An Essay on the Principle of Population

Chapter 6 analyzes the factors that enable exponential population growth in new colonies. An abundance of land and food enabled European settlements in the new world to multiply in number within a very short time. Among them, the United States grew the fastest because, unlike the Spanish settlements in Mexico, Peru, and Quinto, and the Portuguese colony in Brazil, America’s political institutions allow its citizens a greater degree of freedom and equality. Their property laws also promoted the distribution and effective use of land. Citing the data provided by mathematician Richard Price (1723-1791) in his work, Observations on the Nature of Civil Liberty, the Principles of Government, and the Justice and Policy of the War with America, Malthus observes the unprecedented growth in population in America. From an initial settlement of 21,200 people in 1643, their numbers doubled to half a million in 1760. In New Jersey, population doubles every 20 years whereas in the countryside it does the same every 15 years. Along the coast, the population doubles every 35 years.

Although it may seem that everyone is relatively well off in America despite the increase in population, Malthus insists this does not mean food production increases in a geometrical (exponential) ratio.