The Origin of Wealth

CHAPTER EIGHT

Emergence

THE PUZZLE OF PATTERNS

AROUND THE YEAR 1315, the English economy went into a state of free fall.¹ After two bad harvests in a row due to poor weather, the price of a bushel of wheat rocketed eightfold, from five shillings to forty shillings. The rising price of wheat meant that millers could not afford grain for milling, and bakers could not afford flour for baking. Farmers could not afford to feed their livestock, which then sickened and died. The loss of livestock meant fields went unplowed, causing further shortages. As the food supply collapsed, the peasantry became desperate and began feeding off cats, rats, insects, ...