The Agrarian Problem in the Sixteenth Century

"The Agrarian Problem in the Sixteenth Century" by R. H. Tawney is a historical exploration of the dramatic shift in England's farming scene from the late Middle Ages to the English Civil War. It untangles the knotty economic and social changes of the era, such as the increase in enclosing land, the eviction of traditional renters, and the arrival of rental costs driven by competition – essentially turning the land game upside down. The book shows the complex agricultural problems faced by leaders in the 1500s and dives into the many angles of this issue, touching on its economic, legal, and political sides. Tawney shines a light on how these changes hit the people in the countryside, especially the battles between big landowners and regular renters who got squeezed by land grabs and rising rents. He uses stories and writings from that time to build a solid case for how this farming shake-up rocked English society, setting the stage to understand renter rights, the rules of land ownership, and how farming shifts altered the social and political pecking order.