Revolutions In Agriculture (+ Proto Industry) Britain Flashcards
Agricultural revolution definition(one of the reasons for the IR, mentioned in previous FC list)
- Overton’s 3 criteria for an AG?
A series of technological and institutional advances in agriculture
2.
-variety of farming techniques
-success in feeding a growing population (beating Malthusian trap-food supply growth>population growth)
-increase in productivity and output
AG is split into 3 phases
Yeoman’s revolution (16/17C)
Landlords revolution (18C)
19C revolution
What were the technological and institutional advances (9) of the AG
‘Floating’ of water meadows
Introduction of fodder crops (clover, etc)
New arable rotations (Norfolk 4 field rotation-wheat turnips barley clover)
Greater use of manures
Regional specialisation e.g hops in Kent, East Anglia Pigs
Selective breeding to get most productive animals
Machinery (mowers seeders etc)
Consolidation of estates, bigger industrial farms (economies of scale)
Enclosure>privatising common wastes, pastures and open fields
Enclosures (we have to explain: GOOD OR BAD? And when did it have an impact, before or after 18C?
Privatise land.
Two views on enclosure.
E.g exam question: closure good or bad
Goths vs Vandals
Open fields vs civilisation of enclosures
Reason for enclosure (Vandals) (3)
Full benefits of drainage and root crops were not possible without enclosure.
Removed unproductive workers> unemployed, moved to industry.
Common pool resource-tragedy of commons (Garrett Hardin)
Reason against enclosure (Goths)
Essentially class robbery. Only richest benefit.
5 more reasons in Neeson’s arguments
Two debates around enclosure
Was enclosure good or bad for growth and well being?
When did enclosure impact the economy? (BEFORE/AFTER 18C)
What act increased enclosure?
- Pro and con of the act. (1,1)
Enclosure Acts (1750) increased enclosure
Neg: Some argue productive peasant farmers were pushed off land.
Pos: Others argue enclosure removed small less productive farmers. These now landless people increased the unemployed workforce, becoming available for industrialisation. (timing of enclosure acts links the AR with the IR suggesting there was causality between enclosure and IR)
Pro-enclosure argument (build on from last pro)
Leads to more farms, more output and less labour, less farm labour leads to more urbanisation and the growth of cities, cities lead to more economic growth.
(Cities are more productive as agglomeration etc)
Overton- 3 ways enclosure increased productivity.
And what was needed to implement these new things?
- Layout of land allowed for proper irrigation
- Consolidation of land meant arable land could be used for commercial agriculture (EoS)
- Open field system-reduced fallow (useless) periods, always used for something.
Note: property rights were needed to implement new techniques and innovations e.g machines. (Good institutions)
Garret Harding’s pro-enclosure argument
Tragedy of commons and free rider problem
If everyone had access, deplete common land as they ignore social welfare. Private costs are necessary to avoid overgrazing.
Also free rider problem, no incentive to invest as others benefit without paying.
Neeson’s anti-enclosure argument (4)
Includes with Goths argument earlier (inequality- only rich benefit)
Enclosure was more costly than productive
No tragedy of commons as common land was already policed (eval next slide)
Property rights were ineffective, contemporaries rose up against enclosure.
Inequality. Grazing one cow was half a years wages for a labourer: enclosure made this impossible. (Bad for peasants)
Criticism of Neeson
No evidence that the policing of common land was effective in eliminating the idea of tragedy of commons
Only based on observations in Northamptonshire-enclosure movement was different elsewhere
How should enclosure be judged?
By the timing of gains in agriculture.
Allen’s views on timing of when the AR began (3)
Growth was fast up to 1740, slowed down after. (Consider ENCLOSURE ACT 1750-enclosures slowed growth!!!)
Suggests advances were undertaken by yeomen (peasant) farmers before 18C.
Implying enclosure was either only important before 18C, or completely unimportant
Overton on timing of AR (counter-revisionist, against Allen!) (3)
Growth slow before 18C, accelerated in 18C
Suggest advances did not occur until main enclosure acts were passed in 18C.
Emphasis on idea of inefficient farmers removed!
Agricultural output equation
2 methods to generate data for 18C
Dean, Cole, Overton- population method
Jackson, Allen- demand curve method
Population method and demand curve method, and what conclusions made from graph.
POPULATION METHOD:
Constrain equation so output=population
Demand curve method:
Assume entire demand curve must be estimated.
Graph shows agricultural output grows faster in 18C using pop method, (supporting Overton, Dean & Cole- counter-revisionists)
However demand method shows AR did not directly cause R (no sig changes in growth) (Jackson & Allen- revisionists)
Exam q: Was there a proto-industrial revolution?
Proto-industry is the inbetween phase of ag and industry.
- When did industry begin to matter? Century and % of total employment.
18C-became a large share of employment (34%)
Characteristics of proto-industry (6) (1500-1700)
Industry expanded into countryside
Selling to export markets
Family labour
Became regionally concentrated
Decentralised still- not factories yet, still in homes
Hand techniques-not engines yet.
3 theories that link proto-industry to the IR
Demographic acceleration model
Transition to capitalism model
Dualistic labour supply model
Demographic acceleration model (2)
Links proto-industry to IR
Agriculture work was seasonal, so there was underemployment (want more work). Proto-industry was a labour response to underemployment.
Prototype industry allowed couples to marry sooner=fertility, population growth rose, creating cheaper labour for factories.
Levine’s evidence to SUPPORT demographic acceleration theory (proto-industry lead to increased population)
Levine-
Some proto-industrial regions had lower FAFM (supports idea of married first and higher fertility)
And some agricultural regions had higher FAFM>lower fertility
Coleman’s evidence to OPPOSE demographic acceleration theory (proto-industry lead to increased population) (2)
Coleman
Labour was not actually cheap
Many agricultural regions had lower FAFM, higher fertility,
And many proto-regions had higher FAFM-lower fertility
Thus dismisses idea of high fertility increasing supply of labour making labour cheap in factories.
Transition to capitalism model
Industry has 2 phases: proto-industry, modern industry.
Proto-industrialisation was a natural response to season employment from agriculture (same idea as Demographic acceleration model!)
Reducing this underemployment increased AD and GDP.
Proto-industry created entrepreneurial class, and better trained workers. Then began exporting (First mover advantage!)
Evidence OPPOSING proto-industry transitioning to capitalism. (Why transition to capitalism is incorrect)
5 points
Against: Coleman (CRITIC AGAIN)
- argues proto-industrialisation did not cause industrialisation. (6/10 proto-regions deindustrialised)
- Other countries had proto-industry but didn’t industrialise i.e China
- Foreign markets were actually small relative to domestic, and others had foreign markets too e.g Belgium, so why didn’t they industrialise?
- Entrepreneurs also came from agriculture and services (not just proto-industry)
- Skills needed in factories (little) didn’t match to proto-industry.
Dualistic labour supply model
Based off Lewis model…
Labour available in surplus, so they can move to industry without increasing wages as excess supply of it.
Cheap wages>higher profits, allowed capital investment. (MPL higher in modern sector)
Evidence to oppose (2) and eval:
Timing of GDP growth is inconsistent with the labour surplus.
Wages were actually high in modern sector.
Eval: high wages in the longer run spurred industrialisation. (So wages getting gradually higher was good for industrialisation)
