at the very bottom of the social hierarchy. -
The Social Contract
The Social Contract was a work published by Rousseau that promoted the idea of an agreement between the individual and the society that they live in. This then encouraged individuals in a society to engage in social change to promote what is best for the common good. Socially, this changed what it meant for the individual to live in a society, and changed how some laws and policies were regulated. Ideas of the social contract, like common will, reflect in modern day governments. -
Explosion in Illegitimacy
During this time there was an increase in late marriage ages and children born out of wedlock. Many men were migrating to the new world, which changed the social structure of Europe when it came to marriage and children. This trend was substantial before the Agricultural Revolution, but declined before this increase again. Therefore, the status of many women dropped due to their wedlocked and unmarried status. -
Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations is cited as the foundation of capitalist and laizzes faire economics. Modern economics are based off of his ideas, and it had many bold criticisms of the established mercantilist policy. This displayed a change in history as economic policies shifted to less government control and more go-with-the-flow ideals. It can also be noted that this led to the rise of capitalism in history. -
Navigations Acts
The Navigation Acts were an act that stipulated English exports and imports being shipped to England and Scotland were to only be shipped on British ships with British crews. This only really allowed for England and Scotland to benefit from those trade relationships, as they were the only ones that could profit due to the nature of shipping. This was an economic change from trade in previous years, as it gave England and Scotland significant mercantilist control over trade. -
Smallpox Vaccine
The creation of the smallpox vaccine changed the social view of disease and sicknesses. Prior to its creation, blood-letting, purging, and faith-based healers were common, and scientific medical discoveries were considered blasphemy. There was limited knowledge of the spread of disease, however the smallpox vaccine was an important step towards changing the social outlook on the practice of medicine. It became more renowned and more accepted in European life.