AP European History Flashcards: 18th-Century Society and Demographics
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Review key ideas with interactive flashcards. This set includes 16 cards to help you master important concepts.
How did inoculation impact 18th-century demographics?
Inoculation significantly reduced mortality from smallpox, a major killer, which lowered the overall death rate and contributed to population growth.
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How did inoculation impact 18th-century demographics?
Inoculation significantly reduced mortality from smallpox, a major killer, which lowered the overall death rate and contributed to population growth.
What was the relationship between infant mortality and family life?
As infant mortality decreased, families could dedicate more space and resources to child-rearing, changing the focus and structure of family life.
What major disease, a long-standing threat, disappeared during this period?
The plague, which had caused devastating demographic crises for centuries, largely disappeared as a major factor in mortality.
What was the European marriage pattern?
A demographic pattern that limited population growth, likely referring to the practice of marrying later in life and a significant percentage of the population never marrying.
What were two negative consequences of rapid urbanization?
The growth of cities eroded traditional communal values and strained city governments' ability to provide basic services like protection and a healthy environment.
What challenge did the growth of cities pose for local governments?
City governments were strained by rapid growth and struggled to provide adequate protection and a healthy environment for the expanding population.
What caused the mass migration from rural areas to cities?
The Agricultural Revolution produced more food with fewer workers, leading displaced rural populations to migrate to cities in search of employment.
Explain the connection between the Agricultural Revolution and the erosion of traditional communal values.
The Agricultural Revolution caused migration to cities, where the anonymity and scale of urban life eroded the close-knit, traditional communal values found in rural villages.
What was the Agricultural Revolution?
A period of higher agricultural productivity and improved transportation that increased the food supply, which allowed populations to grow and reduced demographic crises.
What was the primary effect of the Agricultural Revolution on population demographics?
The increased food supply allowed populations to grow and significantly reduced the frequency and severity of demographic crises like famines.
How did improved transportation contribute to population growth?
Improved transportation was part of the Agricultural Revolution, allowing the increased food supply to be distributed more efficiently, preventing regional famines.
Besides improved agriculture, what two medical factors contributed to population growth in the 18th century?
The disappearance of the plague and the use of inoculation, which reduced mortality from smallpox, were key medical factors in population growth.
Demographic Crises
Events, such as famines or epidemics, that lead to high mortality rates and can cause a population to stagnate or decline. These were reduced by the Agricultural Revolution.
Summarize the main factors that caused demographic changes between 1648 and 1815.
The primary factors were an increased food supply from the Agricultural Revolution and reduced mortality from the disappearance of plague and smallpox inoculation.
Identify two factors that limited population growth during this period.
Population growth was limited by the European marriage pattern and, in some areas, the use of various birth control methods.
Why did families begin to dedicate more resources to child-rearing in the 18th century?
As infant and child mortality decreased and commercial wealth increased, families had both more certainty their children would survive and more resources to invest in them.