Ch 17: The Expansion of Europe Flashcards
By the end of the 17th century, most of Europe was agrarian except for what two countries?
England and Dutch Republic
What was the system most of Europe used for farming up to the seventeenth century?
Open field system
What was a big problem with the agriculture prior to the expansion of Europe?
Soil exhaustion
What was the only way to let soil recover?
Having a fallow period
Who led the agricultural revolution?
The Dutch
What technique allowed farmers to forgo a fallow period?
Crop rotation
Crop that came to Europe through the Colombian exchange, it was nutritious and supplemented Europeans diets
Potato
What fueled experimentation on farming techniques?
The scientific revolution
A movement to fence in fields to farm more efficiently, was done at the expense of the poor
Enclosure
Where was the enclosure system most extensive?
England and the Low Countries
Person who made vast advancements in drainage which allowed the farming of previously marshy areas
Cornelius Vermuyden
Englishman who tried to develop new farming methods through empiricism
Tethro Tull
Why was the enclosure movement controversial?
Closing open fields would hurt the village peasantry and force them to move to urban centers to find jobs
Why did improvements in technology increase unemployment?
New inventions increased productivity which meant less people were needed to farm and there were less jobs
The transformation of large numbers of small peasant farmers into landless rural wage earners
Proletarianization
What was the major cause for the European population growth of the 18th century?
Decline in mortality
What were the causes for Europe’s decrease in mortality?
- disappearance of bubonic plague
- improvements in water and sewage
- canal and road building
- less destructive wars
- agricultural advancement
What was the most negative side effect to the increased population?
Increase in the number of workers with no land
In which rural workers used fools in their homes to manufacture goods for sale in the market
Cottage industry
System where merchants loaned materials to cottage workers to be processed and returned to the merchant as a finished product
Putting out system
Why did the putting out system grow?
- abundant laborers willing to work for small wages
- unregulated production in the countryside
Where did the putting out system have the most success?
England
What was the most common industry for the putting out system?
Textiles
Whose job was it to operate the loom?
The husband
Wives and daughters of agricultural workers who prepared the thread, often widows
Spinners
What was the merchant’s main problem with the putting out system?
Maintaining control over their work force
Why did merchants have trouble maintaining order over their employees?
They were scattered and had to work less during harvest
How did merchants motivate workers?
Giving them the lowest possible wages
In which families began focusing on earning wages instead of producing goods for the home; reduced leisure time, worked faster, and used women and children to earn money
The industrious revolution
The organization of artisanal production into trade based associations
The guild system
How did rural industry undermine the guild system?
Competition from rural workers who would work for less
What privileges did guilds have?
- monopoly over its trade
- right to train apprentices and hire workers
- exclusive right to produce and sell certain goods
- access to materials in restricted markets
