Economic and Confessional Relationships in 18th Century Travel Writing from the Rhine

Abstract

For the enlightened community in the 18th century in Germany, travel writing was an important medium for sharing “empiric” data and facts about the different parts of the “Holy Empire.” Starting with the publications of Friedrich Nicolay in 1783, observations on different religious behaviour was an important influence on the economy. For example, Catholicism was said to be a major factor for the economic backwardness of the South. For the majority of enlightened travellers of the 18th century, the industrial protestant regions like northern Germany, or at a European level the Netherlands and England, were the embodiment of the economic development of a modern state.