War and the weather: what caused the huge economic slump of 1706?
by Phillip Inman from on (#53659)
With biggest plunge in output in 300 years being predicted, we explore why the last great recession happened
Queen Anne was on the throne. Work had just started on Blenheim Palace in honour of John Churchill's victories over Louis XIV's French armies in the war of Spanish succession. The union between England and Scotland was imminent.
1706 is how far economic historians have to look back to find a slump bigger than the one that now threatens the country as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Related: UK unemployment to double and economy to shrink by 14%, warns Bank of England
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