‘History is a conscious, self-meditating process—Spirit emptied out into Time.’ –Hegel
This column discusses the roots of the Great Divergence between European and Asian economies. […] The Great Divergence of living standards between Europe and Asia had late medieval origins and was already well under way during the early modern period. […]
The economic history literature suggests two important shocks coinciding with the turning points identified above around 1348 and 1500.
- The Black Death – which began in western China before spreading to Europe and reaching England in 1348 – wiped out around one-third of Europe’s population within three years, and more than a half over the following century.
- Around 1500, new trade routes were opened up between Europe and Asia around the south of Africa, and between Europe and the Americas.
[…]
The Black Death of the mid-fourteenth century had quite different effects in different parts of Europe. The classic Malthusian response to such a mortality crisis is a rise in incomes for those lucky enough to survive because of an increase in the per capita endowment of land and capital for survivors.
