Americans in 1800 were enormously wealthier than Englishmen in 1100. Again, I’m not comparing nominal values. I’m comparing purchasing power and typical wages.

Americans in 1800 were enormously wealthier than Englishmen in 1100. Again, I’m not comparing nominal values. I’m comparing purchasing power and typical wages. The purchasing power of $1000 today is more than what an Englishman in 1100 had available for a year. If you offered $1000 of today’s dollars worth of purchasing power to an Englishman in 1100 to work for you for a year, he would jump at the opportunity to do so. An American in 1800 would not do so, because Americans were much wealthier in 1800 (or, for that matter, in 1650).