In the 19th century Europe, the landed aristocracy dominated all social and political spheres.They were united by a common lifestyle. They owned huge estates in the countryside and some had large town houses too. Their spoken language was French, both in high society and in diplomatic circles. Most of the aristocratic families were connected by marriage. The aristocrats formed a small group but held a lot of power. Peasantry comprised the larger group of the population. To the west, most of the land was farmed by small owners and tenants. In Eastern and Central Europe, the pattern of landholding was characterised by vast estates cultivated by serfs. In the western and some part of Central Europe industrial production and trade was on the rise and with them towns grew and the commercial classes emerged. Their existence was based on the production for the market. Industrialisation took birth in England in the 1850s but France and Germany experienced it only during the 19th century. This caused emergence of new social groups — working class and middle class. The latter comprised industrialists, businessmen and professionals. These groups were not many in Central and Eastern Europe. So it was the liberal, educated middle-class which encouraged national unity after aristocratic privileges were abolished.