Agricultural developments 1832-46 Flashcards
Why were the late 1830s good for farmers?
It saw an improvement in their conditions, as they had experienced difficulties in the early years of the century
Why were advancements in farming able to continue?
Due to the continuation of enclosure
What was the benefit of enclosure making soil improvement easier?
It increased grain for the urban population
What was the impact of the Enclosure Acts of 1836 and 1845?
It brought a rapid scramble among landowners for enclosure
What did the 1845 act stipulate?
With few fields left to enclose, it ensured that any open land in the vicinity of a village or town was preserved in perpetuity
What had happened to the process of enclosure by 1850?
It was virtually complete
What was more available as a result of enclosure?
Money for investing in farming
What did improved drainage techniques mean for agriculture?
It had an impact on the type of crop sown and the quality of the crop when harvested
What was the benefit of steam drainage replacing windmill drainage wheels?
It enabled the land to dry out sufficiently to take wheat instead of the less profitable oats
Why was drainage so popular?
Because it was cheap and efficient, with one engine able to maintain the drainage of 6000 acres
How was the drainage of heavy clay soils managed?
Through the manufacture of clay tiles
How did Peel aid drainage?
Through his 1846 Agircultural Drainage Act, setting up loans for farmers to improve field drainage
What else contributed to increased crop yields?
The greater use of fertilisers, like animal dung, guano and crushed bones
How were labour costs lowered?
Light iron implements which could be drawn by just one or two horses were developed and there was a wider use of steam powered machines on farms, especially the steam thresher
Describe the state of innovation in crop picking?
Aside from McCormick’s steam reaper, there was little advance in this area before 1850 and jobs were mostly tackled by hand
Who supported and encouraged these agricultural developments?
A large number of agricultural societies
What began to appear in the 1830s and 40s?
Clubs, farming journals, newspapers and books all offering the latest advice and advertising products for better farming
What was the most influential agricultural society?
The Royal Agricultural Society, formed in 1842, as its journal was an excellent source of farming knowledge
Give a statistic to show the importance of farming in the 1830s and 40s?
1/3 of families still lived off the land
Why was the increasing prosperity of farmers perhaps misleading when assessing the impact agriculture had on living standards?
Because landless agricultural labourers were still among the poorest paid workers
What were wages and housing like for these agricultural labourers?
It varied depending on the region, based on the attitude of the farmers and his relationship with the workers
How does McCord highlight this variation?
Farm labourers in Dorset were paid half as much as those in Lancashire
What happened to agriculture in the south and east of Scotland?
The land was fertile and there was a culture of improvement, farms were prosperous and farming families were relatively well housed
Who were the poorest agricultural labourers?
They were in the south and west of Ireland, there poverty stricken endurance reached its saturation point in the autumn of 1845
What did the 1841 census record the population of Ireland at?
9 million
Describe their living conditions?
Almost half of them lived in one or two bedroom hovels in the countryside, renting out small parcels of land from absentee landlords trying to eke out a living. Most were abjectly poor
What was the main crop?
Potato
Why was potato such an important crop?
They sold a proportion of the crop to pay the rent and the remainder formed the staple of their diet. It was said to be the exclusive diet of 90% of the population
Why was Autumn 1845 so detrimental?
A fungus attacked the autumn crop and virtually wiped it out
Why was this a major disaster for the Irish peasants?
Because they had nothing else to fall back on
What happened when they were unable to keep up with rent?
They were evicted
What had happened to many within a short time?
They were destitute and starving to death
What did whigs, free traders and the anti corn law league suggest should be done in response?
They said that unrestricted importation of all foods should be allowed to prevent a humanitarian disaster, the protectionists ridiculed the suggestion that there was a crisis, suggesting that this was an exaggeration so that the corn laws would be repealed
Why did people suggest that repealing the corn laws would help?
Because this would bring down the price of bread, with bread then replacing the blighted potato crop and providing food for the starving population
Why is their conflict over Peel’s eventual repeal of the corn laws?
There is debate over whether the Irish famine pushed him into doing this or whether the famine was, as Richard Gaunt suggests ‘a convenient pretext for Peel’s conversion’
What was the long term effect of the famine for the Irish?
It increased feelings of bitterness against the British and stored up problems for the future
