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Klappentext This uncompromisingly empirical study reconstructs the public and private lives of urban business families during the period of England’s emergence as a world economic power. Using a broad cross-section of archival! rather than literary! sources! it tests the orthodox view that the family as an institution was transformed by capitalism and individualism. The approach is both quantitative and qualitative. A database of 28!000 families has been constructed to tackle questions such as demographic structure! kinship and inheritance! which must be answered statistically. Much of the book! however! focuses on issues such as courtship and relations among spouses! parents and children! which can only be studied through those families that have left intimate records. The overall conclusion is that none of the abstract models invented to explain the historical development of the family withstand empirical scrutiny and that familial capitalism! not possessive individualism! was the motor of economic growth. Zusammenfassung This uncompromisingly empirical study reconstructs the public and private lives of urban business families during the period of England's emergence as a world economic power. Using a broad cross-section of archival sources! it tests the orthodox view that the family as an institution was transformed by capitalism and individualism. Inhaltsverzeichnis Tables; Abbreviations; Explanatory notes; Preface; Introduction: models and myths; Part I. Marriage: 1. Making a match; 2. Husbands and wives; 3. Widowers and widows; Part II. The Business Family: 4. Parents and children; 5. Adulthood and old age; 6. Kin and community; Part III. The Family Business: 7. Men in business; 8. Women in business; 9. Inheritance and advancement; Conclusion: capitalism and the life cycle; Appendices; Sources; Index.
