Agrarian Revolution

Question 1

What is a revolution?

Answer 1

a drastic and fundamental change in the way people live and think

Question 2

What is an economic revolution?

Answer 2

refers to the drastic and significant changes in the way goods and services are produced and marketed

Question 3

Define the agrarian revolution.

Answer 3

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).

Question 4

What were the three major changes introduced as a result of the agrarian revolution?k

Answer 4

the selective breeding of livestock, the removal of common property rights to land, and new systems of cropping from 1750-1850

Question 5

What does the word “fallow” mean?

Answer 5

refers to land that is plowed then left idle during the growing season. fallow means unused

Question 6

What is the enclosure movement?

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

What were the food preservation methods that were introduced?

Answer 7

canning and refrigeration

Question 8

Where is cross kill,and Cyrus from?

Answer 8

Cyrus- US
Crosskill- England

Question 9

In what year did Cyrus and cross kill perfect the reaper machine?

Answer 9

1853

Question 10

How did the development of chemical fertilizers come about?

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

When did the ag rev occur?

Answer 11

18th century to the 19th century

Question 12

Who invented chemical fertilizers?

Answer 12

Justus VonLiebig

Question 13

Who invented the reaper machine?

Answer 13

Cyrus Mccormick

Question 14

Who invented Crossbreeding/Stockbreeding

Answer 14

Thomas P. Lecky

Question 15

Three major changes during the Ag. rev?

Answer 15

The enclosure movement, Improved methods of farming & food preservation

Question 16

The idea of scientific farming was also extended to stockbreeding, what exactly was the goal in stockbreeding

Answer 16

farmers tried to produce cows that would give more milk.

Question 17

Who produced the Red Poll & Jamaica Hope breed of cows?

Answer 17

Thomas P. Lecky

Question 18

In what year did some American businessmen develop a canning process

Answer 18

1839

Question 19

What some inventions created in an effort to preserve goods

Answer 19

condensed milk, industrial fridges

Question 20

What were some positive effects of the ag. rev.

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

Another name for the agrarian revolution?

Answer 21

agricultural revolution

Question 22

Factors that led to the agrarian revolution?

Answer 22

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

Question 23

For almost 10 centuries the ‘Open-Field System’ had been used to produce food in Britain. Explain this system

Answer 23

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

Question 24

What were the disadvantages of using the open field system

Answer 24

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

Question 25

types of revolutions?

Answer 25

political
economic
social
technological*

Question 26

What did famers start planting in order to replenish soil? (these crops could be left in the ground through the winter and are rich in nitrogen)

Answer 26

clovers and turnips

Question 27

negative effects of the ag. rev?

Answer 27

1) the price of land escalated as the demand for it increased

2) Many peasants and small farmers were forced to sell their small plot of land to large estate owners- as a result, many lost their independence. They were forced to work either for the new owner which was a blow to their pride or migrate to the town to seek work in the factories.

3) little farming communities virtually disappeared giving way to large estates

4) some animal farms do not effectively control the scent from the waste of the animals.

5) there are often stray animals who either escape from the areas of confinement or stray because of the lack of proper fencing.

Question 28

effects of the ag. rev on the caribbean?

Answer 28

1) The Caribbean was prone to hurricanes. After a hurricane there is usually destruction to electrical poles so it would take a while to regain access to electricity. As a result, there was no power available to use refrigerators or freezers to store any meat but canned food enabled a large portion of the population to have access to protein.

2) The sugar industry in Jamaica benefited greatly from the Agrarian Revolution. Cuba was the first country to use railways on its estates. Jamaica and Trinidad were among the first set of British Caribbean Islands to use the railway.

3) Barbados led the way in using new techniques on their sugar estates. they introduced a new variety of cane. Their planters used more of the chemical fertilizer and less of the old animal manure. This change resulted in better quality sugar.

4) By the 1850’s a number of planters all over the Caribbean had introduced various pieces of machinery on their estates such as weeding machines and vacuum pans. By 1854 1/3 of Jamaica’s sugar estates were using steam mills instead of the old animal and water mills.