The Development of Agrarian Capitalism Land and Labour in Norfolk 1440-1580

This is an important new study of the roots of capitalism. Jane Whittle provides a penetrating analysis of the links between peasant society and early capitalism as she discusses north-east Norfolk, a county which played a leading role in the agrarian revolution. She uses a rich variety of sources from the precocious and commercialized locality to examine a range of topics, from the manorial system and serfdom, land rights, land markets and inheritance, to the distribution of land and wealth, the development of labor pools, and changing labor laws.

Jane Whittle is Lecturer in Economic and Social History at the University of Exeter.