One in five women in England in the 1700s were prostitutes reports Zoe Brennan:

• The number of prostitutes in London at the time is estimated to be 63,000.
• Women engaged in prostitution because the pay was 80 times higher than the alternative of living a life of drudgery as a housemaid.
• Overall the prostitution industry was worth about 1.5 billion inflation adjusted pounds.

To read more about the horrific practices that were used to trap women into prostitution, 17^th century condoms, how prostitutes were the celebrities of their times, and the prevalence of venereal diseases, click here.

Source: Daily Mail