Chapter 17
- Agriculture Introduction With the exception of Holland, at least 80 percent of the people of all western European countries drew their livelihoods from agriculture In 1700 European agriculture was much more ancient and medieval In crisis years, when crops were ruined by drought or flood, starvation forced people to use substitutes—the “famine foods” of a desperate population Such unbalanced, inadequate food in famine years made people weak and susceptible to epidemics—dysentery, intestinal problems, influenza, smallpox In preindustrial Europe, the harvest was the real king, which was often harsh The Open-Field System The greatest accomplishment of medieval agriculture was the open-field system of village agriculture developed by European peasants Open-field system was divided the land to be cultivated by the peasants of a given village into several large fields, which were in turn cut up into long, narrow strips that were not enclosed into small plots by fences or hedges The land of those who owned land were nobility, clergy, and wealthy The ever-present problem was exhaustion of the soil and when the community planted wheat year after ear, the nitrogen in the soil was soon depleted—crop failure In the early Middle Ages, the only way for the land to recover its fertility was for a field to lie fallow for a period of time (alternating crop and idle) Three-year rotations were introduced that permitted a year of wheat or rye to be followed by a year of oats or beans and then by a year of fallow (still plowed) Traditional village rights reinforced the traditional pattern of farming and in addition to rotating, villages maintained open meadows for hay and natural pasture set aside for draft horses, oxen, cows, and pigs of the village community Poor women would go through the fields picking up the few single grains that had fallen to the ground in course of harvest In the age of absolutism and nobility, state and landlord continued to levy heavy taxes and high rents that stripped the peasants of much of their meager earnings (Ex; France) Eastern Europe was worse because of serfdom still being prevalent The Agricultural Revolution European peasants could improve their position by taking land from those who owned but did not labor but powerful forces stood ready to crush any protest Because grain crops exhaust the soil and make fallowing necessary, the secret to eliminating fallow lies in the alternating grain with certain nitrogen-storing crops such as land reviving crops such as peas and beans, root crops such as turnips and potatoes, and clovers and grasses (turnips, potatoes, and clover were new-comers) New patterns of organization allowed some farmers to develop increasingly ways to use the soil they were given to deal with. Improvements in farming had multiple effects The new crops made ideal feed for animals and peasants had more fodder, hay and root crops for the winter, they could build up herds of cattle and sheep More animals meant more meat and better diets for the people and also meant more manure for fertilizer and therefore more grain for bread and porridge The promise of the new system was only realized in the Low Countries (Ex; Holland) and England Low Countries and England The new methods of the agricultural revolution originated in the Low Countries and Holland was most advanced in many areas of human endeavor including shipbuilding navigation, commerce, banking, drainage and agriculture—provided model Enclosed fields, continuous rotation, heavy manuring, and a wide variety of crops The reasons for early Dutch leadership were the dense populated areas in the Low Countries and the pressure of population was connected with the second cause, the growth of towns and cities in the Low Countries (ex; Tulip trade) The English were found new ways to drain water and water control. The most famous of Dutch engineers, Cornelius Vermuyden, directed large drainage projects in Yorkshire and Cambridge Viscount Charles Townshend, one of the pioneers of English agricultural improvement, learned about turnips and clover while serving as English ambassador to Holland and when he returned to Norfolk spoke of turnips (“Turnip Townsend”) The great surge of agricultural production=city and pop BOOM Cost of Enclosure In England, open fields were enclosed fairly but other historians argue that because large landowners controlled Parliament, which made laws, they had Parliament pass hundreds of “enclosure acts” each that authorized the fencing of open fields in a given village and the division of the common in proportion to one’s property in the fields By 1750, as much as half of English farmland was enclosed and many English lost their ability to produce wool=textile By 1700, a highly distinctive pattern of landownership and production existed in England, where the were the few large landowners, and in between, small, independent peasant farmers who owned their own land The tenant farmers helped find the new methods of farming, because the tenant farmers fenced fields, built drains, and improved the soil with fertilizers=more jobs and more pop. Population Explosion Limitations on Population Growth The Black Death created a sharp drop in population and prices after 1350 and also created a labor shortage throughout Europe=higher SOL The second great surge of population growth ousted the growth of agricultural production after 1500 where food prices rose more rapidly than wages resulting in a decline in the living standards for the majority of people throughout Europe Europe and birthrate and death rate were about balanced and grew very slowly (½) The New Pattern of the Eighteenth Century Increase pop after 1750 Fewer deaths= disappearance of the bubonic plague because of stricter policies of quarantine Human beings also became more successful in their efforts to safeguard the supply of food and protect against famine and advances in transportation lessened the impact of local crop failure and family—emergency supplies could be brought in Limited land=other ways to work b/c of increase pop. The Growth of the Cottage Industry Introduction The growth of population contributed to the development of industry in rural areas A new system emerged called “cottage industry” or a stage of rural industrial development with workers that was before factory industries (new form of industry) The Putting-Out System The two main participants in the putting-out system where the merchant capitalist and the rural worker The system was a kind of capitalism and grew because it had competitive advantages Countryside=unregulated, workers and merchants did not need to meet standard=lower quality First appeared in England and then encouraged by other govs. (Fr and Gr)=expansion of rural industry The Textile Industry The making of linen, woolen, and cotton cloth was the typical activity of cottage works engaged in the putting-out system—way of life and economic system The cottage industry= family enterprise and all members of the family helped in the work Bad labor relations, quality and hectic schedule of workers Atlantic Economy Introduction The expansion of Europe in the 18c in trade=Netherlands, France, and GB (united with SL=strongest naval power) Mercantilism and Colonial Wars Britain's leadership=mercantilist policies (increased power of state) Mercantilism (ex; Colbert)=unequal balance of foreign trade=increase a country’s stock of gold English increase=military power and private wealth was the mercantile system of the Navigation Acts The acts=goods imported from Europe into GB= on British-owned ships ACTS=monopoly on on GB trade The Navigation Acts= economic warfare against Dutch= better at trade and shipping= Anglo-Dutch wars between 1652 and 1674 Late in the seventeenth century, the Dutch and English became allies to stop the expansion of France’s Louis XIV and the Netherlands followed Spain into decline The War of the Spanish Succession which started when Louis XIV declared his willingness to accept the Spanish crown willed to his grandson—union of France and Spain threatened to destroy the British colonies in America (coalition of states) Louis XIV=Peace of Utrecht (1713) to give Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and the Hudson Bay territory to GB Spain was compelled to give Britain control of the West African slave trade (asiento) The War of Austrian Succession, which started when Frederick the Great Prussia seized Silesia from Austria’s Maria Theresa France’s ally, Spain, defended itself standoff=the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) CE, Austria Maria Theresa to win back Silesia and crush Prussia in re-establishing control in German affairs (allied with France and Russia) The seven Years’ War was decisive between the Franco-British competition for colonial empire and led using sea power to destroy the French fleet and cut French commerce (GB won Quebec and Caribbean) Treaty of Paris, France gives French Canada and territory east of Mississippi River passed to Britain, and France ceded Louisiana to Spain as compensation for loss of Florida to Britain By 1763, British naval power=1st=trade and economics Land and Labor in British America The settlements in Atlantic coast=room for pop BOOM Having one's own farm got more to move to UK and travel to free world and have slaves and make a better life (less land in GB and land held by wealthy) Unlike Europe, American farmers could keep most of what they produced; more land in colonies=higher labor costs Cheap land and scarce labor=growth of slavery In the 18th century, framers of New England and middle colonies produced food to west indies The English must buy and trade with colonies Agricultural development=(USA)=HIGHEST SOL The Growth of Foreign Trade The rapidly growing agricultural population of colonies= bigger market for English manufactured goods Rising demand for manufactured goods in NA as well as in the WI, Africa, and LA=English cottage industry to continue Decline in markets=English economy needed new markets and protected colonial markets English exports became much more balanced and diversified and the mercantilist system formed in 17c to attack the Dutch=success in the 18th century Most of English trade done through Atlantic economy Revival in Colonial Latin America PhilipV(Louis XIV GSON took over after death of Charles II) Peace=after War of Spanish Succession=ministers reasserted royal authority, aiding in state finances and better defense Spain got LA from FA in 1763 and missionaries and ranchers extended Spanish influence all the way to northern California and economy BOOM In 1800 Spanish America=half of world silver production and silver mining=food production for large mining camps and allowed Creoles to buy more goods $$$ estate owners believed that work in the fields was the proper occupation of the peasantry and slavery and periodic forced labor gave way to debt peonage Debt peonage:a planter or rancher would keep the estate’s Christianized Indians in perpetual debt bondage by periodically advancing food, shelter, and a little money In the 18th century Spanish and Portuguese colonies= commerce in silver, sugar, and slaves as well as in manufactured goods for Europes elite Adam Smith and Economic Liberalism Wanting bigger positions in overseas commerce, independent merchants in many countries began campaigning against “monopolies” and called for “free trade” Although mercantilist policies strengthened both the Spanish and British colonial empires, Creole merchants were annoyed by regulations imposed in Madrid Small English merchants complained about the injustice of handing over exclusive trading rights to great trading combines such as the East India Company The general idea of freedom of enterprise in foreign trade was developed by Scottish professor of philosophy Adam Smith, whose Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations founded modern economics was highly critical of mercantilism To Smith, mercantilism meant a combination of stifling government regulations and unfair privileges for state-approved monopolies and government favorites and free competition, which would best protect consumers from price gouging and give all citizens a fair and equal right to do what they did best (“system of natural liberty”) Smith argued that the government should limit itself to “only three duties” The government should provide a defense against foreign invasion The government should maintain civil order with courts and police protection The government should sponsor certain indispensable public works and institutions that could never earn an adequate profit for private investors Believing that employers were motivated by narrow self-interest (and good wages), Smith did not call for more laws and more police power but made the pursuit of self-interest in a competitive market the source of an underlying and previously unrecognized a harmony The “invisible hand” of free competition, disciplined the freed of selfish individuals= the most effective means of increasing wealth Smith’s work emerged as the classic argument for economic liberalism and capitalism EXTRA NOTES: Guild System: protected urban artisans UK won Anglo Dutch War
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Aboukhadijeh, Feross. "Chapter 17" StudyNotes.org. Study Notes, LLC., 01 Dec. 2016. Web. 24 Apr. 2025. <https://www.apstudynotes.org/european-history/outlines/chapter-17/>.
