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Disease, Disaster adn Death in Mid-Tudor England: Troublous Days of Addliction
Disease Disaster adn Death in MidTudor England Troublous Days of Addliction Author:John Moore In 1555-6 England was struck by the two worst harvests of the sixteenth century, followed by a pandemic of influenza and typhus, which lasted until 1560. This led to a dramatic fall in population of around 20%. Using a variety of historical sources, including taxation records, muster rolls, wills, parish registers, chantry certificates and the... more » 1563 diocesan census, John Moore provides a new analysis of population levels for the period 1501-60, providing several independent estimates of the death-toll caused by disease, to argue that these environmental factors dramatically altered the course of Tudor history. The death of Queen Mary, Cardinal Pole and many of the Catholic bishops from influenza led to the accession of Elizabeth I to the thorn and the success of the Anglican religious settlement which she sponsored, as well as facilitating new directions in economic and social development. The dramatic drop in population reduced the pressure for food on the countryside, allowing rural industries to grow and new agricultural methods to flourish. Protestantism encouraged a sense of national identity which was increasingly focussed against Catholic Spain, leading to new trading and colonial ventures and eventually to the first British empire.« less