Mentality of provincial society in the second half of the 18th - first half of the 19th century (using the merchant class as an example)

Abstract

Introduction. The study is devoted to the problem of studying the mentality of provincial society in the second half of the XVIII – first half of the XIX century, using the example of the merchant class. The relevance of the topic is determined by the insufficient degree of study, the study of the mental component of the estate forms an understanding of the relationship of estates to historical socio-economic processes. The purpose of this study is to study the peculiarities of the mentality of the provincial merchants of Russia in the second half of the XVIII – first half of the XIX century. Within the framework of the study, the following tasks were formulated and solved: to study modern approaches to the study of provincial merchants, to study the key characteristics of the socio-psychological portrait of provincial merchants, to analyze the structure of provincial merchant families and relationships within the family, to reveal the main directions of charitable activities of merchants. Methods. The research used both general scientific (analysis and synthesis, classification, specification) and historical research methods (logical, problem-chronological). Analysis. The historiography on this topic includes the work of modern researchers. The source database is represented by several types of sources. Results. When considering approaches to the study of merchants, it was found that the mentality should be studied, taking into account the socio-cultural aspect and the socio-psychological portrait of a certain group. When analyzing the socio-psychological portrait of the provincial merchants, it turned out that despite the fact that the merchants were an open class, they retained their characteristic features: strength and a common goal in family relationships, high religiosity (but at the same time efficiency, determination, and prudence). The merchant class was distinguished by its tradition and the looseness of family relationships, since the whole family worked to create "one common capital", that is, the common interests of the family were higher than the personal interests of each of its members. Representatives of the estate were actively engaged in charity work for a number of reasons: their own initiative due to religiosity, the influence of estate management bodies, and pressure from the authorities.