1. WORLD HISTORY Unit #2 – Late Modern Euro History Lesson #201 Agricultural Revolution

2. New subject: the economy…
AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

3. What WAS the Agricultural Revolution?
Textbook Definition of Agrig Rev.: The transformation of farming in Europe, from “subsistence” farming to farming for profit.
80% of people in Western Europe still lived on the farm most were SUBSISTENCE FARMERS (% was even higher in the East)
What do you think that meant?
“subsisted” on what they grew… never really accumulated wealth
Each peasant family owned a few strips of land – what three things will they do with grain?
Trade some for other stuff (not usually enough for any of this)
Eat some (turn to bread)
Store some for winter
Hold some back for “seed grain” for next season
Output was poor: only five bushels harvest for every bushel sown
Reason: they had no mechanism to plant efficiently – usually just tossed grain
Every 3 seasons was poor; every 8-9 was a disaster

4. The Start of the era
Population was back on the rise in the 18th century
And was about to EXPLODE
More mouths to feed and same output meant:
(think: supply and demand…)
What would happen to bread prices?
Bread prices up, farmers with land got richer
Rich land owners started looking for ways to maximize profits – GET RICH QUICKER
The Dutch and the English were the first to manage land more effectively for profit
Why would this happen?

5. The Open Field System
All life would change from this shift – why? How?
For more than 1000 years, Europeans survived with complete dependence on their village
People lived clustered in a village, surrounded by four sections of land, each divided into strips of land. Families owned a set # of strips, and as much as half was owned by the Lord
The whole village worked together, rotating the crop type each season
Each village had decided when to plant, what to plant
Wheat, rye, oats, beans
One section would be left to “fallow”

6. Open Field System

7. Open Field System

8. The Open Field System
Most people had some livestock, and let it wander on “common land”
Chickens, goats (for milk), sheep (for milk or wool) were common
Cows were usually killed by winter – too expensive to feed during the winter months
Most of the other animals were weighed against the grain they had to feel them through winter
Cattle (oxen) and horses were often owned in common, and were also pastured on common land (“the commons”)

9. Charles “Turnip” Townshend
Was a Whig MP – Chancellor of the exchequer for 10 years
Retired from politics 1730 – got in to experimental farming
Experimented with crop rotation: turnips and clover, instead of letting the land fallow
Huh? What am I talking about?
Clover replenished soil – what “need” will this eliminate?
Turnips were “fodder” crops – what will they now be able to do?
Now could keep animals alive through winter, especially cows

11. Combine that innovation with Bakewell’s scientific breeding.
What is scientific breeding?

12. Robert Bakewell Experimented with scientific breeding of cows
Why? To what end?
Goal: heartier, meatier cows producing more milk
He tried revolutionary techniques with grassland irrigation, flooding and fertilizing pasturelands
Result:
1700: average bull weighed 370# at slaughter
1786: weight was 840#
Sheep breeding was even more impressive
Who could benefit?
Who would likely NEVER experiment?
Was able to quickly select for large, yet fine boned sheep, with long lustrous wool

13. Enclosure Movement
Wealthy landowners were ready to invest in sheep raising – for what?
Increased population needed more clothing
How will sheep play into this?
Landowners bought out strips from peasants
They then “enclosed” land for “improvement”
What was being improved?
Who will benefit?
Who will not?
What will happen next?

17. Enclosure Movement
Parliament legislated the selling common land, forcing many peasants to sell their strips
Why would they do this?
What will happen to the stability of life for peasants?
disrupted farming communities
Favored nobility
How will this fuel the industrial Revolution?
Too early to fuel industrial revolution, but landless peasants will eventually move into cities and feed factories with cheap labor

18. Population Explosion Jethro Tull – SEED DRILL
More effective farming for food, too
Led to abundance of inexpensive food
Fueled population EXPLOSION
Why? How?
Reason: decrease in infant mortality
(NOT because of any medical advances)
Additional reason: sanitation improvements
Clean water pumped into villages
Sewage pumped out, and away from water supply
Swamps drained (fewer insects)
Canals and roads built by absolutist rulers
1.5m

19. Seed Drill

20. Seed Drill – “then”

21. Seed Drill – “now”

22. Rotherham Plough
While not the first iron plough, it was the first iron plough to have any commercial success
technological innovations in its design
lighter than traditional ploughs; remained in use in Britain until the development of the tractor.
more efficient as it was light and economical enough in draught to be drawn by a pair of horses.
Agrig Rev.
Start at 1:30 – 5m

23. Introduction of American crops
Corn
Potato
Now the Irish get to be Irish
Squash
Tomato
Now, the Italians can get to the creation of pizza

24. Discussion questions for group:
What changed on the farms?
Why did it change?
What will be effected by the change?
When will the common man benefit?
Was the change a good thing for Europeans?
Why?
Why did only the wealthy benefit, at this point?
What does it say about the goal of the government in England at this time?