The Agricultural Revolution European Expansion 1650 1850 Chapter

The Agricultural Revolution & European Expansion 1650 -1850 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 “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 (1674 -1741) – Invented the seed drill – Drilled seeds into the ground as opposed to scattering them. Higher crop yield. • Robert Bakewell (1725 -1795) – 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 Britishrenamed “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 were 1/5 of the population in North America – Production skyrocketed – Triangular trade= slaves/production/sell