Transcript Urbanisation - TCC-Yr9-SOSE

The Agricultural
Revolution
During the 1700s, rapid population growth in Britain
increased the demand for food. As a result, food prices
began to rise. Farmers realised they could make a
profit if they could produce food more efficiently.
Before the Industrial Revolution, agriculture was Britain’s
most important industry. Most of the land was owned
by wealthy land owners who either farmed the land
themselves or rented it out to farmers.
During this time, farming land was organised under the
open field system
During the 1700s, rapid population growth in Britain
____________ the demand for food. As a result, food
prices began to ______. Farmers realised they could
make a profit if they could produce food more
____________.
Before the Industrial Revolution, __________ was Britain’s
most important industry. Most of the land was owned
by wealthy land owners who either farmed the land
themselves or _______ it out to farmers.
During this time, farming land was organised under the
open field system
Open field farming

History

Open fields appear to have developed in the medieval period, and were particularly well suited to the very heavy ploughs that were used to cut
through the heavy clay soils common in north-western Europe. The ox teams which pulled the ploughs were very expensive, and thus tended to be
shared among the families of a village. This form of settlement is sometimes referred to as champion land.

Each village would be surrounded by several large open fields, usually not physically divided from each other, with each field containing a different
crop as part of a three-field crop rotation. The fields would be split into sections a furlong (220 yards, about 200 metres) wide, each of which would
be subdivided cross-wise into strips covering an area of half an acre (about 0.2 hectares) or less. Under their commoner's rights, each villager was
allocated a set number of strips in each field (traditionally about thirty) which they would subsistence-farm. The strips were generally allocated
bylot in a public meeting at the start of the year. The individual holdings were widely scattered, so that no single farmer would end up with all the
good or bad land. The land was usually managed usingridge and furrow cultivation.

In addition to the three fields, there would be large common meadows (allocated in strips in a similar way), common pasture land or waste where
the villagers would graze their livestock throughout the year, woodland for the pigs and for timber, and a communal village green for social events.
There was also some private fenced land (paddocks, orchards and gardens), called closes, and often also a park for the use of the owner of the
manor for hunting. The ploughed fields and the meadows were also used for livestock grazing outside the growing season.

As populations increased, the land available for each family diminished as more strips were required. From the late Middle Ages onwards, a gradual
movement towards consolidation took place as small plots were amalgamated into fewer but larger holdings, with a corresponding increase in the
power of the landowners.

[edit]England

Contrary to popular belief, not all areas of England had open-field farming in the medieval period. Parts of south-east England, notably parts
of Essex and Kent, retained a pre-Roman system of farming in small, square, enclosed fields. In much of west and north-west England, fields were
similarly either never open, or enclosed earlier. The primary area of open field management was in the lowland areas of England in a broad swath
from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire diagonally across England to the south, taking in parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, large areas of
theMidlands, and most of south central England. This area was some of the most populous and profitable; it was also the main grain-growing region
(as opposed to pastoral farming).

From as early as the 12th century, some open fields in Britain were being enclosed into individually owned fields. In Great Britain, the process sped
up during the 15th and 16th centuries as sheepfarming grew more profitable. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, the practice of enclosure
(particularly depopulating enclosure) was denounced by the Church and the government, and legislation was drawn up against it. However, the
tide of elite opinion began to turn towards support for enclosure, and the rate of enclosure increased in the seventeenth century. This led to a series
of government acts addressing individual regions, which were given a common framework in theInclosure Consolidation Act of 1801.

Throughout the 19th century, the developments in Britain were exported across the world, and the various effects upon the working population
of warfare and increased mechanization finally finished off the open field system.
Map of open fields
The Open Field System
1.
Explain how the open field system worked.
2.
Draw a picture of the open field system in your notebook.
3.
What was the village common?
4.
How did a village common benefit the people of the poorer
classes?
5.
List 3 disadvantages of the open field system.
6.
How did this system advantage the poorer farmers?
The Enclosed System
In the 1740s, laws were changed and the enclosed system was introduced. Under the
enclosed system, smaller parts in open fields were combined into bigger farms and
fenced off. Poorer farmers lost their land, while wealthy farmers were able to grow more
crops and make more money.
Despite causing hardships for many smaller farmers, enclosures led to innovation in
farming techniques and increased production. Enclosed system farming
1. What were some of the innovations to farming brought about through the enclosed
system?
Urbanisation
What do you think urbanisation means?
People who lost their land or their livelihood had
little choice but to move from the country to the
towns to find work. When industry began to
grow, there was plenty of cheap labour
available to work in the factories. The large
numbers moving from rural to urban areas
combined with rapid population growth meant
that competition for jobs was fierce. When
people did find jobs they had to work for long
hours for very low wages.
Writing a PEC
Paragraph
How did changes to ways of
farming contribute to poor
working conditions for
poorer people in England?
Unjumble the following words
1.
NIUDLAIRTS
2.
SLCAOI
3.
PNTOULILO
4.
ASEMNIHC
5.
OEGACTT
6.
AFYTRCO
7.
ALAMUN
8.
RTSNTROPA
9.
RLARU
10.
ESETLITX