Did people shake hands in the 1700s?

History of handshaking in the 1700s

Understanding whether people shook hands in the did people shake hands in the 1700s reveals fascinating details about historical greetings. Exploring these customs provides insight into past social interactions and everyday etiquette.
Learn more about how people greeted each period.

Did people shake hands in the 1700s? The Urban Transition

So, did people shake hands in the 1700s? Simply put, yes - but it was not the universal greeting we know today. While aristocrats still preferred formal bowing, the modern handshake was just emerging in bustling British cities, championed mostly by merchants and Quakers as a practical way to seal deals and show equality.

In the early 1700s, Londons population surged to around 575,000, and roughly one-sixth of all people born in England lived some part of their lives in the capital. This massive urban crowding meant the old ways of assessing social rank from a distance no longer worked.

Most people assume etiquette manuals drove this social shift. But there is one counterintuitive factor about 18th-century manners that most historical accounts overlook - I will explain it in the etiquette section below.

The Quaker and Mercantile Influence

The handshake - contrary to popular belief - was not an upper-class invention. It actually bubbled up from the practical middle classes. Two distinct networks propelled this change across Britain, permanently altering how people greeted each other in the history of the handshake 18th century.

Quakers and the Egalitarian Greeting

The Quakers actively rejected the hierarchical tradition of removing ones hat and bowing. They believed in strict equality and used the handshake to physically demonstrate that everyone stood on the same level. It felt a bit rebellious at the time, but the message was powerful.

The Mercantile Network

For merchants, a handshake was not just a friendly hello. It was a binding public pledge that confirmed a business deal. When you are navigating a crowded London coffeehouse in 1750, trying to negotiate a shipping contract while avoiding spilled drinks and shouting traders, nobody has the time or the physical space to execute a proper, sweeping French bow.

That was it. The environment dictated the behavior. Breaking a hand-fasted deal destroyed a merchants reputation entirely, so the gesture carried immense weight.

Why Etiquette Books Ignored the Handshake

When I first started researching the history of the handshake 18th century style, I made a massive rookie mistake. I read only the elite etiquette manuals and assumed nobody shook hands because the books never mentioned it. It took me months of digging into merchant diaries to realize the streets operated completely differently than the ballrooms.

Here is that counterintuitive factor I mentioned earlier: etiquette manuals in the 1700s completely ignored the handshake because they were desperately trying to preserve the old aristocratic hierarchy. Etiquette writers (and this took me years to fully grasp) were not documenting reality. They dedicated pages to the exact angle of a proper bow, pretending the egalitarian handshake did not exist.

They failed. Urban society moved too fast. By the 1850s, handshaking was firmly established across most British social classes, completely replacing the daily bow. Victorian manuals finally surrendered and began printing rules for shaking hands, including warnings that a tepid, sweaty palm would chill the warmest feelings.

The Unconscious Science of the Greeting

Why did this specific gesture win out over bowing? Rarely do we see such a rapid shift in physical boundaries. Look, changing a lifelong physical habit is not easy. I have never seen anyone transition to a new greeting without a few awkward bumps. The answer might actually be biological.

Lets be honest - touching a strangers hand is fundamentally weird. But it serves a primal purpose. Exactly 25% of people unconsciously sniff their hands after a handshake, serving as a subtle form of chemical communication. We use it to gather information, much like other mammals. We just dress it up in nice suits and call it networking.

The transition took time, but it set the foundation for the modern professional world. The handshake proved that practical connection usually beats rigid formality.

Urban vs. Rural Greetings in the 1700s

Urban Mercantile Class (Recommended for business)

Required direct physical touch and eye contact

Highly egalitarian, treating both parties as equals

The firm right-handed shake

Fast and efficient, taking only seconds to perform in crowded spaces

Rural Aristocracy

Zero physical contact, maintaining formal distance

Strictly enforced social rank based on the depth of the movement

The deep bow or elaborate curtsey

Slow and deliberate, requiring physical space and time

A London Merchant's Greeting Dilemma

Thomas, a textile merchant in 1740s London, faced a daily problem in the crowded coffeehouses. He needed to greet new suppliers quickly, but traditional bowing was impossible in the cramped spaces.

He initially tried the formal deep bow he had been taught. But the first attempt failed - he knocked over a tray of drinks, and the rigid distance made him seem aloof to practical traders.

After weeks of awkward encounters, he noticed Dutch and Quaker merchants using a simple, firm grip. He dropped the bow entirely in commercial settings and adopted the handshake instead.

His social interactions smoothed out immediately. He forged partnerships with diverse traders who previously found him too aristocratic, learning that practical connection usually beats rigid formality in the working world.