Agricultural Revolution (农业革命) Flashcards
What leads to population growth?
New World crops
What are some of the big picture transitions in the 18th century?
Majority farmers → majority factory workers
Poorly used land → efficiently-used land
Basic hand tools → complex machines
Subsistence → surplus (剩余)
Describe the farming in the Medieval (~500-1450) and Early Modern (~1450-1750)
Traditional (not practical 不实用) practices
What are “The Commons”
Open field, used by whoever the Lord says
What is the common way for the poorest to live?
“Gleaning” - harvesting leftover crops
What is “a more communal attitude”? (共同体态度)
Shared labour, division of tax (and some fruits)
What grows in Autumn and Spring (Three-Field Rotation)?
Rye / Wheat, cereals
What grows in Late Summer (Three-Field Rotation)?
Peas, lentils, beans
What grows in Winter (Three-Field Rotation)?
Nothing, unplanted fallow
What are 3 large changes to farming in 18th-century Britain?
- Bigger farms
- Mechanization (new & complex tools)
- Improved techniques
What is Enclosure?
The transfer of common land to legal and physical ownership
What did the “Enclosed land” happen?
Large landowners control the government
“Enclosure Acts”→ fences, walls, hedges
Provide an example of the “Enclosed land”
Highland Clearances (1750-1860)
What impact smaller farms have had on many poor farmers?
Smaller farmers had land taken away by bigger, wealthier farmers (lords)
What are some of the RESULTS of the “Enclosed land”?
- Small farmers pressured to surrender land to bigger landowners
- People work as labourers for landowners
- People move to the cities for work
- Fewer land owners, more concentrated land
Why did the results of the “Enclosed land” happen?
Increased population = more products
Increased commercial attitudes
What is Land Reclamation (土地复垦)?
- Previously low quality land is “reclaimed” → increase in usable land (10-30%)
- Marshlands drained, forests cleared, unusable land fertilized (沼泽地被排干，森林被清除，无法使用的土地被施肥)
What is the opportunity to mechanize farming?
- Enclosed, private farms
- Excess money → opportunity to experiment
What is the motivation to mechanize farming?
Further increase profit
What mechanized tools bring?
More productivity
Who is Jethro Tull?
- British agricultural innovator
- Invented and combined Seed drill and Horse-drawn cultivator
- Helped to bring about the Agricultural Revolution
What is Seed drill (播种机)?
Plants seeds neatly, at set depth → give crops a better chance of life, less waste
What is Horse-drawn cultivator (马匹牵引的耕作机)?
Efficiently breaks up hard soil → makes it ready for planting
What is Cast-iron plow (铸铁犁)?
Invented by Charles Newbold (American)
- Iron = highly durable
- Curved design = easier to work with
