Something significant happened to the English countryside in the century before 1650. Although England’s population merely recovered to its pre-Black Death high of about 5 million, the economy was transformed. Having once been an overwhelmingly agrarian society, by 1650 a small but unprecedented proportion of the population now lived in cities, and less than half of the workforce was employed in agriculture. The country had de-agrarianised, and most remarkably of all, its food was still grown at home.
I'm not certain of the time period.... The video series, Weirs Ways, was a product of the seventies on BBC and Scottish TV.... But in one episode he mentioned the general increase in education leading to the more clever people leaving the farms because they were no longer, being aware of the greater world beyond the farmstead, to enslave themselves. Perhaps this effect, along with the introduction of new kinds of food crops from other parts of the world, explains some of the changes in how people lived and provided for themselves.
There is no doubt that the surge of urban demand fundamentally reshaped Britain’s economy. The scale of the market—and the intensity of demand arising from it—acted as a powerful driver of economic development. This pattern is not unique to Britain; throughout history, we can see similar dynamics at work in other regions and periods where expanding markets created the conditions for sustained growth and innovation. (https://exchangism.substack.com/p/exchangism-how-market-expansion-has)
Anton: you may already be aware of this paper, but if not, I thought you might find it interesting (similar topic): https://academic.oup.com/ej/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ej/ueab050/6311805
I'm not certain of the time period.... The video series, Weirs Ways, was a product of the seventies on BBC and Scottish TV.... But in one episode he mentioned the general increase in education leading to the more clever people leaving the farms because they were no longer, being aware of the greater world beyond the farmstead, to enslave themselves. Perhaps this effect, along with the introduction of new kinds of food crops from other parts of the world, explains some of the changes in how people lived and provided for themselves.
There is no doubt that the surge of urban demand fundamentally reshaped Britain’s economy. The scale of the market—and the intensity of demand arising from it—acted as a powerful driver of economic development. This pattern is not unique to Britain; throughout history, we can see similar dynamics at work in other regions and periods where expanding markets created the conditions for sustained growth and innovation. (https://exchangism.substack.com/p/exchangism-how-market-expansion-has)