Introduction

In 1798 a vicar called Thomas Malthus wrote An Essay on the Principle of Population.  He forecast war, disease and famine, if the number of people continued to grow.  In fact, in the past there had always been a 'population ceiling' beyond which numbers could not grow.  But by 1800 Malthus's ideas were no longer correct.  The population continued growing.  It reached 21 million in 1851, and 37 million by 1901; this is known as the 'demographic revolution'.

Nobody knows why the population grew, but historians have made many suggestions.  Some of these are listed below:

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   Suggested possible causes of the Demographic Revolution: