The economic structure of the City of London at the end of the seventeenth century

Abstract

While there has been much interest recently in the early modern history of London there has been little work done on establishing a comprehensive picture of the City, the central core of its economy. The population history of the City has begun to be explored in a systematic way. The social and economic structure of one or two small areas has begun to be examined, both within the City and outside, in districts such as Southwark and the East End. Other studies concentrating on single issues have attempted to establish such things as the economic profile of the metropolis from the occupations given in a sample of parish death registers, resulting in a claim that the London manufacturing sector was more significant than commerce, and not the reverse, as had been assumed previously. Another study, by Power, based on the hearth tax from a small sample of parishes concluded with the comment that ‘the impression is gained of an urban scene where occupations and rich and poor are thoroughly jumbled’.