Health
Between 1650 and 1750, more people moved to the towns, and the nation's health got worse. All towns were unhealthy - none of them had proper sewers or pure drinking water. Over-crowding helped disease to spread. And after 1700 cheap gin ruined the health of the poor.
Disease led quickly to death. A lot of children died young, and many women died in childbirth. People were saddened, but not surprised, by the sudden loss of a loved one. Most of them said that it was God's will that the person should die - there was nothing that they could do about it.
Only those who could pay the fees could call in doctors. This was not such a bad thing for the poor, for doctors were not much use. They helped by giving good advice, such as not to eat or drink too much. But they also did harm - they still bled patients suffering from fever.
Each family had its recipes for cures, kept with the recipes for pickles and jam. Some contained good sense, but many were useless or worse. For example, 'to cure baldness, rub your head with garlic and wash it in vinegar'. In every market-place there was a man selling 'miracle' cures, and plenty of foolish buyers.
In one sense, though, the nationīs health improved. The changes in farming meant that there was more fresh meat - at least for those who could afford it.
Walter Robson: Crown, Parliament and People; Oxford University Press, 1992/2002, page 77 f.