How did changes to the source and use of power and agriculture drive economic developments (1783-1812)? Flashcards
What was steam power like in 1783?
- man, horse, wind and water were the main sources of power
- steam power was only cost-effective at coal mines; inefficient
What were the causes of change in steam power?
- Watt improved Newcomen’s steam engine by making a separate condenser
- Boulton funded this enterprise
- there was an increasing demand for resources and consumer goods due to the iR and growing population = more trade needed
When did Watt make improvements to the steam engine?
- 1764
What was steam power like in 1812? What were limitations?
- caused developments in all industries
- Lancashire: made 1/2 of world’s cotton
- used in tin, coal and iron mines
- used in the engineering of canals
- only a few hundred in use (LIMITATION)
- replaced workers in cotton mills etc. (LIMITATION)
What was agriculture like in 1800?
one farmer produced enough food for 2.5 people, was 1.7 the century before
What were causes of the change in agriculture?
- rapid population increase due to increased production of food
- 4 crop rotation system
- Bakewell’s use of selective breeding
- phasing out the use of leaving land fallow
- 1801: Parliamentary Enclosure act
- technological innovations (i.e. seed drill)
What was the 4-crop rotation?
first year: wheat
2nd: barley
3rd: clover
4th: turnips
What were the benefits of the 4-crop rotation system?
- more food for livestock and people
- more fertile soil = higher yield
What was enclosure?
- division of farm and arable land
What were the benefits of enclosure?
- animal diseases less likely to spread
- by 1851: 80% of farmland was more than 100 acres
- less land wastage
- separate land for animals = selective breeding
What were the negatives of enclosure?
- eviction of farmers and villagers who failed to prove they had a right to land
- villagers couldn’t use the common land for their animals
- forced to work in poor conditions for low wages in industrial cities and towns
- yeomen failed to compete with large landholders
When was the Parliamentary Enclosure Act? What did it allow?
- 1801
- easier to separate land
What was the effect of enclosure on the rural landscape?
- like today; hedges and ditches
How did the percent of land left fallow change?
- 1751: 20%
- 1851: 4%
What was agriculture like in 1812?
- farming more effective; could sustain a population over 5 million
- amount of arable land doubled
- food became cheaper
- petitions and riots due to polarisation of farming industry due to enclosure
- changed rural landscape