ould you like to pay a halfpenny for a small beer, 1 shilling for a liter of wine, or less than 2 pounds for a horse? If you lived in 17th century England you could buy all of these and even afford Shakespeare’s First Folio, which was only £1 when it was published.

Shakespeare lived during the early modern period, a time in Western history that is set between the Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution and has created modern society.

Though scholars have managed to discover somewhat dubious commercial revolutions as far back as the eleventh century

In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare creates a microcosmic model of early modern society through which he explores not only the readily evident theme of anti-Semitism, but also the changing economic face of Europe.

Attitudes about usury and money-lending gave more moral weight to the work of merchants and traders in Elizabethan England, writes Stephen Alford in his new book London’s Triumph: Merchants, Adventurers, and Money in Shakespeare’s City, which traces the historical roots of London’s rise in the sixteenth century.

Attitudes about usury and money-lending gave more moral weight to the work of merchants and traders in Elizabethan England, writes Stephen Alford in his new book London’s Triumph: Merchants, Adventurers, and Money in Shakespeare’s City, which traces the historical roots of London’s rise in the sixteenth century.

In several of his plays, Shakespeare refers to Jews as despised figures and perpetuates
common myths about them without any moral reservations.

The Judicial system in Elizabethan England was an old system, passed down from the Anglo-Saxon Era. People convicted of crimes were usually held in jails until their trials, which were typically quick and slightly skewed in favor of the prosecution ("Torture in the Tower of London, 1597").

When Queen Elizabeth I assumed the throne of England in 1558 she inherited a judicial system that stretched back in time through the preceding Middle Ages to the Anglo-Saxon era.

English playwright William Shakespeare is considered to be among the most influential writers of all times for several reasons. One of these reasons is that Shakespeare was able to write about timeless subjects that have concerned mankind for centuries.

The events depicted in The Lost Colony took place during the Elizabethan era in England. The term, “Elizabethan Era” refers to the English history of Queen Elizabeth I’s reign (1558–1603).

Byrne explores the condition of the servant, apprentice, and common laborer in Elizabethan England. The critic argues that the relationship between master and servant was usually a pleasant one and that servants were treated like children within the family.

Liza Picard describes how, between the Queen at the top and the beggars at the bottom, there was jockeying for position in the different levels of Elizabethan society - See more at: https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/the-social-structure-in-elizabethan-england#sthash.4DikjGmO.dpuf