... nonexistent—rates of growth. Moreover, exports of grain to the Westwere instrumental in the rise of the “second serfdom.” On the otherhand, a large share of the population of the countries around the Balticearned ... was the leading sector, as the fluctuations of harvests hada strong impact upon the rest of the economy.49 Of course, Europeaneconomies, especially in the west, had much diversified since the ... have helped the diffusion of other diseases, while highpopulation densities—especially the overcrowding of towns, the lack of hygiene, and the proliferation of rats and fleas—made contagion easier.60Historians...