Chapter 19Part 1

The Agricultural Revolution

17th and 18th Centuries

Peasants and artisans had the same standard of living as they had in the Middle Ages

Most were hungry, lacked adequate housing and clothing

Little change in agricultural techniques since Middle Ages

Agriculture 17th & 18th Centuries

80% of population in Western Europe were farmers

Even higher percentage in Eastern Europe

The only exception: The Netherlands was more urban and mercantile than rural

Agricultural output

Was very low compared to modern standards

The “Open Field System” was most common method of farming

Failed harvests once or twice a decade

People were malnourished so more susceptible to disease

Science

Was a branch of theology

Had no practical application to agriculture

…UNTIL AFTER THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

The Open Field System

Common lands were open Strips of land for agriculture were

not divided by fences or hedges

Open fields were farmed as a community

Little change from one generation to the next

The Open Field System

Soil exhaustion was a common problem

1/3 to ½ of lands were allowed to lie fallow so the soil could recover

Villages maintained open meadows for hay and pasture

The Peasant Farmer

Peasants were taxed heavily Serfs in Eastern Europe far worse

off than in the West

In the 18th Century: The Dutch, the English, and the French became leaders in the increased agriculture and trade that resulted from the population growth

The Agricultural Revolution Involved:

Increased Crop Production Increased agricultural and animal production

could feed more people New Methods of Cultivation

Crops were grown on wastelands and previously uncultivated common lands

Selective Breeding of Livestock Led to better cultivation (fertilizer) and

healthier animals

Science and technology was applied to

agriculture The Netherlands led the way Increased population (especially

urban growth) made improvements a necessity

Regional specialization: Certain areas for farming Certain areas for fishing and shipping Towns and cities for commerce and

banking

By mid-17th Century

The Dutch had: Enclosed fields Rotated Crops Employed heavy use of manure for

fertilizer Planted a wide variety of crops

Free and capitalistic society = incentives for farmers to be productive

The Dutch Drainage: Much of Holland was

marshland covered by ocean waters

The Dutch became world leaders in reclaiming wetlands through drainage

Cornelius Vermuyden was the most famous of the Dutch engineers in drainage techniques

The English will do the same in southern marshlands

England Charles Townsend (aka Charles “Turnip”

Townsend): Was the English ambassador to the Netherlands

He brought Dutch innovations home to England:

Use nitrogen-rich crops (like turnips) to replenish soil so fallowing was not necessary

Drained marshlands in S. England Crop rotation Soil-replenishing crops used to feed

livestock

England Use of manure for fertilizer

Increased #’s of livestock (and additional crops for livestock) meant that all animals did not need to be slaughtered en masse prior to winter….Enough food to keep them alive through the cold months

Now more fresh meat available (less salting needed)

By 1740 many English aristocrats into new techniques

Jethro Tull

Developed the Seed Drill Crops were sown in straight lines instead of scattered by hand

One of the best examples of how the empiricism of the scientific revolution was applied to agriculture

Horses

Were used for plowing Replaced the use of oxen

Horses much faster

The holdup was the development of a harness that would not choke the horses

Robert Bakewell

Pioneered the selective breeding of livestock

Larger and healthier animals were the result

Also, increased the availability of meat, wool, leather, soap, and candle tallow

More manure was available for fertilizing

New Foods

From the Columbian Exchange: = diversity in diets Most Important: Potatoes and corn Both easy to grow and highly

nutritious

The Enclosure Movementin England

Remember the earlier Enclosure Movement in England (16th century)

Landlords fenced in their lands and raised sheep for wool instead of producing food.

Resulted in hardship for landless farmers who were thrown off of the land

Resulted in higher food prices

The Enclosure Movement of the 18th Century

This enclosure movement was based on agriculture

Landlords consolidated their scattered holdings into compact fields that were fenced

Common pasture lands were also enclosed

Ended the open field system

The Enclosure Movement of the 18th Century

Resulted in the commercialization of agriculture

Large Landowners invested in technology (machinery and new techniques and methods)

This also increased the # of large and middle-sized farms

Parliament

Passed over 3,000 Enclosure Acts in the late 18th and early 19th centuries that benefitted the large landowners

The Corn Laws (1816): High tariffs placed on foreign grain

Drove up the price of grain in England

The Corn Laws

The Poor could not afford to buy grain or bread

Probably the most notorious example of a law that benefitted the wealthy at the expense of the English peasantry

The Impact of the Enclosure Movement on

the Peasants Many peasants were forced off lands

that had once been common

Many had to move to towns or cities in search of work

Many found work in early factories or poorhouses

The Impact of the Enclosure movement on

the poor Many became even more

impoverished

Some survived by pursuing opportunities in cottage industries

Women had no way to raise farm animals on common lands for extra money

Women

Were forced off of the land just like men

Traditionally, women also farmed, raised animals, and supervised household functions

Economic opportunities decreased HUGELY for women as a result of the enclosure movement

Women

Many families with daughters were anxious to get them out of the house…one more mouth to feed

Young women increasingly went to towns or cities looking for domestic work (limited)

Many had to turn to prostitution…few other options

Families

Who remained in the countryside often supplemented their income through the cottage industries

Was sometimes called “putting out work”

Most common: spinning or weaving

Weaver: head of household, Women spun Sometimes needed more spinners…

spinsters

A New Social Hierarchy The Gentry: the large landowners

dominated the economy and politics

Strong and prosperous tenant farmers who rented land from the large landowners

Some peasants owned their own small plots of land

A huge number of peasants became wage earners on farms or in cottage industries

Peasants v Landowners

Game laws were passed preventing peasants from hunting on large landowners’ lands

Severe punishments for peasants caught hunting on another’s property

Traditionally…

Historians believed that the enclosure movement pushed thousands of peasants out of the countryside or resulted in abject poverty for those who remained

This is what Karl Marx believed

More recently

Historians now believe that the negative results of the enclosure movement were exaggerated

Many remained in the countryside working as prosperous tenant farmers, small landowners and wage earners

By 1750

50% of England’s farmland was enclosed

1700: 2 landless laborers for every one self-sufficient farmer Little change in 1750

By late 17th and early 18th centuries all classes embraced the idea of enclosure in England

Enclosure

Did not spread to the rest of Europe to any noteworthy degree or very quickly

France: Enclosure was not national policy until 1760’s…even then, not widespread

Peasants in the provinces did not support it

Eastern Europe

No fundamental change in agriculture until the 19th Century

The Impact of the Agricultural Revolution

Led to Europe’s population explosion in the 18th century

Altered society in the countryside Common lands were enclosed Huge migration to cities The emergence of the cottage industry Lower food prices meant that folks were

free to buy other consumer goods