A Statistical View of European Rural Life, 1600-1800 Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the average European's diets varied greatly due to natural causes. Most peasants lived in unsanitary conditions, far away from conventional medical help, and would live in a single room with a large family. Most farmers were illiterate especially in Southern Europe and their farming technology was not updated. Protestant Northern Europe had higher literacy rates because Protestantism encouraged individual bible reading, while catholic Southern Europe was highly illiterate because the Catholic Church did not encourage literacy