early economy

Question 1

summarise the patterns of English population change from the beginning of the Elizabethan era to the end of Charles I’d reign

Answer 1

• rapid population increase
• between 1611 and 1651 there was a rapid increase

Question 2

what was the nature of internal migration in the first half of the seventeenth century

Answer 2

• employment increase in non-agricultural occupations
• industrial jobs were created in the countryside
• steady movement from the countryside into towns
• growth of the Stuart economy and the success of the fledging empire were due to the drastic growth of London
• London was at the heart of the road and shipping network and could support the increasing demands for goods

Question 3

why was the performance of the English economy before 1650 under-performing

Answer 3

• wet summers and frosts
• constant bad harvests and the stability of English economy depended on good harvests, so one bad harvest could dislocate the whole economy
• price inflation occurred with 4% increase per year for consumable goods

Question 4

what complicates the distinction between the peerage and the gentry in the seventeenth century

Answer 4

• nobility (peerage) held land, property and titles that had been in their families for generations
• boundary between peerage and gentry was difficult to define because a ‘gentleman’ could be wealthier and wield more influence than a noble man

Question 5

what are the possible explanations for the rise of the gentry in the era up to 1650

Answer 5

• became normal for the second or third sons of gents to enter a career in law
• as parliament became more important in the build up to the civil war, the role of the gentry was enhanced and most of the MPs were gentry as were many of the officers from the civil war who fought for parliament

Question 6

in what sense was the rise of the gentry and that of other social groups linked

Answer 6

• as London grew, so did the merchant class
• merchant classes status was different from the gentry as they were looked down upon but they did maintain connections with the gentry
• rise in numbers and status wouldn’t have been possible without increased urbanisation

Question 7

why did the poorer classes suffer in the decades leading up to the civil war

Answer 7

• grain prices rose sixfold
• prices of industrial products have more than doubled
• value of real wages have halved
• more land was taken into cultivation

Question 8

who migrated to establish Kentish towns

Answer 8

skilled dutch weavers

Question 9

how many dutch weavers lived in maidstone in 1585

Answer 9

120

Question 10

by 1600, what % of the population of Norwich were foreign migrants and who were they and where were they from

Answer 10

35% of the population of Norwich were foreign migrants, skilled weavers from the Low counties