An interesting, vaguely Easter-themed chart by Barings Asset Management, via Paul Mason’s Idle Scrawl blog:
It shows the changes in wheat prices in the years before both the 1848 Spring of Nations and this year’s Arab Spring. The fit for events in 1848 is tighter than for those in 2011 but we may not be finished yet of course — looking at you, Jordan....MORE
I didn't make a chart but here are the numbers for 1789:
(9 to 14 sous is a 55% move)
BREAD AND THE WAGE EARNERS BUDGET* | |||
Occupation | Effective Daily Wage in Sous** | Expenditure on Bread as percentage of income with bread priced at: | |
9s (Aug 1788) | 14s (Feb-July 1789) | ||
| Laborer in Reveillon wallpaper works | 15 | 60 | 93 |
| Builders Laborer | 18 | 50 | 78 |
| Journeyman mason | 24 | 37 | 58 |
| Journeyman, locksmith, carpenter, etc. | 30 | 30 | 48 |
| Sculptor, goldsmith | 60 | 15 | 24 |
| *The price of the 4 pound loaf consumed daily by workingman and his family as the main element in their diet | |||
| **Effective wage represents the daily wage adjusted for 121 days of nonwork per calendar year for religious observation, etc. | |||
Average Price of a Hectoliter (100 liters) of wheat in France | |
| 1730 | 9.5 francs |
| 1750 | 14.5 francs |
| 1770 | 19.8 francs |
| 1789 | 21.0 francs |
Price of 100 kilograms of Wheat in Paris, 1770-1790 | |
| 1770 | 25 francs |
| 1775 | 20 francs |
| 1780 | 17 francs |
| 1785 | 19 francs |
| 1789 | 29 francs |
| 1790 | 27 francs |
And commentary from one who should know:
"No worries"