hem now, rather a social order in which you had a certain status was maintained, and the privileges that came with that status were given by default. One of the most important privileges of eighteenth century society was land ownership. Land could be owned either as an inheritance, or as privilege granted at the pleasure of the king. Land was also the basis of the economy in eighteenth century society. Except for Britain, the quality and quantity of the harvest was the most important fact of life for the overwhelming majority of the population. It was the gravest concern to their governments. Since the aristocracy were the landowners, they either influenced or had direct control over the peasants lives. The major monarchies had no standard of uniform law, money, or weights and measures. Continental Europe had internal tolls that hampered the passage of goods. Britain however, had no such tolls, and in the eighteenth century the nobility of that country lived in the most magnificent luxury that the order had known. On the continent the nobles likewise were wealthy, but in Western Europe, where the peasants tended to prosper with the rest, the nobles were little better off than a prosperous peasant. During the time of the Restoration the have nots, or the poor people had a tough time. London was overcrowded and the poor lived in horrible conditions. They lived with no help from the government and even without very much help from churches or charity. Also, the poor always owed money to someone, even if they didnt even own anything. Life was turmoil for the have nots of eighteenth century London. The haves, or the upper class, on the other hand were fairly well off. They spent most of their time dressed in frilly French clothing gossiping at the coffeehouses in London. During the Age of Enlightenment, no matter how mature and respectable the quality society tried to appear, they were still extremely materialistic. They spent hours ge...
