SocietyEurope

Universal schooling

Jul 2, 1739 – Jan 1, 1900

Literacy goes from exception to rule

In depth

In Protestant countries the impulse came first from the demand that everyone be able to read the catechism for themselves; later the state took over, justified by the needs of industry and defence. The Nordic countries were early and high, and the close link between literacy and later economic development is among the most robust findings in economic history.

For children

Through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, country after country made schooling compulsory for all children. Within a few generations literacy went from something few had to something almost everyone had. Few single measures have changed societies more.

Connects to

The ReformationOct 20, 1517
The century of the bookJan 1, 1500 – Jan 1, 1600
The steam engineJan 1, 1776
The imperial examinationsJan 605 – Jan 1905

Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org