Aug 21, 2008

Shakespeare A to Z | Cities, Towns, and Villages

Although England was still overwhelmingly rural during Shakespeare’s time, cities and towns were growing rapidly in size, population, and complexity. They were also becoming important centers of trade, education, and social life. People viewed cities and towns as an expression of humankind’s best ambitions and achievements, as well as the sources of its worst problems.

LONDON. England’s only city in the 16th and 17th centuries was LONDON. In the 1520s, approximately 50,000 people lived there, but by 1600 more than 200,000 called it home. London became the national center of...