Shown above is a map of England (United Kingdom) that depicts each English town and city, and its population in the year 1377.
The capital city of London had almost 35,000 inhabitants at the time. The only other city to have a population of more than 10,000 is the northern city of York, with over 10,800 people living there.
There are established reasons for the apparently low population numbers in that year. In June 1377, King Richard II ascended to the British throne following the death of his brother, Edward III.
This was also the time when a Poll Tax was introduced to the public in the same year. With the help of the levies paid by those aged 14 and over, population records were accurately taken at the same time.
England at the time was also recovering from the infamous Black Death period (1347-1351) which caused massive deaths around the country; population records of that year helped in assessing the aftermath of one of the world’s largest pandemics on record.
The year also marked the economic rise of numerous English towns, and indeed, the tensions that built up before the Peasants’ Revolt a few years later in 1381.
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