Deck 8: Economy and Society Transformed: The Eighteenth Century

Question 1

________ was an epidemic disease that affected early modern society, but was eradicated by the twentieth century.

A) Bubonic plague
B) Malaria
C) Influenza
D) Smallpox
E) Diphtheria

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The construction of corridors and separate sleeping quarters in houses is a physical reflection of the increased demand for ________ during the eighteenth century.

A) status and distinction
B) privacy and intimacy
C) separation of public and private
D) new family ideals
E) larger houses

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The most important change in the agricultural revolution was ________.

A) the introduction of new crops such as potatoes and corn
B) the enclosure of common land
C) the commercialization of agriculture
D) technological innovations such as the seed drill
E) the end of feudal and manorial restrictions

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The main reason for an enclosure system of tenancy was ________.

A) to raise sheep for the wool trade
B) to grow clover to be used to feed grazing animals
C) to promote selective breeding of crops and animals
D) to grow industrial cash crops such as linen, hops, hemp, and tobacco
E) to raise cows for meat and dairy products

Question 5

Although it was not an industrialized economy, early modern Europe still had different types of manufacturing. Over the course of the eighteenth century, ________ eclipsed household and craft manufacturing.

A) agricultural manufacturing
B) industrial developments
C) proto-industry
D) rural industry
E) mercantilism

Question 6

The innovations and developments of the textile industry mark the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. ________ began the Industrial Revolution.

A) Silk
B) Linen
C) Polyester
D) Calico
E) Cotton

Question 7

In order to improve transportation in Britain, the government passed legislation that allowed entrepreneurs to build turnpikes. A turnpike is ________.

A) a toll road
B) a canal
C) a type of carriage
D) a system of public transportation
E) a highway

Question 8

The aristocratic elite used ________ to differentiate themselves from the common people.

A) noble status
B) conspicuous consumption
C) gentlemanliness
D) extreme wealth
E) a sense of moral superiority

Question 9

In his Essay on the Principle of Population, ________ considered the negative consequences of population growth and argued that population growth would eventually outstrip food supply.

A) Jean-Baptiste Colbert
B) Thomas Malthus
C) Charles Townshend
D) Voltaire
E) John Locke

Question 10

According to many eighteenth-century social critics, ________ was the root cause of the evils plaguing society.

A) poverty
B) enclosure
C) gin
D) social mobility
E) the affordability of luxury goods

Question 11

Rising birth rates had a more significant impact on demographic growth in the eighteenth century than declining death rates.

Question 12

The professionalization of armies meant that eighteenth-century warfare had less of an effect on civilian populations than conflicts in earlier centuries.

Question 13

As the average age of marriage decreased, illegitimate births became less common.

Question 14

During the eighteenth century, the use of wet nurses declined among the elite but became more common among working women.

Question 15

Bringing more fallow land into production on a regular basis was the key to making European agriculture more efficient.

Question 16

The strong feudal and manorial restrictions on village life in the Netherlands and Britain meant that these countries were among the last to adopt changes in agriculture.

Question 17

People in the eighteenth century were aware that they were witnessing the birth of industrialization.

Question 18

During the reign of Frederick the Great of Prussia, porcelain factories disposed of surplus production through a government policy that required Jews wishing to marry to pay a fee to factories with unsellable merchandise.

Question 19

The increased availability of coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate, and tobacco created new patterns of consumption for these commodities and the goods and services related to their consumption.

Question 20

Eighteenth-century governments attempted to encourage the consumption of new products in order to increase their sales tax revenue.

Question 21

Industrialization in Britain was a direct result of Britain's domination of overseas trade.

Question 22

Improvements in transportation were a central component of economic development in the eighteenth century.

Question 23

In the eighteenth century, the biggest concentration of the middle class could be found in eastern European countries such as Russia and Hungary.

Question 24

It became harder for ambitious bourgeois to attain noble status during the eighteenth century because there were too many wealthy bourgeois and not enough places in the nobility.

Question 25

A significant majority of peasants were able to take advantage of opportunities in eighteenth-century agriculture, forming the basis of a rural middle class.

Question 26

Eighteenth-century governments believed that population growth was essential to a kingdom's prosperity and security. Consequently, they did everything they could to encourage population growth.

Question 27

The "taming of the nobility" meant that nobles no longer had a significant political role in eighteenth-century Europe.

Question 28

The establishment of stock exchanges in the eighteenth century was always accompanied by strong regulations designed to prevent fraud and abuse.

Question 29

Eighteenth-century factories were often located near flowing water because their machinery was powered by water.

Question 30

Between 1750 and 1850, 25 per cent of England's arable land was enclosed.

Question 31

What factors contributed to the declining death rate of the eighteenth century?

Question 32

The eighteenth century witnessed a decline in the toll that epidemic diseases took. What made this possible?

Question 33

What factors played a role in the expanding population growth of the eighteenth century?

Question 34

How did understandings of marriage change in the eighteenth century?

Question 35

The modern conception of childhood emerged during the eighteenth century. What were the key developments in its emergence?

Question 36

Corn and potatoes became part of European agriculture because they had significant advantages over wheat. What were these advantages?

Question 37

How did European agriculture become more efficient in the eighteenth century?

Question 38

What was the "virtuous cycle" of the eighteenth century?

Question 39

What was enclosure?

Question 40

What was the impact of enclosure?

Question 41

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, governments used a variety of policies to help develop industrial growth. What were some of these government policies?

Question 42

What was the industrious revolution?

Question 43

The Industrial Revolution is associated with a series of innovations in textiles. What were the technical innovations in textiles that drove industrial development?

Question 44

What factors contributed to the earlier development of new forms of commercial organization in Britain and the Netherlands?

Question 45

How were the costs of transportation and commercial transactions reduced during the eighteenth century?

Question 46

What were the consequences of the lack of regulations in early stock exchanges?

Question 47

Who were the aristocratic social elite?

Question 48

How did the concept of the nobility change over the course of the eighteenth century?

Question 49

Was the eighteenth century the era of the rise of the middle class? Why or why not?

Question 50

How did demographic and economic changes affect the "lower orders" of society?

Question 51

The eighteenth century saw significant demographic changes that altered the nature of European society. How was the demographic mould broken in the eighteenth century?

Question 52

The family remained an important social institution, but the ideals of family life changed in the eighteenth century. How did understandings of ideal family life change in the eighteenth century?

Question 53

The most important factor that contributed to the massive growth in Europe's population during the eighteenth century was the improvements in the quality, quantity, and variety of food available. How did the changes in agriculture contribute to this development?

Question 54

The eighteenth century experienced a series of changes that are collectively referred to as the Agricultural Revolution. Is the term "revolution" accurate? Do the changes in agriculture together constitute a revolution?

Question 55

European society transformed over the course of the eighteenth century. How did it do so?

Question 56

The Industrial Revolution was one of the most significant turning points in European history. How did changes in the eighteenth century contribute to industrialization?

Question 57

Industrial economies are characterized by inter-related and self-sustaining growth. How did the economic and industrial changes of the eighteenth century fit this broader characterization?

Question 58

How did the shift from a society based on orders to one based on socioeconomic class occur in the eighteenth century?

Question 59

How did the social structure of the eighteenth century change?

Question 60

In hindsight, the eighteenth century was a time of significant change that resulted in major developments such as the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. In studying this period, historians have to attempt to understand the past on its own terms and to explain how the past became the present. Should we choose one approach over another? Using one specific example, explain how we can understand the past on its own terms and explain how the past became the present.