T3: Population Growth Flashcards
what was the population of Britain in 1520?
2.5 million
what was the population of Britain in 1680?
5 million
how did the population of Britain change 1520-1680?
doubled (2.5 mill to 5 mill)
what were the three main reasons for population growth in the 17th century?
- migration
- containing diseases
- fertility
what kind of people migrated to Britain?
economic and religious migrants
example of religious migrants
- French Huguenots immigrated to Britain in 1680s after Louis XIV revoked Edict of Nantes
- migrants from all over Northern Europe arrives after 1651 when religious toleration established in Britain
when did French Huguenots immigrate to Britain?
1680s
when did the commonwealth establish religious toleration?
1651
what skill did migrants from the Low Countries have?
skilled weavers
when did migrants from the Low Countries arrive?
1580s
where did migrants from the Low Countries settle?
East Anglia and Kent
how did migration within Britain cause population growth?
domestic economic migrants moved to towns to find work- more job security = m0re children being born
example of a place that domestic economic migrants moved and why?
Maidstone, Kent for cloth trade
what is a reason that migration did not increase the population?
about 200,000 English moved to American colonies (Puritans and indentures servants) - caused some population decline
how did migration affect urbanisation?
urbanisation increased, although not loads: in 1700, only 5% of the pop. outside London lived in towns of over 5000 people
Norwich stat?
by 1600, migrants made up 35% of population of Norwich, East Anglia
how did Dutch immigrants help to further increase the population once they had arrived?
Many skilled Dutch weavers took on English apprentices, increasing the prosperity and income of the English too → better job security led to more children being born
how often were there outbreaks of diseases?
about once every generation since the Black Death
what did regular outbreaks of disease mean?
people had a better understanding of how to limit the spread of disease
3 examples of how the spread of disease was limited?
- Forced quarantining in homes or ‘pest houses’ that were guarded
- London’s theatres shut for months at a time
- Doctors wore face masks to protect themselves against ‘miasma’ (bad air)
what was the impact of containing diseases?
plague had less of of an impact on the population
example of containing diseases and impact?
1665 Eyam, Derbyshire- village isolated on outbreak of plague. Many died but all children that had died were replaced within 10yrs
how did the population change over the 17th century?
contracted and expanded
when did fertility rates reach a low?
around 1650
what was the relationship like between death rates and fertility rates?
when death rates were high, fertility rates were high
what explains the relationship between death rates and fertility rates?
when elder members of a family died, the younger members had more of an opportunity to marry. younger marriage = larger number of children.
why were fertility rates so low in 1650?
due to late age of marriage and the Civil War?
what was the average age of marriage in 1650?
28 for men
26 for women
what was the main reason for the increase in fertility rates in 1680?
the massive growth of London
what was the average age for marriage in 1600?
26 men
24 women
what were the main impacts of population growth?
- increasing urbanisation
- increasing urban poverty
- changes to agriculture
why were people attracted to towns?
for trading and employment opportunities
stat for urban population?
urban population rose from 6% of the population in 1600 to 13% of the population in 1700
how did population growth affect employment?
caused a shortage of work in both towns and the countryside
what was the result of job shortage?
- increased number of vagrants
- 2/3 of the urban population lived below the poverty line
what were vagrants?
people who wandered from town to town looking for work?
how were vagrants treated and why?
lazy, punished harshly by the authorities
what does it mean to ‘live below the poverty line’?
can’t afford basic necessities
in which cloth city did many live below the poverty line?
Norwich
why did so many live below the poverty line?
many were fully qualified as had done apprenticeships. not enough work to go round.
what trade was Norwich known for?
cloth
what dominated the British economy?
agriculture
how much land was used to grow crops?
over 9 million acres
why was it easy for farmers to make a profit in the first half of the 17th cent?
because population growth - more demand
what happened to small landowners after 1650?
many had to sell land to aristocracy / upper gentry
why did small landowners have to sell after 1650?
inflation- could not afford to invest in their farms
who bought land off small landowners?
aristocracy and upper gentry
what happened to owners of smaller farms?
many would have found themselves on the poverty line
how did job reliability in agriculture compare to cloth trade after population growth?
employment in agriculture became more reliable than cloth industry
what new markets existed for agriculture?
towns such as London
what was needed as a result of new markets in towns?
improved transport infrastructure e.g. roads and rivers - needed to transport goods into towns where crops could not be grown
what city was the centre of the East Anglican cloth industry?
Norwich
