Citizen Wheat Flashcards
Book: What is the chromosomal make up of bread wheat?
Hexaploid AABBDD
Book: What wheat is the dominant type grown?
Triticum aestivum (makes up 90% of worlds production)
What did France not get on board with that other nations (England and the Dutch) did? What are some examples of this?
Missed the “agricultural innovations” boat. Things like:
- 4 field crop rotation where one field always seeded with meadow plants to replenish soil
- Seed drills replace seeding by hand
What is the crop yield in seeds planted:harvested for a 2 field crop system? What about a 3 field system? A 4 field system?
2 field = 1:3
3 field = 1:3
4 field = 1:10 (geez I wonder which is best)
What did the French call the English (Citizen wheat lecture)? Why?
English were getting fat because of their agricultural innovations. French began calling them “les rosbifs” (the roasts).
Between 1500-1795, wheat was no.1 in the French economy. How much of the GDP was from wheat?
1/3-1/2 of France’s GDP.
Between 1500-1800, how much bread did the average French person consume in a day? What about in 2000? (answer in grams/person/day)
1500-1800: 1200g/person/day
2000: 165g/person/day
How big was the standard French loaf of bread in 1790 compared with now?
Now: 1 lbs
Then: 4.1 lbs !
How did France get enough wheat to feed its population? Why was this a problem?
Had to import wheat from Russia/Ukraine. Famines were frequent.
How many nationwide famines were there in France between 1610-1715?
10.
How many “bread riots” in Aquitaine between 1590-1715?
500.
How did the French government traditionally solve food shortages? Why was this not a great idea?
By emptying the granaries. No incentive to improve production because every time shortages occurred the market prices crashed because of large influx.
Besides their policy of emptying the granaries, what other 3 factors contributed to France’s wheat problems?
- Poor road infrastructure
- Crippling internal tolls/taxes
- Wind/water mills couldn’t always function
What did the physiocrats (economists) of 1700s France propose might help solve the wheat shortage problem? What were the results of this?
A “laissez-faire” market of unchecked capitalism. Initially there were riots, but then a steady improvement.
What 3 factors contributed to the 1788 bread price increase in France? What was the price before? What did it increase to? (in sous/lb)
- Poor crop, spring hail
- Summer drought = no milling
- Winter, Seine freezes = no milling
Went up from 2 sous/lb to 3 sous/lb
What shortage-related event occurred in France on July 14, 1789?
Mobs storm the Bastille and the granaries, stealing weapons and grain. Foulon (finance guy) decapitated and had head stuffed with shit and grass. Millers and bakers were attacked.
Why was the French government unable to alleviate the 1789 riots with imported wheat?
Russia (the usual supplier) was at war in the North and South and wouldn’t sell any grain to France.
After the storming of the Bastille and the looting of granaries, bread prices in France rose from 3 sous/lb to ______.
3.75 sous/lb (7.5 sous/person/day)!
What likely caused the French “Bread Crisis” of 1793? What event was this the beginning of?
The new revolutionary government needed money for war so they printed it, causing massive inflation and a 40% increase in bread prices. The resulting riots led to the beginning of “the Terror”.
Regarding wheat and bread distribution, what resulted from “the Terror”?
~16 600 death sentences, mostly for hoarding, along with a reinstatement of shortage controls (empty the granaries).
What did the French make to survive the 1794-1795 famine in Paris?
Made “starvation bread” from pea meal and chestnut. Also ate the zoo animals.
Did the bread shortages cause the anger in France?
No it just contributed
