Depopulation Acts

…As a result, feudal lords expelled the peasants and enclosed the open farmland of manors to turn them into large sheep farms. This “enclosure to expel the peasants,” which Thomas More called “sheep eating man,” brought great wealth to the enclosing party, and continued for almost a century, despite the absolute monarchy’s measures to prevent it, namely the “Depopulation Acts,” which prohibited enclosure. As a result, “abandoned villages” and “depopulated villages” were seen everywhere, and the appearance of medieval rural areas, which were based on the open farmland system, changed dramatically. …

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Depopulation Acts" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…それにつれて，封建領主たちは農民を追放し，マナー(荘園)の開放耕地を囲い込んで大牧羊場に転換した。〈羊が人間を食う〉(トマス･モア)といわれたこの〈農民を追放する囲込み〉は，囲込みを行う側にとっては〈黄金の蹄〉が多くの富をもたらしたから，絶対王政の抑止策，すなわち〈囲込み禁止諸法律Depopulation Acts〉にもかかわらず，ほぼ1世紀にわたって続けられた。その結果，〈廃村〉や〈過疎の村〉が方々にみられ，開放耕地制を土台とする中世農村の姿は大きく変貌した。…

※「Depopulation Acts」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報