Since the Middle Ages, all throughout Europe, laws banned Jews from many activities, including land ownership, rent, and cultivation. Therefore, Jews chose professions that did not violate these laws. Consequently, Jewish people often engaged in occupations related to crafts, trade, and intellect. From the second half of the 19th century, the state supported the Hungarian Jews becoming part of the middle-class of the society. The majority of Jews in the lower and middle class of Hungarian society were printers, bakers, furriers, shoemakers, and tailors, etc. Only a small percentage of the Jewish community were upper-middle-class.