English Population in the Early Sixteenth Century

Abstract

So ME years ago, in the course of investigating certain towns in the early Tudor period,' I made use of the muster books, or military survey, of I522 and the lay subsidy rolls of I524 and I525 in order to calculate the numbers of inhabitants. Subsequent examination of these records has confirmed the belief that it is practicable to produce accurate estimates for much larger areas. I now propose to discuss some of them, and to consider the possibilities of employing them as a sample from which to derive a provisional figure for the population of the whole of England.