Introduction

Those who lived through the half century before 1914 experienced tremendous changes in living conditions. This can be said not only for the early-industrializing regions of Europe, but also for many peripheral areas, particularly in the north. Whereas early industrialization had ambiguous effects on living standards, by the late nineteenth century the time had come for the mass of the population to share in the increasing supply of goods and opportunities. Changes were profound indeed and influenced almost all areas of daily life: railroads opened up for commuting; networked systems for piped water and sewerage systems made household work easier in cities and larger towns; in most of Europe elementary education came to encompass all children and, in combination with modern newspapers as well as scientific breakthroughs such as germ theory, rational knowledge influenced society in a new way; moreover, new consumer goods such as canned food, ready-made clothes, the bicycle, etc. appeared on the market; around the turn of the century telephones and electrification emerged and contributed to a revolution in everyday life, even though still only a few people had direct access to these innovations. However, this chapter will deal only indirectly with these novelties of the late nineteenth century and instead focus on more basic aspects of living standards, embracing population developments including health, household patterns, and income distribution.