Hi I’m John Green and this is Crash Course European History.
Last time, we looked at how the monarchs did--and didn’t--incorporate the ideas of the Enlightenment
into their domestic policies.
Today, we’ll look outward to how the 18th century European powers engaged with each
other and beyond Europe--which is to say that warfare is coming.
Or, continuing, I suppose, because it never really left town.
[Intro] So, population was rising in 18th century
Europe and despite an extremely uneven distribution of wealth and lots of wartime casualties,
many people were leading better lives.
For example, inventories of French people’s possessions show that in 1700 women owned
an average of two garments generally in solid black or brown;
in 1800 that number was five garments of more varied, even bright colors.
Now, this may seem like minor progress, but here’s another way of thinking about it: