TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > History > Explanations of Nuptiality during the first industrial revolution in England
Spread rural industry, chance incidence of service in husbandry – rise nuptiality second half 18th century and beginning of the 19th century.
Did population grow in response to demands of an expanding economy?
Wrigley and Schofield: fertility dominant influence on population growth rates in 18th century England – nuptiality changes accounted almost entirely for the great increase in fertility.
Did nuptiality raise with demand for labour?
Rise demand for labour affects nuptiality two ways:: rise in real wages or shift from agric. Occupations which encouraged late marriages to industrial occupations such as handloom weaving favour early ones.
Real wages increase – more savings-feeling to get married – ignores IR as based on agric – late 18th century British popn. Rose but real wages declined – Wrigley Schofield think time lag.
Movement from in-farm labour and development of rural industry lower age marriage – servants single so decline live-in farm labour reduces employment opps before marriage curtailed ability and motivation single people to save money for marriage – downward pressure on age of marriage.
Determinants of Marriage
- Availability of Mates – determined sex ratio of persons of marriageable age
- Feasibility of Marriage – function of resources necessary to set up a household
- Desirability of Marriage – social and institutional alternatives to marriages considered rewarding
Sex ratio – migration men lead migration, internal migration not strong enough yet
Resources: saving or inheritance so mortality may affect age as timing of inheritances and competition for siblings for shares – few people money so more likely amount of savings than inheritance. Real wages low – long time accumulate savings
Wrigley and Schofield’s argument
Major changes in real wages seem to have predated major changes in nuptiality by at least a generation
Enclosures may have diminished the desire and the capacity of single people to save for marriage (would have saved for goats, sheep etc)
Employment in all sectors grew so feasibility of more households / savings- more marriage.
Few alternatives: service was single but did have a high standard of living, defer marriage for this high standard of living.
Service husbandry beginning disappear 1827 select Committee – less to lose from marriage. Service not constant over time it was less common in periods of high nuptiality.
Why service decline
- decline livestock farming
- fall in real wages – cattle raising for year round, winter break for cereal farming – shift to cereal farming general decline service in husbandry.
Real wages thought to influence nuptiality positively –also have a negative impact – periods high inflation and real wage falls, living costs were high, farmers often preferred to pay money wages exclusively instead of providing bed and board.
Data and Variables
Model 1651 to 1835
Modeling trends in Nuptiality
Effect of a lagged real-wage index is minimal – sign of the effect of real wages is negative – effect of real wages on nuptiality through the incidence of service is stronger than the effect through the economic feasibility of marriage.
Positive effect of mortality on feasibility of marriage (inheritance) seems to dominate
Rise in Nuptiality
Nuptiality rise 1750 to 1815 – decline relative size agricultural labour force or decline farm size?
Real wages used + and ANG (seasonality of marriage influenced nuptiality through incidence of farm service) also remained constant at average level for whole period – model predict smaller rise after 1780
Rise in nuptiality after 1780 associated with decline in degree of marriage seasonality – which in turn suggests a decline in relative size of agricultural labour force – spread rural industry 1780 (rise imported cotton)
Rise in nuptiality in 2nd half of 18th and first quarter of the 19th century complex phenomenon caused sudden boom rural industrialization (affects economic feasibility of marriage) decline in farm service, affects desirability of marriages or availability short term alternatives to marriage
Nuptiality declines after 1820 – no decline before 1830s if real wages had not increases and crude mortality rate dropped.
Shift to non-agricultural occupations inc. rural industry in 2nd half 17th century appears to have enabled more people to get married – not necessarily at a younger age – after 1780s = spread of industry tended to encourage earlier marriage rather than more marriages.
Rise late 18th early 19th century associated with unprecedented demand for rural manufactured caused by 1st Industrial revolution – IR alone may not account for 18th century rise – decline incid3ence service husbandry may have been an additional reason.
Kussmaul’s measure proxy for size agricultural labour force NOT relative rural-industrial labour force – turning point is 1780s – recruitment handloom weavers and other rural-industrial workers may have been behind the decline in agric. Labour force after 1780.
Model explains decline nuptiality between 1820 and 1830 rise in real wages and decline mortality – continued decline post 1830 may be surge incidence of domestic service – could domestic service have recovered some of the ground lost by farm service? By mid 19th century domestic service important determinant of nuptiality.
Rise fertility 2nd half 18th century associated with IR
Classic demographic theory sees dev. Urban industrial society to be precondition for fertility decline – results here show IR caused fertility to increase
Textile industry demand for handloom weavers new spinning machines stimulated spread rural industry – influencing feasibility of marriage through lower set-up costs
Rural industry also spread on continent in 18th century not in response to I
- age of marriage on continent not responsive growth rural industry – no evidence spread rural industry 17th century responsible for early marriages
Swing toward early marriage in England after 1780 related to rural industry spread NOT before
Huge demand for handloom weavers and framework knitters created by IR in England explain different experience – couples northern England cash in on increased wages provided by rural manufacturing – causing age at first marriage to drop
Influence of rural industry on age at first marriage in England after 1780 was due primarily to improved prospects after marriage – not to low set-up costs.
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