Seventeenth-Century English Forest Enclosure: Innovations in Landscape and Knowledge
Abstract
The seventeenth century witnessed major transformations in the English countryside, particularly with the enclosure of formerly communal or royal forests. These changes were not merely agricultural or economic but reflected deeper shifts in how land was understood, valued, and controlled. This article examines the epistemologies — ways of knowing and representing landscapes — that accompanied forest enclosures in seventeenth-century England. Using historical documents, legal records, and contemporary writings, we analyze how notions of "improvement" justified land privatization and reimagined relationships between humans and nature. By linking material transformations to intellectual developments, this study shows how enclosure was as much a cultural and epistemological revolution as it was an economic one.
Keywords
Seventeenth-century England, forest enclosure, landscape improvementHow to Cite
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