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Volume 47 · Donny BrockFreedom and ability to travel
Let’s start with a question from Donny Brock, who asks, “Hey Gary, long-time listener, second-time commenter, first-time selectee for questions and answers.”
When did ordinary people actually gain the freedom and ability to travel? For example, at what point could an average person in England simply decide, “I want to move to Italy,” and actually do it? How did we go from medieval people being tied to land, work, and local communities to working- and middle-class people being able to move between countries or travel just for fun?
Leisure travel as we know it is a relatively recent phenomenon. The entire topic could probably be an episode of its own, but suffice it to say that leisure travel didn’t exist outside of a small group of wealthy people before the 20th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries, young aristocratic Europeans would often go on the Grand Tour of European capitals to finish their education.
Nothing allowed regular people to travel. It took a combination of more leisure time, more money, and better transportation technology.
The tourism industry as we know it today didn’t really develop until after World War II. Soldiers coming home had jobs, were given vacation time, and had automobiles that allowed them to travel. Commercial air travel also made it easier to travel further and faster than ever before.
Since the dawn of agriculture, the average person might not have traveled more than 20 miles from where they were born. The average person wouldn’t have had much leisure time, although medieval Europe had many feast and festival days throughout the year.
People spent time with their families and local community because that was their only real option. Something like cooking and animal care weren’t things you could ever really take a day off from.
Based on available episode transcripts. Answers are attributed to their original episodes and may contain transcription errors or later-outdated information. Some older volumes have missing source material.