Agricultural Revolution Food for All! Agricultural Revolution

Feudal Farming Open field system Each village had a large open field Land was divided up at beginning of the year randomly to families Strips were farmed by families on a 3 field crop rotation schedule Families would “subsistence” farm

Subsistence To grow or create only enough to survive

Why Common Fields? The teams of oxen that were used to pull the heavy plow to break up the dense clay of northern Europe were expensive and shared by the community

3 Field Crop Rotation 2 fields grew grain 1 field left fallow Or peas or beans 1 field left fallow This was to allow the field to “rest” and regain some nutrients needed to support crops

The Beginning: Enclosure Farms began to be fenced off by their owners Wool for export starts to become very profitable

Enclosure: 15th-18th Century Farms began to be fenced off by their owners Wool for export starts to become very profitable Extra land started to be bought by the wealthy

The Beginning: Farms began to be fenced off by their owners Wool for export starts to become very profitable Extra land started to be bought by the wealthy Pushed the peasants off the land and increased the poor

Why was the Export of Wool Profitable? Increased technology increases trade with other countries… Colonies… Imperialism ramping up The new world as a trade partner

4 Field Crop Rotation System: Developed in France Legumes (beans) and clover Fixed the nitrogen deficiency in the soil Increased fertility Clover was an excellent “fodder crop” Increased edible grain by feeding clover to the livestock Livestock increase

Mechanization Seed drill “tube” to distribute seeds evenly Efficient Even distribution High yield Previously seeds scattered by hand Very inefficient Uneven distribution Low yield

Results: 1720 19 bushels per acre 1840 30 bushels per acre

Critical Question: What do you think the effect increased food production would have on Europe? What events would the agricultural revolution lead to?