How did the “Income” of rich people mentioned in the literature of 19th-century work?

Question

When reading a book like the Count of Monte Chriato or Scherlock Holmes, they mention that this and this person has an income of 4000 pounds and that person will have this and this income when she marries.

How does that work? Most of these people do not do any actual job.

In: 669

Answer 1

Everyone is talking about land and crops in Europe which is true, but let’s not forget the colonies.

A lot of the nobility of Europe owned farms and land in the Americas (Haiti for instance) and worked 100s of thousands of African slaves to death growing sugar, cotton, indigo and other crops.

It was a huge source of cheap goods for Europe and wealth for the aristocracy.