England in 1599 at the time of William Shakespeare.

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England in 1599 at the time of William Shakespeare.

Queen Elizabeth I was the monarch in 1599, Scotland was a separate country, but Henry VIII untied England and Wales. The population of England was about 3 million people.

There were two types of education public and grammar schools. It was limited to boys and men only. Two out of every ten men were able to sign their names. Education depended on a persons social group, labourers ware basically illiterate, merchants were better educated, gentlemen also has a chance to go to England's 2 universities, Oxford and Cambridge.

The life expectancy was nearly 42 years the wealthy lived longer. England's economy was based on farming. The south and the east farmed grain and kept livestock; west and north had sheep, cattle and horses.

Industry was fairly limited, woollen products needed and leather goods were common. Many tools were needed for building, farming and domestic use; these were made from metal and coalmines in England.

There was a strong fear of crime and in the larger towns they would have been used to thieves, pickpockets and robbers. These two groups of people, criminals and the homeless poor