Page "Étienne Marcel" Paragraph 15

Because of progress in agriculture and the clearing of new lands, the population of western Europe had been growing since the tenth century.

Now a threshold of population was reached that by the end of the 13th century strained the agricultural capacity of some regions.

Through inheritance, farms grew smaller and smaller: by 1310 the average farm was only one-third of the size it had been in 1240.

Some regions, like the County of Flanders, were overpopulated and tried to reclaim land from the sea.

They became more centered on trade in order to be able to import food.

In England, in 1279, 46 % of the peasants had a farm of less than 5 hectares.

The minimum for supporting a family of five people was 4 to 5 hectares.

The rural population became poorer and poorer, the price of crops dropped, and the income of the nobility also diminished while they were expected to pay more.

Tensions arose between the nobility and the peasants.

Many peasants went to the cities at certain times of year, working for very low salaries, which created tension in the towns as well.

The evolution of the economy toward specialization ; global cooling, which caused bad harvests ; and population pressure combined to create famines, which had not been seen since the 12th century, in northern Europe in 1314, 1315, and 1316.

In 1316 alone the town of Bruges lost 5 % and Ypres 10 % of its population.