Agricultural Revolution:

• Farming methods the same as the middle ages

• Landlord owned manors, tenants rented the land.

• Open-field system

• Three-field crop rotation

• common areas for grazing

Selective breeding

Crop rotation & enclosures

New machinery

Changing methods:Before

3 field crop rotation:• every third year the field was

left fallow Common grazing:• All farmers aloud to graze

animals on same land Inefficient methods:• Disease spread easily• Land left unused• Weeds spread easily

(unfenced land)• No feed for animals in winter

= loss of stock

After 4 field crop rotation:• Charles Townsend, first est. In

Holland, also Norfolk system

• Grass / turnips grown in 4th field

• Crop used to feed animals in winter = more animals survived winter

• No land left fallow

• Higher production rate

Enclosures introduced:

Before:• Open field system:

• Large fields divided in stripes surrounding the village (about 1 acre)

• No fencing = wondering animals / spread of disease

• Seeds thrown down by hand

• 3-field system used

After:• Enclosures:• The Enclosures Act passed

• Farmers land all together (arable and grazing)

• Fencing and hedging

Advantages:• Less spread of disease and

weeds• Farmers responsible for

own farm• More produced• Higher rent charged by land

lord

Selective Breeding:

•Enclosed farms meant the number of cattle and sheep grew.

•A new method of breeding became popular.

•Robert Bakewell observed his animals closely.

•He took the largest and strongest animals from the herd and bred them together.

•As a result he had larger and stronger animals.•The average weight of a sheep increased 13kg – 35kg btw. 1710-1795

•Weight of cattle more than doubled

•Bakewell got carried away with his experiments

•People said his stock was too expensive to buy & he went bankrupt.

New Machinery: New machinery also helped the modernisation of farming. • iron ploughs instead of wooden ones.

Jethro Tull developed new machinery:1) Seed drill: this machine was pulled by horse or cattle, planted

the seed deep in the ground in rows.

Before this, people scattered seed by hand, ‘broadcasting’, this meant a lot of seed was lost.

2) Horse drawn hoe:This machine pulled weeds fromBetween the rows of crop.

Cyrus Mc Cormick: Also developed new farming machinery.

• In 1831 Mc Cormack invented the ‘mechanical reaper’

• This machine was invented for cutting corn & reduced time for harvesting the crop.

The Affects of the Agricultural Revolution:

1) Farming becomes Fashionable:• Farming became fashionable among wealthy landlords.• King George the III = ‘Farmer George’

• People travelled Britain and wrote about new methods and machinery. Arthur Young travelled over Britain, Ireland and France writing books of advances.

• Royal Dublin Society set up for wealthy farmers to hold competitions and shows.

2) Farming creates wealth:

•There was a large demand with growing population, so money could be made by land owners.

•Thomas Cook used selective breeding and 4 yr. crop rotation and his wealth grew:1776 = £ 12, 000 annually 1816 = £34, 000

3) Fewer People needed on the land.•New machinery meant fewer people were needed to work the land.

•Poor labourers and farm tenants flocked to towns and cities to find work. (Urbanisation occurred)

4) More Food to feed the masses:

•More food was being produced because of new methods and machinery

•Food was of better quality and plentiful

•This fed the ever growing population of Britain.

5) The appearance of the countryside changed:

•Due mostly to enclosure, the appearance of the British countryside changed.

•This happened due to the Enclosure Acts (1750-1850)

• Before 1750, farming village based on Medieval model.

• Landlord was known as the Squire.

• He owned land and rented in to the peasants and tenant farmers.

• There was 3 classes of farmer:Rich farmer: rent a lot of land from squire and made good money.Poor farmer: rented a few acres, kept cattle and sheep on commons, found it hard to pay rent.Labourers: poorest in the village. Didn’t own land, worked for squire and rich farmers. Kept some animals on commons.

Bringing in the Enclosure Acts:• The squire wished to maximise profit from the land.

• Surveyors measured the land and divided up among the tenant farmers.

• When the squire and farmer agreed to the land they signed a lease.

• It was then the farmers responsibility to maintain and enclose the farm and use new farming methods.

• In return, the squire would not raise the rent for 30 years.