So I’m writing a story for LA and mines about a traveling merchant. Based on what I’ve written it seems like its around the mid to late s. But I don’t really know much about them. So anyone want to give me some details about it? Like if they stayed in a town for a few days where would they keep their horse and wagon and some things like that about their life.
* I don’t exactly have any specific country picked out for it. It’s just some place and their a small war in one region that is trying to be kept unknown for now. Anywaaayyy thanks for any info u have!
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During the th century towns grew larger. In the th century a tiny minority of the population lived in luxury. The rich built great country houses. In the th century the wealthy owned comfortable upholstered furniture.
In the th century men wore knee-length trouser like garments called breeches and stockings. They also wore waistcoats and frock coats. They wore linen shirts. Both men and women wore wigs and for men three-cornered hats were popular. Men wore buckled shoes. Women wore stays (a bodice with strips of whalebone) and hooped petticoats under their dresses.
Transport was greatly improved during the th century. Groups of rich men formed turnpike trusts. Acts of Parliament gave them the right to improve and maintain certain roads. Travellers had to pay tolls to use them. The first turnpikes were created as early as but they became far more common in the th century.
Transporting goods was also made much easier by digging canals. In the early th century goods were often transported by packhorse. Moving heavy goods was very expensive. However in the Duke of Bridgewater decided to build a canal to bring coal from his estate at Worsley to Manchester. Many more canals were dug in the late th century and the early th century. They played a major role in the industrial revolution by making it cheaper to transport goods.
Travel in the th century was made dangerous by highwaymen. The most famous is Dick Turpin (-). Originally a butcher Turpin does not deserve his romantic reputation. In reality he was a cruel and brutal man. Like many of his fellow highwaymen he was hanged.
Smuggling was also very common in the th century. It could be very profitable as import duties on goods like rum and tobacco were very high.
During the th century the factory system gradually replaced the system of people working in their own homes or in small workshops. The changes caused a great deal of suffering to poor people.
The Industrial Revolution created a huge demand for female and child labour. Children had always done some work but at least before the th century they worked in their own homes with their parents or on land nearby. When children worked in textile factories they often worked for more than hours a day.
Conditions in early th century towns were often dreadful. However there was one improvement. Gaslight was first used in in Pall Mall in London. Many towns introduced gas street light in the s.
However early th century towns were dirty, unsanitary and overcrowded. In the early th century housing for the poor was often dreadful. The worst homes were cellar dwellings. These were one-room cellars. They were damp and poorly ventilated. The poorest people slept on piles of straw because they could not afford beds.
In the late th century workers houses greatly improved. After most towns passed building regulations which stated that e.g. new houses must be a certain distance apart, rooms must be of a certain size and have windows of a certain size.
In the early th century most of the working class lived on a dreary diet of bread, butter, potatoes and bacon. Butcher’s meat was a luxury. However food greatly improved in the late th century. Railways and steamships made it possible to import cheap grain from North America so bread became cheaper. Refrigeration made it possible to import cheap meat from Argentina and Australia. Consumption of sugar also increased. By the end of the th century most people (not all) had a reasonably varied diet.
In the mid th century travel was revolutionised by railways. They made travel much faster. (They also removed the danger of highwaymen).
In the th century, apart from cotton shirts, men’s clothes consisted of three parts. In the th century they wore knee length breeches but in the th century men wore trousers. They also wore waistcoats and coats.
In the early th century women wore light dresses. In the s they had puffed sleeves. In the s they wore frames of whalebone or steel wire called crinolines under their skirts. In the late s women began to wear a kind of half crinoline. The front of the skirt was flat but it bulged outwards at the back. This was called a bustle and it disappeared in the s.
In the th century people of all classes wore hats. Wealthy men wore top hats. Middle class men wore bowler hats and working men wore cloth caps.
Source(s): http://www.localhistories.org/thcent.html
I reckon you’d need a month to whizz through and six-eight weeks to take a more leisurely look. I got a bus pass but that was years ago. I imagine you’d still be able to get them now though. If you can afford it hire a car or a camper-van. The hostels out there are great and, of course, cheap, if you’ve just got yourself to pay for. October not too bad, some rain, some clouds, mostly sun, but I’d definitely take a coat. Have a good time.