(+) Lifestyles in the Seventeenth Century

We all have read history books about the brave and noble heroes who helped shape today's world. Hearty explorers, brave immigrants, exemplary church-goers and the like did indeed create today's modern world. Yet these same history books rarely describe the everyday world of those heroes and heroines. Sometimes their lives were not all fame and glory. In fact, their lives were often repulsive by today's standards. I thought I would focus for a bit on everyday life in the 1600s in Europe, in England, and in the newly-created colonies in North America.

In fact, knowledge was a scarce commodity in the seventeenth century. It is difficult for us to comprehend just how ignorant people were. Most Europeans knew nothing about geography and didn't know or care what happened on the other side of the horizon. The majority of people never traveled more than five miles from their place of birth although there were a few more adventurous soles in those days.

Only a small number of people could read or write or even count beyond one hundred. Even the kings of the seventeenth century were mostly illiterate. Most common citizens could not tell the time of day, and only a few could read a calendar. Most of our ancestors of those times did not know what year it was, much less when their own birthdays occurred. You will notice that official documents of the day usually refer to a person as being "about 45 years old," for example. The reason is that few people knew their exact age. Birthdays went unnoticed by a population that could not read a calendar.