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Sheilamae Reyes & Luis FonsecaAnthropology 179
02/27/2007
Demographic, economic and social trends during:• Expansion (1450-1520)• Stagflation (1520-1570)• Crisis (1570-1660)• Depression (1600-1660)
Case Study: Norman nobility
End of 100 Years War expulsed English from France
Threat to internal stability alleviated with Burgundy state collapse
Lower rates of epidemic Increase in agricultural production Higher standards of living Mortality rates decreased Countryside was repopulated as
abandoned villages from the English wars were resettled
Elites during the period• Recovered fortunes and income by 1500• End of civil war reconciliated Dauphines and
Burgundians• Increased internal strength in economic and
socioeconomic terms and state territory grew
Population and economy:• The population was double by 1560 from a
low, at 20 million But this was a point just before decline Population growth outpaced food production
• By 1540’s food production reached ceiling in south of France (but agricultural production varied from region to region)
• Population growth caused increase in land prices and rent Peasants were paying ½ of production to
landlord
This period marked by worsening economic situation for commoners (working poor and farm managers)• Average real wages fell• Agricultural wages fell
Some farmers did well during this period
Inequality grew among commoners, between working poor and farmers
Elites and the State• Growing inequality and rise in land costs
increased income Elites able to provide inheritance to sons Expanded nobility from dividing family estates For example, the top elite grew from 12 in 1505 to 36
in 1588• However, elite power to collect revenue
declined and led to financial crises in the state, lost control of army in 1562 royal finances collapsed as there was
insufficient funds to meet military expenditures Civil War
Population growth ceased• Population in 1720 the same as in 1560• Plague was carried by troops• Famine, weather and civil war• War: within and external
War of Religion Rebellions
Different regions experienced variations in demographic changes
Each region experienced different conflicts• Religious conflicts in South was most
intense in 1568, production fell in 1560• North devastation not until 1590s
North vs. South of France• Expansion in North started after 1450• South achieved maximum population in
1540
Numerical dynamics of nobility• Ratio of noble to commoner in 1560 show slow
steady increase as general population grew at a faster rate
• As a result the proportion of nobility to commoner was declining
• Nobles peaked in number in the 16th century To enter nobility status
• Land ownership, office, marriage, university, military
• Growth of income from agriculture• Revenues from price of grain• Doubled incomes in 1540s
Population growth and overproduction of elite caused state breakdown• Example of Malthusian theory of population
growth effects• Financial ruin of state, loss of military
control, factionalism and civil war state collapse