Question

The need for legal action to address the grave inconveniences that might result from the labor shortages described in the passage most likely resulted from

Answer 1

Answer:

The agrarian nature of medieval European economies and their reliance on coerced labor.

Explanation:

The passage is a letter from King Edward III of England which was written in the year 1351. He stated in the letter that the nation was just recovering from a pestilence that had debilitating effects. The farmers who were mostly slaves were refusing to work unless they were given increased wages.

King Edward addressed this problem which caused "grave inconveniences" by stating in his letter that all slaves must be forced to return to their masters and that they were to be paid the wages agreed upon five years ago. He also stated that whoever refused to abide by this rule was to be confined to jail.