The Price Revolution

Unprecedented inflation, or the price revolution, swept through Europe in the sixteenth century. The main cause of the price revolution was the population growth during the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The population of Europe almost doubled between 1460 and 1620. Until the middle of the seventeenth century, the number of mouths to feed outran the capacity of agriculture to supply basic foodstuffs, causing the vast majority of people to live close to subsistence (the minimum food necessary to live). Until food production could catch up with the increasing population, prices, especially those of the staple food bread, continued to rise

The other principal cause of the price revolution was probably the silver that flowed into Europe from the Americas via Spain, beginning in 1552. At some point, the influx of silver may have exceeded the necessary expansion of the money supply and may have begun contributing to the inflation. A key factor in the price revolution, then, was too many people with too much money chasing too few goods. The effects of the price revolution were momentous.

The price revolution had its greatest effect on farming. Food prices, which rose roughly twice as much as the prices of other goods, spurred ambitious farmers to take advantage of the situation and to produce for the expanding market; the opportunity for profit drove some farmers to work harder and manage their land better.

All over Europe, landlords held their properties in the form of manors. A particular type of rural society and economy had evolved on these manors in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. By the fifteenth century, much manor land was held by peasant tenants according to the terms of a tenure (relationship between tenants and landlords) known in England as copyhold. The tenants had certain hereditary rights to the land in return for the performance of certain services and the payment of certain fees to the landlord Principal among these rights was the use of the commons-the pasture, wood. and pond. For the copyholder, access to the commons often made the difference between subsistence and real want because the land tilled on the manor might not produce enough to support a family. Arable land was worked according to ancient custom. The land was divided into strips, and each peasant of the manor was traditionally assigned a certain number of strips This whole pattern of peasant tillage and rights in the commons was known as the open-field system. After changing little for centuries, it was met head-on by the incentives generated by the price revolution.

In England, landlords aggressively pursued the possibilities for profit resulting from the inflation of farm prices. This pursuit required far-reaching changes in ancient manorial agriculture, changes that are called enclosure. The open-field system was geared to providing subsistence for the local village and, as such, prevented large-scale farming for a distant market. In the open-field system, the commons could not be diverted to the production of crops for sale. Moreover, the division of the arable land into strips reserved for each peasant made it difficult to engage in profitable commercial agriculture

English landlords in the sixteenth century launched a two-pronged attack against the open-field system in an effort to transform their holdings into market-oriented, commercial ventures. First they denied their tenant peasantry the use of the commons, depriving poor tenants of critically needed produce; then they changed the conditions of tenure from copyhold to leasehold. Whereas copyhold was heritable and fixed, leasehold was not. When a lease came up for renewal, the landlord could raise the rent beyond the tenant’s capacity to pay. Both acts of the landlord forced peasants off the manor or into the landlord’s employ as farm laborers. With tenants gone, fields could be incorporated into larger, more productive units. Landlords could hire labor at bargain prices because of the swelling population and the large supply of peasants forced off the land by enclosure. Subsistence farming gave way to commercial agriculture: the growing of a surplus for the marketplace. But rural poverty increased because of the mass evictions of tenant farmers.

1.Unprecedented?inflation, or the price revolution, swept through Europe in the sixteenth century. The main cause of the price revolution was the population growth during the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The population of Europe almost doubled between 1460 and 1620. Until the middle of the seventeenth century, the number of mouths to feed outran the capacity of agriculture to supply basic foodstuffs, causing the vast majority of people to live close to subsistence (the minimum food necessary to live). Until food production could catch up with the increasing population, prices, especially those of the staple food bread, continued to rise

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2.Unprecedented inflation, or the price revolution, swept through Europe in the sixteenth century. The main cause of the price revolution was the population growth during the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The population of Europe almost doubled between 1460 and 1620. Until the middle of the seventeenth century, the number of mouths to feed outran the capacity of agriculture to supply basic foodstuffs, causing the vast majority of people to live close to subsistence (the minimum food necessary to live). Until food production could catch up with the increasing population, prices, especially those of the staple food bread, continued to rise

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3.The price revolution had its greatest effect on farming.?Food prices, which rose roughly twice as much as the prices of other goods, spurred ambitious farmers to take advantage of the situation and to produce for the expanding market; the opportunity for profit drove some farmers to work harder and manage their land better.

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4.All over Europe, landlords held their properties in the form of manors. A particular type of rural society and economy had evolved on these manors in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. By the fifteenth century, much manor land was held by peasant tenants according to the terms of a tenure (relationship between tenants and landlords) known in England as copyhold. The tenants had certain hereditary rights to the land in return for the performance of certain services and the payment of certain fees to the landlord Principal among these rights was the use of the commons-the pasture, wood. and pond. For the copyholder, access to the commons often made the difference between subsistence and real want because the land tilled on the manor might not produce enough to support a family. Arable land was worked according to ancient custom. The land was divided into strips, and each peasant of the manor was traditionally assigned a certain number of strips This whole pattern of peasant tillage and rights in the commons was known as the open-field system. After changing little for centuries, it was met head-on by the?incentives?generated by the price revolution.

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5.In England, landlords aggressively pursued the possibilities for profit resulting from the inflation of farm prices. This pursuit required far-reaching changes in ancient manorial agriculture, changes that are called enclosure. The open-field system was geared to providing subsistence for the local village and, as such, prevented large-scale farming for a distant market. In the open-field system, the commons could not be diverted to the production of crops for sale. Moreover, the division of the arable land into strips reserved for each peasant made it difficult to engage in profitable commercial agriculture

?

?

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6.English landlords in the sixteenth century launched a two-pronged attack against the open-field system in an effort to transform their holdings into market-oriented, commercial ventures. First they denied their tenant peasantry the use of the commons, depriving poor tenants of critically needed produce; then they changed the conditions of tenure from copyhold to leasehold. Whereas copyhold was heritable and fixed, leasehold was not. When a lease came up for renewal, the landlord could raise the rent beyond the tenant’s capacity to pay. Both acts of the landlord forced peasants off the manor or into the landlord’s employ as farm laborers. With tenants gone, fields could be incorporated into larger, more productive units. Landlords could hire labor at bargain prices because of the swelling population and the large supply of peasants forced off the land by enclosure. Subsistence farming gave way to commercial agriculture: the growing of a surplus for the marketplace. But rural poverty increased because of the mass evictions of tenant farmers.

?

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7.English landlords in the sixteenth century launched a two-pronged attack against the open-field system in an effort to transform their holdings into market-oriented, commercial ventures. First they denied their tenant peasantry the use of the commons, depriving poor tenants of critically needed produce; then they changed the conditions of tenure from copyhold to leasehold. Whereas copyhold was heritable and fixed, leasehold was not. When a lease came up for renewal, the landlord could raise the rent beyond the tenant’s capacity to pay. Both acts of the landlord forced peasants off the manor or into the landlord’s employ as farm laborers. With tenants gone, fields could be incorporated into larger, more productive units. Landlords could hire labor at bargain prices because of the swelling population and the large supply of peasants forced off the land by enclosure. Subsistence farming gave way to commercial agriculture: the growing of a surplus for the marketplace. But rural poverty increased because of the mass evictions of tenant farmers.

?

?

?

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8.Unprecedented inflation, or the price revolution, swept through Europe in the sixteenth century. The main cause of the price revolution was the population growth during the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The population of Europe almost doubled between 1460 and 1620. Until the middle of the seventeenth century, the number of mouths to feed outran the capacity of agriculture to supply basic foodstuffs, causing the vast majority of people to live close to subsistence (the minimum food necessary to live). Until food production could catch up with the increasing population, prices, especially those of the staple food bread, continued to rise

The other principal cause of the price revolution was probably the silver that flowed into Europe from the Americas via Spain, beginning in 1552. At some point, the influx of silver may have exceeded the necessary expansion of the money supply and may have begun contributing to the inflation. A key factor in the price revolution, then, was too many people with too much money chasing too few goods. The effects of the price revolution were momentous.

?

?

?

9.The price revolution had its greatest effect on farming. Food prices, which rose roughly twice as much as the prices of other goods, spurred ambitious farmers to take advantage of the situation and to produce for the expanding market; the opportunity for profit drove some farmers to work harder and manage their land better.??

All over Europe, landlords held their properties in the form of manors.???A particular type of rural society and economy had evolved on these manors in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. By the fifteenth century, much manor land was held by peasant tenants according to the terms of a tenure (relationship between tenants and landlords) known in England as copyhold.???The tenants had certain hereditary rights to the land in return for the performance of certain services and the payment of certain fees to the landlord???Principal among these rights was the use of the commons-the pasture, wood. and pond. For the copyholder, access to the commons often made the difference between subsistence and real want because the land tilled on the manor might not produce enough to support a family. Arable land was worked according to ancient custom. The land was divided into strips, and each peasant of the manor was traditionally assigned a certain number of strips This whole pattern of peasant tillage and rights in the commons was known as the open-field system. After changing little for centuries, it was met head-on by the incentives generated by the price revolution.