During the colonial period landowners were willing to pay high prices for unfree labor

frederick william of brandenburg-prussia trained his son, frederick, to be a hardy soldier. but frederick disliked rifle shooting and horseback riding. unlike his father, he was interested in french literature. he enjoyed poetry and music and, like some others of the enlightenment, he scoffed at religion. his father thought him soft, frivolous and unmindful of his duties. and when frederick refused to put his signature on a right to succession, for a few moments his father strangled him.

some women in the middle and upper classes worked as doctors, government officials, or priestesses. both women and men enjoyed a better quality of life the higher they were on the social pyramid. the egyptians believed that their class system created a stable, well-ordered society. each group had its own role to play.