UC Santa Cruz

"English Purchasing Power: The Rise of Consumerism in Rural England, 1675-1750" interrogates how the English yeomen transitioned from austere farmer to capitalist consumer during the Jacobean and post-Restoration eras. In agrarian England, this reconfigured landscape was most clearly embodied in the struggle over the enclosure of common land. Focusing on the yeoman's understanding of the fiscal benefits of enclosure and land acquisition, I argue that--although beset by fractured social relations--the growth in grain markets within East Anglia led to a newfound prosperity, which was most clearly articulated in the yeoman's rise as a viable and discernible luxury goods consumer. Accordingly, my project draws attention to the yeoman's relevance and leadership in this role, which not only observes their elevation and advancement within the English class structure, but also views the expansion of luxury consumption and the impact of the developing market economy on the English rural household.