Land and More Land


DIDYOUKNOW Did You Know

…that it took approximately 10,000 acres to yield an income of 10,000 pounds to a landowning aristocrat in the Regency Era?

As you can imagine, it took a pile of money to pay all those servants, maintain a townhouse in addition to the country manor, and keep a stable of good horses and carriages. No wonder so many of the upper class felt perpetually lacking in money.

I searched for acreage recently to compare to a small freeholder. When the infant United States opened up land in the Northwest Territories (Current day Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin) it was surveyed in square sections. An incomer, many of who would never have been able to obtain land in England, Scotland, or Ireland, could buy a full section at 640 acres and count themselves wealthy. There were, of course, speculators who wanted to obtain thousands of acres to sell when prices rose, but they were as likely to fail by 1819 as succeed. What would an English duke make of it? I’m exploring that in Duke in Name Only, my current work which is scheduled to be out in April.

You might find this article interesting: https://riskyregencies.com/2017/02/03/how-rich-was-rich/

https://janeaustensworld.com/tag/cost-of-living-in-regency-england/

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Caroline Warfield, Author

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