Rise+of+the+Mercantile+Class+in+England

by Gloria Cho

** Rise of the Mercantile Class in England- Lydia Palos **

 * Date || Event  || Description & Significance  ||
 * **1700- ** || Industrial Revolution || The Industrial Revolution had a great significance on the rise of the mercantile class. Previously to the revolution, the workers were mainly farmers. However, the Industrial Revolution caused a population boom towards the cities, as more and more people became familiar with business. The working class became substantially poorer, but a new sector of society emerged: the mercantile class. It enabled high levels of self-sustained economic growth. ||
 * **1700-1750 ** || Development in the cotton industry || The earliest beginnings of industrialisation and the emergence of the mercantile class can linked to the development of the cotton industry in England in the first half of the 18th century. Cotton was imported from the United States to Liverpool and transported to Manchester and other Lancashire towns, where the first cotton mills were built. This enabled the business sector of Britain to grow at a steady rate. ||
 * **1767 ** || Invention of the Cotton Gin || Enabled the cotton industry to flourish. Due to the less menial work involved, more and more people were able to join the business sector, such as women and children. Gave rise to the increased employment. ||
 * **1780s ** || Formation of county reform organisations || The development of the Yorkshire Association and the formation of the Society for Constitutional Information, as well as other organisations, were examples of mercantile reform activity during this period. Their goal was to enable the mercantile class to gain a higher, more stable footing in relation to the parliamentary structure of England at that time. ||
 * **1832 ** || Reform Bill || This Reform Act reapportioned representation in the Parliament in a much fairer way to the cities of the industrial north. It gave the power of voting to the middle class. Approximately, one in five men were allowed to vote now. The Act brought the mercantile class into the governing process, and set the stage for more extensive reforms to come. It allowed the middle classes to share power with the upper classes. ||

The rise of the mercantile class had everlasting effects that were incorporated and felt in all aspects of English society. Before the mercantile class, the distance in wealth and prestige from the top to the bottom of the social hierarchy was enormous- there was a great chasm that separated the society. The emergence of the middle class transformed traditional English society from a patriarchal two class system, to a capitalist three class structure. The balance of power was shifted away from the old traditions of nobility, as birth rights no longer enforced social status. It brought a new outlook on aristocracy and reduced the poor to an even lower social standing. It introduced new values to society, such as hard work and respectability. The people of the middle class had the ability to be influential and drove public policy to reform, as they were no longer confined to the social strata they were born into. However, it was not only the social hierarchy that had been altered, attitudes towards business, religion, community and business was changed. For the first time in British history, a large sector of the population that were not of nobility was gaining wealth. The idea of forging one’s destiny and making one’s own choices was the epitome of the newly found changes that were occurring. Now, an individual could choose his occupation, religion, livelihood and social standing.