The Agricultural Revolution & European Expansion Chapter 19

Early Agricultural Problems Europe was mostly agrarian Bad harvests due to famine/weather could destroy a family and their income; often led to death Families did not often have enough food in reserve Diseases like dysentery ravaged villages Fields would not produce a large crop yield after a few years

Early Agricultural Advancements Open-field system was soon developed – All members of a community would be given a strip of land to farm. – Common land was also allocated to allow animals to graze Crops would not produce a desirable yield after a few years due to lack of nitrogen in the soil – Crop rotation was soon developed= planting and moving crops to different areas of the field and allowing areas to go “fallow” (unplanted) These farming advancements did help to produce more food, but not significantly

Enclosure Movement Large landowners soon began forcing the peasants to give up their small strips of land and “enclosed” the land – Motivation was the obvious increase in crop production due to rotation techniques – Believed even larger chunks of land could be more profitable – Could prevent the spread of crop disease – Passed laws to make this happen Peasants were kicked off the common land, were forced to give up their open-field land, and they had to pay the large landowners rent to farm the land they once owned!

Technological Boom The Low Countries (Holland or the Netherlands) led the way in agricultural advancements – They knew how to drain swampy land – Enclosed fields & practiced crop rotation – Use manure to fertilize fields – Plant nitrogen-producing crops like beans – Taught England to do the same (Vermuyden)

More Advancements Jethro Tull ( ) – Invented the seed drill – Drilled seeds into the ground as opposed to scattering them. Higher crop yield. Robert Bakewell ( ) – Focused on selective breeding or breeding the best livestock. – Led to better milk-producing animals and work animals

Selective Breeding

Population Boom Obviously, better food production led to a lower death rate after 1750 – Improved immune systems – Decline of diseases and warfare also played a factor Many saw the population boom as potentially scary – Thomas Malthus believed that God allowed horrible events to happen to check the population

Cottage Industry Population boom led to more rural peasants who needed work Putting-out system soon developed – Business owners would employ households to complete the steps necessary in processing an item (i.e. wool) – Finished products would be sold at cities and markets – Textiles were the commonly produced item using John Kay’s Flying Shuttle Cloth-making industry – There were quality control problems due to procrastination

The Atlantic Economy As population grew, so did the demand for products. Countries sought overseas colonies to meet these needs- mercantilism Overseas conflicts led to changes in ownership of colonies in the later 18 th c. – Dutch lost “New Amsterdam” to the British- renamed “New York” – 7 Years’ War- Britain won French land in N.A. – Britain controlled the slave trade

Mercantilism Trade was supposed to be controlled by the government and benefit the mother country Navigation Acts – Passed by the British – All imported goods needed to be carried on British ships The British backed the private companies in colonization- British East India Company

Adam Smith Associated with the idea of Capitalism – Free market with competition – Laissez faire philosopher- leave business alone – Wrote the Wealth of Nations – Criticized mercantilism because he felt there was too much government involvement

Slavery Slavery became an important factor in the trade industry of the time period – Indentured servants – African slaves – African slaves were 1/5 of the population in North America – Production skyrocketed – Triangular trade= slaves/production/sell