Premium
English individualism refuted—and reasserted: the land market of Earls Colne (Essex), 1550–1750
Author(s) -
French H. R.,
Hoyle R. W.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
the economic history review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.014
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1468-0289
pISSN - 0013-0117
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0289.2003.00263.x
Subject(s) - notice , possession (linguistics) , contest , individualism , economic history , history , sociology , law , political science , philosophy , linguistics
Earls Colne first came to the notice of historians through Macfarlane's study of its seventeenth‐century vicar, Ralph Josselin, and then Macfarlane's use of evidence from the village in his The origins of English individualism (1978). This article presents preliminary results drawn from a computer‐based reconstruction of the copyhold land market, 1546‐1750, to contest Macfarlane's reading of the family‐land bond in the manor. The familial possession of land over long periods is shown to be normal, and consistent with an active land market predominantly in smaller parcels. Little consolidation took place in the manor although some growth in holding size was achieved through subtenancy. Finally, the article asks whether the experience of copyholders is typical of the general.