The Agrarian Revolution in England

Introduction:

The great development in farming that resulted from a series of discoveries and inventions during the 1700s is known as the Agrarian Revolution. This revolution changed not only the landscapes of England but also the lifestyle of its people.

Old System:

Before the revolution, a lot of time and land were wasted. A farmer was forced to allow one-third of his land to lie fallow since the soil would not bear crops continuously. The old strip system, where a farmer’s holding were scattered, forced the farmer to waste a lot of his time walking about from one strip to another. Methods of cultivating had hardly changed since Saxon times. The open field system was in use. This consisted of large open fields with no fences. Each village was surrounded by such fields.

Changes and Developments:

The agrarian revolution brought about primarily some changes and developments:

1.      The Enclosure Acts

2.      Improved methods of growing crops

3.      Improved methods of breeding livestock

4.      Invention of new farm equipment

With the increase in population, there was a pressing need for greater production. The strip system was wasteful but the farmers were disinclined to try out any new methods. The Enclosure Acts were passed and strips of land of thousands of acres were enclosed to make compact fields. There were two kinds of enclosures – enclosure of common land or wasteland and enclosure of the open fields by redistributing the land. The second kind enclosure caused a lot of distress to poor farmers as they did not have proper legal documents to claim their land at the time of redistribution. Some poor farmers were unable to pay the cost of fencing their land and were forced to sell. The age-old system where every householder had his own bit of land disappeared from England. The Enclosure Acts paved the ways for better farming with reduced wastage. But it destroyed a whole way of life. The poor villagers who lost their land were driven to the cities in search of new jobs. This mass exodus of the people brought about the greatest change in English history; by the end of the century, England had changed from a rural to an urban country.

Charles Townshend experimented with crop rotation. He introduced the four-field rotation system in England. He pointed out that by growing turnips along with two kinds of grain and clover, the soil could be enriched. Each crop either added nutrients to the soil or absorbed differed kinds of nutrients. By this method, farmers did not have to leave any part of their land fallow. Another advantage was that fodder was available for the livestock even during winter. This system was used and popularized by an English man named Thomas Coke who also experimented with the idea of enriching the soil with manure.

 The first important inventor of the Agrarian Revolution was Jethro Tull who was a farmer himself, invented a machine to drill holes for sowing seeds. Earlier, sowing was done by scattering which involved a lot of wastage.

 Robert Bakewell was one of the pioneers who experimented with livestock. He experimented with the ‘longhorn’ breed of cattle. He produced improved breeds of cattle, sheep, and horses. He became famous for developing a breed of sheep that could be raised for meat as well as for wool. Earlier, sheep were raised only for wool. Bakewell’s new breed of sheep was called the “Leicester Sheep”

Charles Colling followed Bakewell’s method and succeeded in developing the “shorthorn” breed of cattle which are now famous all over the world. There were others such as George Culley and John Ellman who did pioneering work in cattle rearing and breeding.

 Effects of Agrarian Revolution:

The enclosure system forced even the rich landlords to borrow money to meet fencing costs. Thus, the English banking system developed. It has been mentioned that poor farmers were badly affected by the enclosure system. Earlier, every man had his own bit of land. Now, he lost the land and also the right to graze his animals on wastelands. He either became a paid labourer or went to the city. Although Agrarian Revolution had several advantages such as better production and greater efficiency , in involved a lot of hardship too. This is portrayed by many English writers like Oliver Goldsmith in their writings.