Whether it was demographic malaise or the social imperative for smaller and more careful family formation, the war stunted the population boom. In good fortune, this cessation allowed for the necessary cultivation of the pre-existing fibers of society. The first-time availability of credit, burgeoning trade, and new industries were given the chance to solidify, and migration to the urban centers became a reality in most public lives. The population intensification that described the pre-war economy made the townspeople of Appleby, Chippenham, Willingham, and Orwell, become part of communities no longer separate from the urban life but intrinsically tied to it. As a result, when poverty came to the villages during the wars, migration to the economic strongholds of the urban fortress was a logical alternative.

The peasantry of the villages had little opportunities available to them, and indebted to the research of Laurence Stone, Spufford manages an in-depth discussion of...
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