The Enclosure Movement and the Black Death
圈地运动与黑死病

As early as the 12th century, some fields in England tilled under the open field system were enclosed into individually owned fields. The process of enclosing property accelerated in the 15th and 16th centuries. The more productive enclosed farms meant that fewer farmers were needed to work the same land, leaving many villagers without land and grazing rights. Many of them moved to the cities in search of work in the emerging factories of the Industrial Revolution. Others settled in the English colonies. This controversy led to a series of government acts, culminating in the General Enclosure Act of 1801 which sanctioned large-scale land reform. The process of enclosure was largely complete by the end of the 18th century.
早在12世纪初，英格兰的一些公共耕地就被圈为个人所有。到15和16世纪，圈地运动进程加速。被圈后的农田更加多产，可同时意味着同样的土地上需要的劳动力更少，这使得大量农民既没有土地也没有耕作的权利。大多数农民只好到城市那些因工业革命而兴起的工厂里工作，另外一些去英国的殖民地定居。这个矛盾导致了一系列政府法案的出台，至1801年批准大规模土地改革的“一般圈地法案”出台时达到高潮。该运动到18世纪末期大致完成。

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people and peaking in Europe from 1346 to 1353. The aftermath of the plague created a series of religious, social, and economic upheavals, which had profound effects on the course of European history. It took a hundred and fifty years for Europe's population to recover. The plague recurred occasionally in Europe until the 19th century.
黑死病是人类历史上最可怕的流行性疾病之一，导致大概7500万到2亿人死亡，1346到1353年在欧洲达到高峰。这次大流行带来了宗教、社会和经济上的大动荡，对欧洲历史进程产生了深远影响。欧洲人口花了150年时间才得以恢复。这次大流行后来还在欧洲断断续续发生，直到19世纪才完全消失。