The Economic Development of Continental Europe 1780-1870 9781136625893, 9780415685641

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Routledge Revivals

The Economic Development of Continental Europe 1780-1870

Upon its initial publication in 1973 this was the first textbook to present a unified view and comprehensive treatment of the economic development of Europe from a continental rather than a British perspective. At the same time, it is more than mere textbook: it is an interpretive analysis of a wide range of research on the subject in many countries which explores the objective validity of earlier theories and provides an ideal starting point for further research into economic development and European history. The work deals mainly with Western Europe but the authors do not neglect the smaller countries. Indeed, the work is unusual in dealing fully with the Scandinavian countries and others, such as Switzerland and Belgium. This is a reissue of the fully revised and corrected second edition of the work, first published in 1979. ‘The authors have produced a readable, comprehensive and enquiring text, which will almost certainly be used to feed the next generation’s enquiries about the European experience.’ – The Times Higher Education Supplement ‘Informative, often stimulating and full of ideas’ – Economica ‘Extremely thorough in its analysis and exemplary in the clarity of its conclusions’ – The Scandinavian Economic History Review

The Economic Development of Continental Europe 1780-1870

Alan S. Milward and S. B. Saul

First published in 1973 by George Allen & Unwin Ltd. Second edition published in 1979. This edition first published in 2011 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © George Allen & Unwin (Publishers) Ltd 1973, 1979 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Publisher’s Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent. Disclaimer The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes correspondence from those they have been unable to contact. A Library of Congress record exists under LC Control Number: 73179506

ISBN 13: 978-0-415-68564-1 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978-0-203-80230-4 (ebk)

The Economic Development of Continental Europe 1780-1870 BY

ALAN S. MILWARD AND S. B. SAUL

London GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN Boston

Sydney

First published in 1973 Second edition 1979 This book is copyright under the Berne Convention. All rights are reserved; Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act. 1956, no part of this publication may be reproduced. stored in a retrieval system. or transmitted, in any form or by anY means. electronic, electrical. chemical. mechanical. optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Enquiries should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address: GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD 40 Museum Street, London WC1A 1LU

© George Allen & Unwin (publishers) Ltd,

1973, 1979

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Milward, Alan The economic development of continental Europe, 1780-1870. - 2nd ed. 1. Europe - Economic conditions I. Title II. Saul, Samuel Berrick 330.9'4'02 HC240 79--40682 ISBN 0--04-330299-8

Printed in Great Britain in 10 point Times Roman type by Unwin Brothers Limited Old Woking, Surrey

Preface

We began to write this book together because we had both taught the subject for many years and thought that there was a real need for a textbook in English setting out and analysing in some detail the work that has been done on the modern economic history of continental Europe. We knew that we could not claim to be experts in all the fields we had to cover but we felt that this would be more than offset by the opportunity to compare experiences within Europe and to offer a consistent approach to our problems. We omitted Britain deliberately, although we have not assumed that the reader has a prior knowledge of British, or of any other, economic history. We felt that with so many texts available on the economic history of that country there was very little we could hope to add and that we would rather use our space on problems and areas where the literature was much sparser. There was another reason for omitting Britain. No one who teaches the economic history of continental Europe can fail to notice how most of the available material in English is written from an English, or an American, point of view. The economic history of continental European countries often appears in a perspective in which the significant features are those which differ from the history of Britain or the :United States. We hope that by putting the economic development of the Continent itself in the forefront of the picture the perspective will be less distorted. As we got into the work our interest a.nd excitement developed and the book steadily lengthened. Yet we were reluctant to cut back because we found so much that is not easily available to students. Eventually it became obvious that we had written more than a single volume, although we have to admit that no entirely logical division 9f the subject matter has been achieved. In the main the present work relates to Western Europe to 1870, though the single chapter on Scandinavia goes up to 1914. In our later volume will be found all our work on Eastern and Southern Europe, as well as the conclusion of the studies of France and Germany. The more general chapters are spread between the two in their appropriate order. Originally we started with a chapter setting out our general ideas on the nature of growth and development. We then decided that it would be much more logical to re-write this altogether, to place our

8/PREFACE

ideas in the context of the detailed studies of particular regions and, inevitably, to make it the conclusion of our work. The book started as a textbook and that is what it remains. It is not a work of research, though sometimes we have had to look long and hard for our secondary sources, and for that reason we have deliberately avoided a great apparatus of footnotes. Since the book is designed specifically for English-speaking students we have referred only to a few important books of general significance in other languages in our reading lists, though we have tried to indicate where further references to works in foreign languages can be found. All our measurements are metric. We give a table of exchange rates for currencies for periods where these were stable enough for comparisons to be meaningful. Except where in everyday usage there is an English name for a foreign town or region we use the contemporary name and if the modern name is different we put it in brackets afterwards. Our motive in deciding to use the contemporary rather than the modern name is no more than the practical one that so many states and provinces have disappeared and have no exact modern equivalent. To decide such a question either way is to offend linguistic nationalism and political sentiments. We hope our decision will be taken as a purely pragmatic one; it certainly has no other significance for us. We were fortunate that a combination of circumstances, including a Ford Fellowship for one of us, brought us together for a year in Stanford University. We were even more fortunate in the development of our co-operation. At first we viewed the work as two separate contributions joined together in one volume and divided the work between ourselves accordingly. In the event, we criticised each other's drafts so thoroughly, discussed the issues so frequently and interfered so helpfully in each other's work that this is a joint book in a far truer sense than we ever intended. Well-cherished prejudices and interesting, but unlikely, theories have had to be given up in the face of the historical evidence which such a book accumulates. The starting point of each chapter, however, was that one of us was responsible for collecting the material and producing the final version. In this volume Milward did this for Chapters 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7 and Saul for Chapters 2, 3 and 8. So many people help, very often quite unconsciously, in producing a book of this kind that it is not really possible to mention them all. The students of the University of Edinburgh, of the University of East Anglia, and of Stanford University, with whom so many of these ideas have been discussed so often have played a big part in its formulation. In addition to them we would particularly like to thank Professor M. Abramovitz, Bill Albert, Professor Paul David,

PREFACE/9

Professor Scott M. Eddie, Professor M. W. Flinn, Joe Harrison, Professor T. C. Smout, Claudine Milward and Sheila Saul. Irene Brooks, Moira McIntyre and Mrs S. Simpson gave us excellent and indispensable secretarial help. The maps were drawn by Barbara Morris and we would like to thank her for her help and cooperation.

Contents

Preface Table of Measurements Exchange rates against sterling, 1913

page 7 18 18

INTRODUCTION

19

1

THE EUROPEAN ECONOMY IN THE LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

25

Europe and the Industrial Revolution in Britain The Agricultural Base of Society The Nobility Systems of Land Management - In France 47 - In Germany 53 - In Spain 59 - In the Netherlands 60 - In Scandinavia 60 - In the Habsburg Empire 61 - In Poland and Russia 65 - In Romania 68 - Conclusion 68 Farming Methods and Agricultural Improvement Obstacles to Improvement The Industrial Sector - Artisanal Industries 84 - Iron Manufacture 89 - Coal Mining 92 - Domestic Industries 93 Trade and Markets Obstacles to Trade Conclusion Suggested Reading

25 40 43 46

2 POPULATION GROWTH AND MIGRATION The Setting Theory of Population Growth Eighteenth-Century Population Growth in Europe Sweden and France in the Eighteenth Century Europe in the Nineteenth Century Mortality Fertility

71 81 83

104 112 113 115 118 118 120 124 127 131 132

136

12jcONTENTS

Population in Nineteenth-Century France The Decline of Fertility Migration

137

Suggested Reading

169

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

The Theory of Technological Change The Transfer of Technology The Development of Technology

171 172 181 185

Conclusions Suggested Reading

244 246

- Migration from Germany 147 - Migration from Eastern Europe 151 - Russian Population Movements 153 - Scandinavian Population Movements 156 - Migration from Italy, Portugal and Spain 160 - Population Movements in France and Switzerland 165 - The Consequences of Emigration 166

3

- Coal 185 - Textiles 188 - Iron and Steel 196 - Engineering 205 - Power Engineering 213 - Shipbuilding 220 - Chemicals 226 - Agriculture 233

4

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM

The The The The The -

French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution Economic Causes of the French Revolution Economic Consequences of the French Revolution Continental System Development of French Industry

The Cotton Industry 272 - Other Textile Industries 277 Machine Building 280 - The Iron Industry 281 Other Industries 282 - Government and Industry 284 Conclusion 286

248 248 256 262 267 270

The French Revolution and the Continental System Outside France

287

Suggested Reading

305

- In Belgium 292 - In Switzerland 296 - In the United Provinces 298 - In Italy 299 - In Germany 301

5

140 142

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF FRANCE

1815-70 France in Europe

307 307

CONTENTS/13

The Development of Industry Textiles 316 - Iron 327 - Coal 331 - Engineering 334 The Development of Services Transport and Railways 335 - Capital and Banking 343 The Development of Agriculture Conclusion Suggested Reading

6

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF GERMANY

1815-70

The Background to German Economic Development The Zollverein Transport Development The Completion of Economic Unification Agricultural Development - Changes in Land Management 387 - Changes in Agricultural Practice 391 Industrial Development - The Linen Industry 397 - The Woollen Industry 398 - Other Textiles 402 - Coal Mining and Iron Manufacture 405 - Engineering 409 - Changes in Economic Organisation 411 Government and Industry The Development of Financial Institutions Labour Supply Conclusion Suggested Reading

7

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF BELGIUM AND SWITZERLAND IN THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY

The Similarities in their Development Belgium - The General Problem of its Development 437 - Development of Belgian Industry 441 - Capital and Finance 448 - The Advantages of Smallness 451 Switzerland - The General Problem of its Development 453 - Development of Swiss Industry 455 Conclusion Suggested Reading

315 335 351 360 362 365 365 372 377 385 387 396

414 418 426 428 429 432 432 437

453 463 465

14/ CONTENTS 8

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF SCANDINA VIA

467

The Eighteenth-Century Scene Rural Reform The Swedish Economy in the Middle Years of the Nineteenth Century

470 477

The Swedish Economy 1870-1914

488

Denmark in the Nineteenth Century

502

Norway in the Eighteenth Century Norway in the Nineteenth Century

516 520

Comparative Growth Patterns of Scandinavian Economies Suggested Reading

534

- Agriculture 481 - Iron 482 - Timber 483 - Railways 486 - Commercial Policy 487

- Agriculture in Crisis 491 - Timber and its Products 493 - Iron and Steel 495 - Iron Ore 496 - Manufacturing Industry 496 - Factors in Swedish Economic Growth 499 - Agricultural Change 502 - Agriculture and the Economy 510 - Industrialisation in Denmark 511

- Agriculture 520 - The Staple Trades : Fish, Timber, and Shipping 521 - New Developments 527

INDEX

481

531 537

Contents of The Development of the Economies of Continental Europe, 1850-1914

1 The Economic Development of Germany, 1870-1914 2 The Economic Development of France, 1870-1914 3 The Economic Development of Belgium and the Netherlands, 1850-1914 4 The Economic Development of Spain and Italy, 1850-1914 5 The Economic Development of Austria-Hungary, 1850-1914 6 The Economic Development of Russia to 1861 7 The Economic Development of Russia, 1861-1914 8 The Economic Development of South-Eastern Europe, 1850-1914 9 International Trade and Investment 10 The Nature of Economic Development in Europe Index

Maps

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Europe in 1780 facing page 26-27 France during the Revolution 249 The French Empire in 1810 288-289 France in the mid-nineteenth century 308 Germany in 1834 369 Germany on the eve of the Franco-Prussian War 395 Belgium in 1848 433 Switzerland in 1850 461 Sweden and Norway in the nineteenth century 468 Denmark in the nineteenth century 469

Table of Measurements hectare 2·471 acres metric ton 2204lb kilometre 0·621 miles kilogram 2·204lb hectolitre 22·0 imperial gallons (liquid measure) 2·75 imperial bushels (cereal measure) Russian pood 36 Xb verst 0·66 miles dessiatine 2·7 acres tchetvert 5·77 imperial bushels Ton is used throughout to mean metric ton. 1 quintal = 100 kg, m = million km = kilometre ha = he