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Agricultural Revolution
Improvements in agricultural methods such as enclosure movement, crop rotation, and using manure as fertilizer increased the yield of farms. This allowed for more people to be feed, which improved their quality of life. -
Popularity of Nuclear Family
The Nuclear Family was not popular until the 18th century. Young people preferred to move out of their parents' homes after marriage and start a family apart from them. -
Growth of World Trade
The Atlantic economy was built around the 18th century and was led by Britain. European countries grew their economies via trade and mercantilism. -
Disappearance of the Bubonic Plague
In 1721, yet again the plague struck Europe, France specifically, and killed 40,000 people. However, this was the last time that the plague would severely impact Europe. -
Growth of Cottage Industry
Peasants and poor Europeans had always made their own clothing and certain processed foods, but now they were selling these products to others. -
Population Explosion
The population grew more than it ever had because of better agriculture practices, less disease, and less war. -
Atlantic Slave Trade
In order for mercantilism and colonization be profitable for the mother country, cheap or free labor was essential. The slave trade was a profitable aspect of European economies of the time. -
Illegitimacy Explosion
The sharp increase in out-of-wedlock births that occurred in Europe between 1750 and 1850, caused by low wages and the breakdown of community controls. -
Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations
Smith believed that people promote public interest through economic choices—a free-market force that became known as the "invisible hand." The invisible hand is what comes from the collaboration of consumers and producers in commerce. -
Smallpox Vaccine
Smallpox vaccine, the first successful vaccine to be developed, was introduced by Edward Jenner in 1796. He followed up his observation that milkmaids who had previously caught cowpox did not later catch smallpox by showing that inoculated cowpox protected against inoculated smallpox.
