ECON 3R03 Lecture : England March 20th.docx
20 Mar 2013
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Document Summary
The england and the netherlands looked very different from the rest of europe and the world. England and the netherlands have much in common at this time. England is in some ways an extreme version of the netherlands. Both societies were highly literate --- it was difficult to measure literacy, but both societies were extremely difficult. In england in 1500, 6% of the population could sign their names. Literacy was measured in if people could sign their names (poor measure), but only one available. There are indications that arithmetic and geometry were known by an unusually large fraction of the population. Arithmetic required for accounting, and geometry for navigation. An unusually large part of the population was comfortable with the knowledge of arithmetic and geometry (trigonometry). You needed the knowledge of geometry to be able to navigate in the oceans. Most people were taught geometry quite early in school. England and the netherlands show unprecedented work intensity.
