Agrarian Revolution Flashcards
What is a revolution?
a drastic and fundamental change in the way people live and think
What is an economic revolution?
refers to the drastic and significant changes in the way goods and services are produced and marketed
Define the agrarian revolution.
refers to significant fundamental changes that were made to the activities and processes that were involved in the rearing of animals and the production of crops, including the increase in labor and land productivity and the improvement of farming techniques which began in Britain in 1750-1850 (18th-19th century).
What were the three major changes introduced as a result of the agrarian revolution?k
the selective breeding of livestock, the removal of common property rights to land, and new systems of cropping from 1750-1850
What does the word “fallow” mean?
refers to land that is plowed then left idle during the growing season. fallow means unused
What is the enclosure movement?
this represented a revolutionary change in the pattern of land ownership. A number of capitalists bought several small strips of neighboring lands from small farmers/peasants and converted them into large estates by fencing them. These estates yielded a greater output than the small farmers combined. The enclosure movement was also a way to minimize waste.
What were the food preservation methods that were introduced?
canning and refrigeration
Where is cross kill,and Cyrus from?
Cyrus- US
Crosskill- England
In what year did Cyrus and cross kill perfect the reaper machine?
1853
How did the development of chemical fertilizers come about?
A German professor, Justus VonLieBig argued that since plants take nutrients from the soil, the soil would become exhausted. He suggested that in order to prevent soil exhaustion and to get better plant yield, farmers should use fertilizers that help to replace the lost nutrients.
When did the ag rev occur?
18th century to the 19th century
Who invented chemical fertilizers?
Justus VonLiebig
Who invented the reaper machine?
Cyrus Mccormick
Who invented Crossbreeding/Stockbreeding
Thomas P. Lecky
Three major changes during the Ag. rev?
The enclosure movement, Improved methods of farming & food preservation
The idea of scientific farming was also extended to stockbreeding, what exactly was the goal in stockbreeding
farmers tried to produce cows that would give more milk.
Who produced the Red Poll & Jamaica Hope breed of cows?
Thomas P. Lecky
In what year did some American businessmen develop a canning process
1839
What some inventions created in an effort to preserve goods
condensed milk, industrial fridges
What were some positive effects of the ag. rev.
1) fertilizers helped in the greater yield and quality of crops.- as a result manufacturers can now store them in cans and so starvation has been prevented in many countries.
2) people who migrate to a different country tend to want food stuff from ‘home’. These foods can be available anywhere whether or not it is in season because of the inventing of canning.
3) Machines made the work on estates easier-this resulted in a decrease in the cost of some produce since it was cheaper to produce in large amounts using this production.
4) There was an increase in the number of farming magazines- scientists recorded their findings in these magazines. it provided the basis for further development of new ideas and inventions so farmers had access to valuable information to improve their output and profit.
Another name for the agrarian revolution?
agricultural revolution
Factors that led to the agrarian revolution?
1) the growing population demanding a larger food supply
2) the old methods of farming were no longer good enough to supply the food that was needed
3) The increased availability of farmlands
4) a favorable climate
5) more livestock
6) improved crop yield
For almost 10 centuries the ‘Open-Field System’ had been used to produce food in Britain. Explain this system
this gave a farmer 1 acre strips of land in 3 large open fields. Each year 2 fields were cultivated while the 3rd was left fallow. This method of farming was used to replenish soil to prevent the depleting of soil
What were the disadvantages of using the open field system
1) it wasted time as farmers had to travel from strip to strip
2) land was wasted as there was a section of land not in use at all times
3) the open-field system could not meet the increased demand for food as the population grew