P/H/15. The place of professions in the XVIII century England

The paper takes a look at the professional make-up of early modern England. The work falls into two parts: Part 1 offers reviews of two research papers (by W. Prest and by S.DCruze) both devoted to the topic under study. Prest argues that during the XVIII century professions were not restricted to the elite, but were associated with the ?middling sort. DCruze defines ?middling sort as independent ?business households surrounded by ?community brokers, or friends, and hardly affected by the influence of the upper classes. Part 2 aims at describing the place of professions in the XVIII century England, and concludes that according to the majority of historians, professions were mostly found among the middling sort of society. This assumption is supported by statistical evidence and quotes.