As I said. If you look not at the entire world, but say Northern Europe, reading literacy (a different measure from the literacy discussed in many modern source

As I said. If you look not at the entire world, but say Northern Europe, reading literacy (a different measure from the literacy discussed in many modern sources which includes writing literacy) was almost universal by the late 1800s. For instance, in Sweden, to cherrypick a stat, in 1875 only 1% of military recruits were found unable to read [1]. We really must stop thinking that people of yestertimes where so much inferior to people today. Yes, there were differences between men and women, but this was also starting to change. [1]: https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1876/d308 https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1876/d308