What Are The Causes Of Population Growth

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Between 1750 and 1900, the population of Britain and Wales exploded in an unprecedented way. The population increased 38% between 1750 and 1800, a half century later, by 1850, it nearly doubled to 99%, and finally between 1850 and 1900 the population percentage had dropped marginally to 81%, however, it was still a large increase. The population increased from 5.5 million people to 32.5 million, which means that in 150 years, the population had nearly increased by 500%. Population increase results from three causes: immigration, increased birth rate and a decreased mortality rate. However, the population growth in Britain and Wales was predominantly due to a significant decrease in deaths. There were several factors which contributed to this, however, three of the most important causes were the inventions of the smallpox vaccine,…show more content…
The smallpox vaccine immunized the population from one of the most lethal diseases in Europe. Smallpox is an acute, contagious disease, with fever and pustules which usually leave permanent scars. In the 1700s, 400,000 people died from smallpox annually. Statistically, one out of every two people exposed to the disease became ill and one out of every four who were infected died. Furthermore, a third of any fortunate survivors were blinded and 20-60% were left with disfiguring scars. It was particularly fatal for young children, killing 80% of infected infants in London (Riedel). The earliest procedure to prevent smallpox was variolation which involved taking pus from the pustules of an infected person and inoculating healthy people with it. Generally, a weak form of the disease was developed, however lifelong immunity was given afterwards. There was also a mortality risk from this, but with a

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