ABSTRACT
Economic historians who categorise Tudor England as 'pre-industrial' take similar risks, of either emphasising the static and unchanging elements in the economy, or of concentrating on those processes thought to have been crucial in leading to industrialisation. England was, therefore, developing some of the advantages that were to lead to commercial supremacy and to the first industrial revolution. One reason for low taxation was that England was fortunate to enjoy official peace for over half the period under review, and that when war came it was not a serious drain on English manpower. One economic distinction that is often drawn between England and France in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is a differential consequence of population growth on agriculture. In England, R. Brenner argued, in initiating an important debate, the small landholder was largely squeezed off the land, whereas in France he enjoyed more security.
