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• Note On Graunt's “observations.”
• To the Right Honourable John Lord Roberts 1 , Baron of Truro , Lord Privy Seal , and One of His Majesties Most Honourable Privy Council.
• To the Honourable S R Robert Moray 1 , Knight, One of His Majestie's Privy Council For His Kingdom of Scotland , and President of the Royal Society of Philosophers Meeting At Gresham- Colledg , and to the Rest of That Honourable Society.
• The Preface.
• Natural and Political Observations, &c.
• Chap. I.: Of the Bills of Mortality, Their Beginning, and Progress. 1
• [chap. II.] 1: General Observations Upon the Casualties.
• Chap. III.: Of Particular Casualties.
• Chap. IV. of the Plague.
• Chap. V.: Other Observations Upon the Plague, and Casualties.
• Chap. VI.: Of the Sickliness, Healthfulness, and Fruitfulness of Seasons.
• Chap. VII.: Of the Difference Between Burials and Christenings.
• Chap. VIII.: Of the Difference Between the Numbers of Males and Females.
• Chap. IX.: Of the Growth of the City.
• Chap. X.: Of the Inequality of Parishes.
• Chap. XI.: Of the Number of Inhabitants.
• Chap. XII.: Of the Country-bills.
• The Conclusion.: an Appendix 1 .
• Appendices to Graunt's Observations.
• Quantulumcunque Concerning Money. 1682
• Note On the Essays In “political Arithmetick.”
• Another Essay In Political Arithmetick, Concerning the Growth of the City of London: With the Measures, Periods, Causes, and Consequences Thereof.1682. By Sir William Petty , Fellow of the Royal Society. London: Printed By H. H. For Mar
• Observations Upon the Dublin-bills of Mortality, M D C L X X X I. State of That City.
• Further Observation Upon the Dublin-bills: Or, Accompts of the Houses, Hearths, Baptisms, and Burials In That City.
• Two Essays In Political Arithmetick, Concerning the People, Housing, Hospitals, &c. London and Paris.
• Observations Upon the Cities of London and Rome.
• Five Essays In Political Arithmetick, Viz.
• Note On the “five Essays.”
• To the King's Most Excellent Majesty.
• The First Essay.
• The Second Essay.
• The Third Essay.
• The Fourth Essay 1 Concerning the Proportions of People In the 8 Eminent Cities of Christendom Undernamed , Viz.
• The Fifth Essay. Concerning Holland and the Rest of the United Provinces.
• A Treatise of Ireland, 1687. the Elements of Ireland; and of Its Religion, Trade & Policy. By Sir William Petty , Fellow of the Royal Society.
• Note On the “treatise of Ireland.
• An Essay In Political Arithmetick Concerning Ireland 1 .
• Preface.
• Chap. I.: By This Title We Mean the Several Points Following. (vizt)
• Chap. II.: The State of the Case Represented In Terms of Number, Weight, and Measure; and Thereby Made Capable of Demonstrations. ( Vizt )
• Chap. III.: The 6 First Mention'd Points Are Proved Out of the 20 Suppositions Or Assertions Next Before-going. ( Vizt )
• Chap. IV.: How to Enable the People of England and Ireland to Spend 5 Millions Worth of Commodities More Than Now: and How to Raise the Present Value of the Lands and Goods of Ireland From 2 to 3.
• Chap. V.: That the King's Revenue In England and In Ireland, Supposed to Be 2070 Thousand Pounds, Will Be Increased to Above ⅕ Part More (vizt) to 1 Above 414 Thousand Pounds; and Even to 450 Thousand Pounds: So As to Be In All 2520 Thousand Pounds.
• Chap. VI.
• Chap. VII.: How to Take Away All the Evils Arising From Differences of Births, Extractions, Languages, Manners, Customs, Religion, and Laws, and Pretence Whatsoever.
• Chap. VIII.: How the Names, Bounds, Titles, and Values, of Lands May Be Settled and Ascertained; With Remedy of the Miscarriages, Which Have Happened In the 35 Years Last Past In the Disposures of Them.
• Chap. IX.: A Repetition and Enlargement of What Has Been Here Said.
• An Appendix of Objections to This Essay, With Answers to the Same.
• Appendix.
• Bibliography of the Printed Writings of Sir William Petty 1 .
• Supplement to the Bibliography of Petty's Works.
• Bibliography of the Natural and Political Observations.

The FOURTH ESSAY1

Concerning the proportions of People in the 8 eminent Cities of Christendom undernamed, viz.

1. WE have by the number of Burials in healthfull years, and by the proportion of the living to those who die yearly, as also by the number of Houses and Families within the 134 Parishes, called London, and the estimate of the Heads in each, pitch'd upon the number of People in that City to be at a Medium 695718. ‖

2. We have, by allowing that at Paris above 80 thousand Families (viz. 81280) do live in 23223 Houses, 32 Palaces, and 38 Colleges, or that there are 81,280 Kitchins within less than 24 thousand Street-dores; as also by allowing 30 Heads for every one that died necessarily there; we have pitch'd upon the number of People there at a Medium to be 488055, nor have we restrained them to 300 thousand, by allowing with Monsr. Auzout 6 Heads for each of Morery's 50 thousand Houses or Families.

3. To Amsterdam we allow 187350 Souls, viz. 30 times the number of their Burials, which were 6245 in the year 1685. ‖

4. To Venice we allow 134 thousand Souls, as found there in a special account taken by authority, about 10 years since, when the City abounded with such as returned from Candia, then surrendered to the Turks1 .

5. To Rome we allow 119 thousand Christians and 6000 Jews, in all 125 thousand Souls, according to an account sent hither of the same by Monsr. Auzout2 .

6. To Dublin we allow (as to Amsterdam) 30 times its Burials, the Medium whereof for the last 2 years is 2303, viz. 69090 Souls. ‖

7. As to Bristol, we say that if the 6400 Houses of Dublin, give 69,090 People, that the 5307 Houses of Bristol, must give above 56 thousand People; Moreover, if the 29325 Harths of Dublin give 69,090 People, the 16,752 Harths of Bristol, must give about 40 thousand; but the Medium of 56 thousand and 40 thousand is 48 thousand.

8. As for Rouen, we have no help, but Monsr. Auzout's fancy of 80 thousand Souls to be in that City, and the conjecture of knowing Men that Rouen is between the and ⅛ part of Paris, and also that it is by a third bigger than Bristol; By all which, we estimate ‖ (till farther light) that Rouen hath at most but 66 thousand People in it.

Now it may be woundred why we mentioned Rouen at all, having had so little knowledge of it; Whereunto we answer, that we did not think it just to compare London with Paris, as to Shipping and foreign Trade, without adding Rouen thereunto, Rouen being to Paris as that part of London which is below the Bridge, is to what is above it.

All which we heartily submit to the correction of the Curious and ‖ Candid, in the mean time observing according to the Gross numbers undermentioned.

Observations on the said 8 Cities.

thousand, or 17 thousand less than the 696 thousand of London alone.

2. That the People of the 2 English Cities and Emporiums, viz. of London 696 thousand, and Bristol 48 thousand, do make 744 thousand, or more than

3. That the same 2 English Cities seem equivalent

If there be any Errour in these Conjectures concerning these Cities of France, we hope they will be mended by those whom we hear to be now at work upon that matter1 . ‖

4. That the King of England's 3 Cities, viz.

5. That of the 4 great Emporiums, London, Amsterdam, Venice and Rouen, London alone is near double to the other 3, viz. above 7 to 4.

6. That London (for ought appears) is the greatest and most considerable City of the World, but manifestly the greatest Emporium.

When these Assertions have past the Examen of the Critiques, we shall make another Essay, shewing how to apply those Truths to the Honour and Profit of the King and Kingdom of England2 . ‖

[1]This essay is outlined in the “Several other Estimates” which Petty appended to the earliest publication of the First Essay (p. 512) viz.

• I. That London alone is equal to Paris, Roven, and Rome, as aforesaid.
• II. That London, Bristol, and Dublin are equal to Paris, Amsterdam, and Venice.
• III. That London alone is to Amsterdam, Venice, and Roven as 7 to 4.
• IV. That London and Bristol are equal to any four Cities of France.
• V. That Dublin is probably equal to the second best City, of any Kingdom or State in Christendome.
• VI. That London, for ought appears, is the greatest City of the World, but manifestly the greatest Emporium.

[1]In the Commonplace book of Petty's friend Dr Ent at the Royal Society (MSS. vol. 83) is a memorandum (pp. 78–79) of the number of inhabitants of Venice. The classes enumerated are noblemen, merchants, servants, artificers, beggars, friars, nuns, priests, poor in hospitals, Jews. In most cases they are distinguished as male and female, and the number of their children, male and female, is also given. The total is 134,801. If Petty's authority be, as seems not improbable, the same as that used by Ent, the chronology is confused. He was writing in 1686 or 1687. Candia surrendered nearly 20 years before, the special account is said by Ent to have been taken more than 20 years before the surrender, and Yriarte appears to assign it to the year 1582. La vte d'un patricien de Venise, p. 72. Unfortunately I have no present access to such authoritative books as might determine the question. The Present State of Venice, by J. Gailhard (1669) says that the city contains above 300,000 souls.

[2]See p. 529, and note 5.

[1]See p. 525, note.

[2]Failing health and interest in his Treatise of Ireland, printed in this volume, probably prevented Petty from writing the promised essay.