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If I understand my history, one of the reasons the aristocracy declined in the 19th century is that they continued to keep most of their wealth in land even when it did not make economic sense to do so. Many British nobles married wealthy heiresses from America because their financial position was growing weaker over time due to lower food prices and increasing taxes, making them "cash poor". These changes were highly noticeable at the time, since the decline of the old nobility was an important theme in Marxism.

I'm not as familiar with the fate of the continental aristocracy, unfortunately. Perhaps someone can enlighten me on that.

How might the European aristocracy maintain their political or economic through the great changes of the Industrial Revolution?

(No, monarchs selling titles to random commoner businessmen does NOT fulfill the spirit of the challenge, by the way. :p)
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