1.4
European society and the experiences of everyday life were increasingly shaped by commercial and agricultural capitalism, notwithstanding the persistence of medieval social and economic structures.
Most Europeans derived their livelihood from agriculture and oriented their lives around the seasons, the village, or the manor, although economic changes began to alter rural production and power.
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Population shifts and growing commerce caused the expansion of cities, which often found their traditional political and social structures stressed by the growth.
The family remained the primary social and economic institution of early modern Europe and took several forms, including the nuclear family.
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Popular culture, leisure activities, and rituals reflecting the persistence of folk ideas reinforced and sometimes challenged communal ties and norms.
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Economic change produced new social patterns, while traditions of hierarchy and status persisted.
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