A History Of Agriculture And Prices In England

The article discusses the history of agriculture in England and the prices of various commodities between the 13th and 18th centuries. Rogers compiled data from various sources to create a comprehensive record of prices and production across the country during this time. Prices varied greatly from year to year, and were affected by a variety of factors such as famine, the Black Death, and the growth of the economy. The article concludes with a discussion of the impact of agriculture on England's economy and society over the centuries.

Since early times, agriculture has been pivotal to England's economy. This is the two-part seventh in a magisterial seven-volume, eight-piece compilation by the economist James E. Thorold Rogers (1823-90), which represents the most complete record of produce costs in England between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries. Drawing on a variety of sources including college archives and the Public Record Office, Rogers documents the fluctuating prices of commodities such as livestock, wheat, hay, wool, textiles and labour in a time of great economic change, when the growing economy of the early middle ages was shaken by famine and the Black Death, and then gradually recovered towards the Agrarian Revolution. First published in 1902 (and edited by Rogers' son), Part 1 presents data from 1703 to 1793, showing the prices of a range of products across the country; Part 2 consists of further documentary information collected by Rogers for the work.