England, the 16th Century

Click on the map to the right to explore the places that Shakespeare knew.

The England of Shakespeare's time was predominantly rural, and virtually untouched by human hand. The population of the entire country was probably around 3 million, compared to nearly 60 million today.

The economy was still mainly agricultural, with workers tied to the land. Wool was the most precious, but mundane, commodity. Trade in exotic imports from the Americas, the Caribbean, India and China was on the increase.

It was also a time of fear and upheaval, with a society divided and a population governed by a brutal and paranoid State.

Read more about Shakespeare's England...