《The Social Distribution of Land and Men in England 1436-1700》.pdf

THE ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW SECOND SERIES , VOLUME XX , No . 3 , 1967 The Social Distribution of Land and Men in England, 14^6—iyoo BY J . P. COOPER R THOMPSON has provided a fruitful and fascinating conspectus of the dis- tribution of landed property.^ His main purpose was to consider how and D why England became overwhelmingly a land of tenant farmers by the end of the eighteenth century and the consequences of this for the subsequent development of the economy. Nevertheless it may be worth seeing whether there is more material available about the situation at the beginning of his inquiry which may at least provide a basis for slightly better-informed guessing. It may also be possible to provide more information about the numbers in the various categories of landowners, or at least show why more accurate information about this would be desirable . Likewise both Thomas Wilsons and Gregory Kings findings can be considered in more detail and compared with other contemporary estimates and evidence. Th e only general criticism of Dr Thompson which I would venture to make is that it is not always clear what data are being used in his calculations (e.g. the size of the cultivated area at various dates seems elusive). In dealing with approximations and guesses of this order, such minor variations cannot seriously affect the general argument, yet it may be instructive to have the guesses identified and more fully expounded, even at the cost of sacrificing some clarity of exposition. Dr Thompson does not profess to offer any signposts or resting places between Domesday Book and that of Prof. Stone . However an attempt to set up another