The Connection Between English Aristocracy And Merchants In The Period Of Social Transformation

Since the 15th century,England has begun to enter the period of rapid economic development.At the same time,the social structure has also undergone tremendous changes.The social positions of various classes,groups and people have shifted and changed,and the relationships between them have become more diverse and complex.The aristocracy as the top part of the English pyramid social structure.They enjoyed a high social status,inferior only to the king.In the face of the changes in the period of social transformation,the aristocracy had their own behavior.The aristocracy faced the crisis and pressure in economic life,the changes in political environment and the changes in ideological and cultural environment.Following the trend of historical development,some aristocrats changed their ideas and carried out various forms of communication activities with merchants in economy,politics and family life.Communication activities include both cooperation and competition,and assimilation of social roles.It not only has a positive impact on each other's economic and politicalstatus,but also plays a role in the transformation of English society.By referring to relevant literature,this paper attempts to explore the historical background,main forms and historical influences of the communication between English aristocrats and merchants in the period of social transformation.This paper consists of three parts: introduction,main part and conclusion.The introduction mainly explains the basis and significance of the topic selection of this article,defines the key terms and core concepts involved in the article,combs the relevant research status at home and abroad,and finally explains the basic theoretical methods used in this paper.The main part of this paper is divided into three chapters.The first chapter discusses the historical background of the communication between English aristocrats and merchants in the period of social transformation from the perspective of aristocrats and merchants.From the perspective of the aristocracy,with the changes of the form of land rent and the economic environment in England,the real income and purchasing power of the aristocracy decreased during the period of social transformation.Changes in the way the gentry managed their estates also had an effect on the aristocracy.At the same time,the aristocracy also had to undertake a lot of feudal obligations,and they had a lot of wasteful spending.Many of the aristocrats faced financial dilemmas.From a political perspective,after the establishment of the Tudor dynasty,the English monarchs cracked down on the aristocracy,strengthened the monarchy and centralized power.Due to the consideration of increasing fiscal revenue and changing the domestic economic structure,the government began to implement a mercantilist policy,which has formed a culture of encouraging business and foreign trade in the whole society.From the point of view of ideology and culture,the traditional idea of restraining business has some changes due to the increase of businessmen's economic strength and social influence.On the merchant side,with the growth and strength of the merchant class,the merchant class has made a great contribution to the economic development of England,and its political status has been constantly improved and its social influence has been strengthened.However,the social evaluation of the merchant class does not match its function.In order toimprove their social status,the merchant has taken various measures,such as enthusiastically participating in public welfare and charity,and attaching importance to the education of their children.In addition,the merchant also actively strengthened exchanges and cooperation with upper-class people,especially the aristocracy.As a result,the aristocracy and the merchant built various forms of connection in economic,political,and family life.The second chapter expounds the main forms of communication between the aristocracy and the merchant during the social transformation from three aspects:economic life,political life and family life.In economic life,the aristocracy had various forms of exchanges and cooperation with the merchant in real estate management,industrial and commercial operations,and capital lending.In the political life,the aristocracy and the merchant class carried out cooperation and competition on the two stages of the parliament and the official regime out of their own needs and interests,resulting in corruption such as power and money trading,selling and buying.In the family life,the marriage of the aristocracy and the merchant appeared,and there were many nobles who followed the merchant as apprentices and eventually became the merchant.These exchanges made the aristocracy and the merchants as if to form a certain degree of community of common destiny.The third chapter analyzes the historical impact of the interaction between the British aristocracy and the merchant in the period of social transformation from both economic and political perspectives.The communication between aristocrats and merchants not only had a positive effect on the economic and political status of each class,but also contributed to the economic and political transformation of England.