In 1500, the largest city was Paris, with an estimated 225 thousand inhabitants, almost double the population of the second-largest city, Naples. As in 1330, Venice and Milan remain the third and fourth largest cities in Western Europe, however Genoa's population almost halved from 1330 until 1500, as it was struck heavily by the bubonic plague in the mid-1300s. In lists prior to this, the largest cities were generally in Spain and Italy, however, as time progressed, the largest populations could be found more often in Italy and France. The year 1500 is around the beginning of what we now consider modern history, a time that saw the birth of many European empires and inter-continental globalization.
Largest cities in western Europe in 1500
(in 1,000s of inhabitants)
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Harvard University, & NBER. (March 1, 1992). Largest cities in western Europe in 1500 (in 1,000s of inhabitants) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved September 01, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1021988/thirty-largest-cities-western-europe-1500/
Harvard University, und NBER. "Largest cities in western Europe in 1500 (in 1,000s of inhabitants)." Chart. March 1, 1992. Statista. Accessed September 01, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1021988/thirty-largest-cities-western-europe-1500/
Harvard University, NBER. (1992). Largest cities in western Europe in 1500 (in 1,000s of inhabitants). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: September 01, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1021988/thirty-largest-cities-western-europe-1500/
Harvard University, and NBER. "Largest Cities in Western Europe in 1500 (in 1,000s of Inhabitants)." Statista, Statista Inc., 1 Mar 1992, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1021988/thirty-largest-cities-western-europe-1500/
Harvard University & NBER, Largest cities in western Europe in 1500 (in 1,000s of inhabitants) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1021988/thirty-largest-cities-western-europe-1500/ (last visited September 01, 2024)
Largest cities in western Europe in 1500 (in 1,000s of inhabitants) [Graph], Harvard University, & NBER, March 1, 1992. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1021988/thirty-largest-cities-western-europe-1500/