Medieval England Richer Than Many Countries Today

According to research led by University of Warwick economist Stephen Broadberry, per capita income in medieval England would have been about $1,000 if measured in 1990 U.S. dollars. This is substantially higher than in many poor countries today.

By the same measure, per capita income in Zaire, Burundi, and Niger is currently $249, $479, and $514, respectively.

The research provides the first annual estimates of GDP for England between 1270 and 1700 and for Great Britain between 1700 and 1870. Far more data are available for the pre-1870 period than is widely realised. Britain after the Norman conquest was a literate and numerate society that generated substantial written records, many of which have survived. As a result, the research was aided by a wide variety of records – among them manorial records, tithes, farming records, and probate records.

Professor Broadberry further said that: “Our research shows that the path to the Industrial Revolution began far earlier than commonly has been understood. A widely held view of economic history suggests that the Industrial Revolution of 1800 suddenly took off, in the wake of centuries without sustained economic growth or appreciable improvements in living standards in England from the days of the hunter-gatherer. By contrast, we find that the Industrial Revolution did not come out of the blue. Rather, it was the culmination of a long period of economic development stretching back as far as the late medieval period.”

Source:  Warwick University – Medieval England twice as well off as today’s poorest nations