Economic Revolution
SECTION 10
ECONOMIC REVOLUTIONS
THESE CAN BE CLASSED UNDER 3 HEADINGS :
- THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION
- THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
- THE TRANSPORT REVOLUTION
*** OFTEN THE 3 ARE KNOWN COLLECTIVELY AS THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. ***
FOR EACH SECTION IT IS NECESSARY TO KNOW PRE-REVOLUTION AND POST-REVOLUTION.
YOU SHOULD ALSO BE AWARE OF WHY THE REVOLUTIONS HAPPENED.
WHY DID THE REVOLUTIONS OCCUR ?
Due to a growth in population, caused by people marrying at a younger age which then increased the birth rate. Explorations had introduced new foods which allowed for a better diet. Vaccination had also been introduced which overcame many killer diseases like TB. This led to a decrease in the death rate. MORE PEOPLE MEANT THAT THERE WAS A NEED FOR MORE FOOD FROM THE LAND, A NEED FOR MORE CLOTHES FROM THE WEAVERS AND A NEED FOR MORE TRANSPORT TO TRANSPORT THE FOODSTUFFS AND THE CLOTHES. NEW IMPROVEMENTS WERE NEEDED IN THE AGRICULTURAL, INDUSTRIAL AND TRANSPORT INDUSTRIES.
1. THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION
PRE-REVOLUTION
Most of the land was owned by landlords who lived in estates and rented their land to tenant farmers. Some tenants were able to grow surplus food and made their money by selling this food at the market. However, many of the farmers were poor and were subsistence farmers or labourers.
The system of farming was known as Open farming. The landlord’s estate was generally divided into 3 open fields, which were then divided into 1 acre strips of land which were rented out to tenants. The tenants used a system of crop
rotation where each year one field was left fallow. This was inefficient.
The estate also had a common land where all the farmers could graze cattle. This meant that disease could spread easily. There were no fences surrounding the land which meant that weeds could spread easily. Because the land was common the work of one farmer could easily be undone by another farmer. Time was also lost travelling between different strips of land, which were usually scattered about in the estate. All work was done by hand which meant that productivity was low and work was slow.
BECAUSE OF AN INCREASED NEED FOR FOOD, FARMERS NEEDED TO REVOLUTIONISE THEIR METHODS.
POST-REVOLUTION
- Land enclosure
- The Seed Drill and Jethro Tull
- Townshend’s Crop Rotation
- Bakewell’s Selective Breeding
** For each of the above, be able to explain how they worked and why they were advantageous. **
ALL OF THESE CHANGES IMPROVED THE QUALITY AND PROCUTION OF FOOD NEEDED TO FEED THE INCREASING NUMBERS IN THE TOWNS. SMALL FARMERS AND LABOURERS WERE FORCED TO MOVE TO TOWNS.
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