More published Utopia in 1516. The novel makes reference to many contemporaneous historical events, occurring both in More's native England and in other countries during this time period. In Book One, More references rebellions in Scotland and wars in France, in addition to other timely social issues. The two most prominent of these are the involvement of philosophers in governance and capital punishment for stealing. Both social issues—concerns of More and his contemporaries—influence the setting in the novel: Utopia is a setting entirely derived in response to unaddressed problems in English society.
Utopia itself is the most prominent component of the novel's setting, though it is a fictional location. More spends a good deal of Book Two relating Raphael's description of Utopia's physical attributes. These physical characteristics of the Utopian landscape contrast the less desirable aspects of England's landscape; for example, Utopian houses are more structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, the physical landscape of Utopia makes it both easier to defend against invasion and better able to support the dietary demands of its population. This stands in contrast to England, which More discusses in Book One. A combination of greed, inequitable and illogical farming practices, and a lack of arable land have resulted in mass poverty and starvation in More's England. Utopia, then, is the "anti-England"—a setting derived for the express purpose of solving a real country's problems.
