Disease, Particularly the Plague, Was the Most Important Factor in Determining Medieval, and/or Early Modern Population Levels, Discuss.
Disease, particularly the plague, was the most important factor in determining medieval, and/or early modern population levels, discuss.
There were many different factors which contributed to the rise and fall of population levels during the medieval and early modern period. No doubt one of the most catastrophically devastating limitations to the population on record in the medieval times was that of the Black Death in 1348 to 1350. However, famines were another common cause of population decline, and because of their impact on fertility, it could be argued that they were an even bigger check on population growth than mass deaths from disease in the same period. It is important to note that natural disasters and other limitations are not the only aspects to consider, and that these different factors gained and lost importance over time. It is also necessary to realise that human behaviour itself had a large impact on both limiting, but also on building population levels in the early period.
The highest population level in the medieval period was reached during the first ten or twenty years of the fourteenth century as ‘growth had been encouraged by a century of relative peace and permitted by the seemingly limitless land lying ready for the peasant’s plow.’This had all but ended by the start of the fourteenth century because too much pressure had been put on the agricultural resources available. The plague in Europe had arrived at a time when the population was already weakened and in decline; malnutrition from famines increased the population’s susceptibility to disease. Therefore it could be argued that although the arrival of the plague to mainland Europe and Britain was a rapid cause of death in the fourteenth century, it did not necessarily lower the population to levels which would not otherwise eventually have been reached through mass starvation and alternate illnesses. However, when considering the affects the plague might have had over time, it is
There were many different factors which contributed to the rise and fall of population levels during the medieval and early modern period. No doubt one of the most catastrophically devastating limitations to the population on record in the medieval times was that of the Black Death in 1348 to 1350. However, famines were another common cause of population decline, and because of their impact on fertility, it could be argued that they were an even bigger check on population growth than mass deaths from disease in the same period. It is important to note that natural disasters and other limitations are not the only aspects to consider, and that these different factors gained and lost importance over time. It is also necessary to realise that human behaviour itself had a large impact on both limiting, but also on building population levels in the early period.
The highest population level in the medieval period was reached during the first ten or twenty years of the fourteenth century as ‘growth had been encouraged by a century of relative peace and permitted by the seemingly limitless land lying ready for the peasant’s plow.’This had all but ended by the start of the fourteenth century because too much pressure had been put on the agricultural resources available. The plague in Europe had arrived at a time when the population was already weakened and in decline; malnutrition from famines increased the population’s susceptibility to disease. Therefore it could be argued that although the arrival of the plague to mainland Europe and Britain was a rapid cause of death in the fourteenth century, it did not necessarily lower the population to levels which would not otherwise eventually have been reached through mass starvation and alternate illnesses. However, when considering the affects the plague might have had over time, it is
Bibliography: Hitchcock, Tim, English Sexualities, 1700-1800, Macmillan, (Basingstoke, 1997). Annals of the Association of American Geographers , Vol. 61, No. 1 (Mar., 1971), p.116 [ 2 ] [ 3 ]. Andrew, Hinde, England’s Population: A History since the Doomsday Survey, Hodder, (New York, 2003), p.52 [ 4 ] [ 5 ]. E.A., Wrigley, No Death Without Birth: the implications of English mortality, in Roy Porter and Andrew Wear (eds) Problems and Methods in the History of Medicine (London, New York, 1987), pp. 136-137 [ 6 ] [ 7 ]. Tim, Hitchcock, English Identities 1700-1800, (Basingstoke, 1997), p.25 [ 8 ] [ 9 ]. Andrew, Hinde, England’s Population: A History since the Doomsday Survey, Hodder, (New York, 2003), p.38 [ 10 ] [ 11 ]. Zvi, Razi, Life, Marriage and Death in a Medieval Parish: Economy, Society and Demography in Halesowen, 1270-1400, Cambridge University Press, (New York, 1980), pp. 132-134 [ 12 ] [ 14 ]. P. Biller, Marriage Patterns and Women’s Lives: a Sketch of a Pastoral Geography, in P.J.P.Goldberg (ed.), Woman is a Worthy Wight: Women in Medieval English Society, 1200-1500, (Stroud, 1992), p.10 [ 15 ]