1. Peasants/Artisans same standard of living as in the Middle Ages Battled hunger and lacked sufficient clothing and decent housing Agriculture had changed little since the Middle Ages 80% of western Europe were farmers; higher in eastern Europe  The Netherlands was the only exception; more urban and mercantile Agricultural output was very low compared to modern standards Medieval open field system was predominant Failed harvests occurred once or twice a decade = Famine Malnourished = Weak Immune System

 Common lands not divided by fences or hedges  Open fields were farmed as a community  Agriculture in villages  Changed little from generation to generation; based largely on community and family traditions  Exhaustion of soil was a common problem  Eventually, 1/3 to ½ of lands lie fallow  Soil Recovery  Horrible Histories Horrible Histories  Villages had open meadows for hay and natural pasture  High Taxes and Serfdom in Eastern Europe

 1. Increased production of food  Increased crop and animal yields could feed more people  2. New methods of cultivation  Crops were grown on wastelands and uncultivated common lands  3. Selective breeding of livestock  Led to better cultivation as a result of healthier animals

Increased population = need for new methods  Growth of towns and cities = major markets for food  Regional specialization in the Netherlands resulted: certain areas for farming, fishing and shipping; towns and cities for mercantile activities Mid-17th century, the Dutch enclosed fields, rotated crops, employed heavy use of manure and planted a variety of crops  Capitalistic society provided profit incentives for farmers to be productive Drainage  Much of Holland had once been marshland or 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  Drainage was later used extensively in southern England to create new farm lands

 By 1870, crop yields had tripled since 1700 with only a 14% increase in people working the land  Charles Townsend pioneered crop rotation  Ambassador to the Netherlands, witnessed Dutch use of nitrogen-rich crops (turnips and clover) to replenish soil without fallowing  Crop rotation: turnips, peas, beans, clover and potatoes  Later drained much land back at home in England  Some nicknamed him “Turnip” Townsend

 Increased food for livestock meant mass slaughter of animals was no longer needed prior to winter  Animal feed was now available to sustain livestock through the winter  People ate more fresh meat rather than preserving surplus meat through salting  By 1740, new agricultural techniques had become popular among much of the English aristocracy

 Jethro Tull ( )  Good example of how the empiricism of the scientific revolution was applied to agriculture  His seed drill allowed for sowing of crops in a straight row rather than scattering it by hand.  Used horses for plowing rather than slower oxen  Robert Bakewell ( ) pioneered selective breeding of livestock  Larger and healthier animals were developed  Resulted in increased availability of meat, wool, leather, soap and candle tallow  More manure became available for fertilizing

 New foods: the Columbian exchange resulted in a revolution in diet  1. New foods from the New World became increasingly available in the 17th and 18th centuries  2. Potatoes and corn were among the most important: highly nutritious and relatively easy to grow.

 Began in the 16th century  Landowners sought to increase profits from wool production by enclosing fields for raising sheep  Differed from 18th century enclosure that was based largely on agriculture

Landowners consolidated into compact fields that were fenced  Common pasture lands were also enclosed Resulted in the commercialization of agriculture  Large landowners prospered and invested in technology (machinery, breeding, cultivation methods) Increased number of large and middle-sized farms Parliament passed over 3,000 enclosure acts in the late-18th century and early 19th-century benefitting large landowners

Corn Laws in 1815 benefited landowners  High tariffs placed on foreign grain  Drove up the price of English grain in England  Hurt the poor as they couldn’t afford price increases for food  One of most notorious examples of a law that benefited the wealthy at the expense of the English peasantry

 Many forced off lands that had once been common  Many moved to towns or cities looking for work  Many found work in factories or in poor houses  Many became impoverished farm laborers  In some cases, enclosure freed men to pursue other economic opportunities, such as the cottage industry  Women now had no way to raise animals on common lands for extra money

 Daughters were seen as an extra mouth to feed  Young women increasingly went to towns or cities where they became domestic workers  Less fortunate became Prostitutes  Families supplemented their income through the cottage industry, or putting-out system (mostly for spinning or weaving)  Women played an important role in spinning and weaving