WALES, William; John Howlett.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

An Inquiry into the Present State of Population in England and Wales; First editions of the authors's probing analyses of the national population in the late 18th century, "the two most outstanding replies" (Glass, p. 12) to Dr Richard Price's Essay on the Population of England and Wales (1780), which contended that the population of England and Wales had steadily declined over the previous centuries. In contrast, the works of William Wales (1734-1798) and John Howlett (1731-1804) challenge Price's methodology, data, and biases, to argue that the population had in fact doubled since 1688. Howlett's work, in particular, challenges the wider biases that Price demonstrated in his discussions of the socio-cultural aspects of populations.William Wales is perhaps most notable as the mathematician and astronomer on Cook's second voyage: in 1781, he was serving as master of the Royal Mathematical School at Christ's Hospital. The Examination was the first publication by John Howlett, who primarily worked as a minister in Essex.

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