Labor, Authoritarianism, and Emigration Restrictions in the Early Modern Era

• In Event: Historical International Political Economy

Abstract

In the early modern era through the 19th century, rulers in Europe, China, and elsewhere began to reconsider their labor policies. Serfdom, where it still existed, ended; colonies were now open to mass colonization by Europeans, and emigration was opened and encouraged after centuries of restrictions. What explains these changes? We argue that economic changes decreased the benefits of restricting populations and increased the risks. The primary benefit of restricting internal and external movements of populations was that the restrictions artificially decreased the price of labor, benefiting the ruling elite. The risk had been that the poor would revolt against these policies. As populations grew due to increased agricultural productivity and sanitation and the industrial revolution slowly began, the ruler's calculus changed. The elite no longer needed as much labor, while the increase in population risked mass revolt. Yet, these changes did not happen in all countries at once. England, a leader in productivity and population growth, developed colonization policies to eliminate the “surplus” poor population early, while Spain, the Dutch Republic, and France lagged. Similarly, the Habsburg monarchy ended serfdom in the more populous and growing German-speaking areas before it did in Hungary, and it did so long before Russia's “backward” economy. Using newly collected data on the end of serfdom, colonization, and emigration policies, we show that these economic changes set the stage for the mass migration of the 19th century.

Authors

• Margaret E. Peters, University of California, Los Angeles

• Michael K. Miller, George Washington University