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THE COMING OF MODERN AGRICULTURE IN ENGLAND

1. Before the 18th century in large parts of England, the countryside was open. Peasants cultivated on strips of land around the village they lived in.2. At the beginning of each year, strips of varying quality were allocated to each villager. This ensured that everyone had a mix of good & bad land.These strips were located in different places, not next to each other.

16th century England

3. Beyond these strips of cultivation lay the common land. All villagers had an access to the commons. Here they pastured their cows and grazed their sheep.4. They collected fuel wood for fire and berries and fruit for food. They fished in the rivers and ponds, and hunted small animals in common forests.5. For the poor, the common land was essential for survival.6. It supplemented merge income sustained their cattle and helped them tide over bad times when crops failed.

16th century England- Common Land

16TH CENTURY ENGLAND- COMMON LAND

1. Rising demand for wool: In the 16th century the price of wool went up in the world market, to earn more profits, the rich wanted to improve their sheep breed. To improve their sheep breed, good pastures were required. So they started enclosing the common land to provide proper pastures to the sheep.

THE REASONS FOR THE ENCLOSURE IN ENGLAND

2. Various acts: The early enclosures were usually created by individual landlords. They were not supported by the state or the church. But between 1750-1850, 4,000 Acts were passed to legalise the enclosures.6 million acres of land was enclosed.

THE REASONS FOR THE ENCLOSURE IN ENGLAND

3. Rapid growth in population:There was a rapid growth of population England between the 18th and the 19th centuries. It increased over 4 times between 1750-1900.The increased population meant more demand for food grains and other products so the people had no other option except to enclose open fields.

THE REASONS FOR THE ENCLOSURE IN ENGLAND

4. Increase in demand for food-grains: There was shortage of food grains in England due to increases in population, industralisation and war with France. Price of food grains in England sky rocketed, encouraging landowners to enclose lands and enlarge the area under grain cultivation.

THE REASONS FOR THE ENCLOSURE IN ENGLAND

5. Use of machinery: As the demand for food grains was increasing at a very fast rate, the rich people started using machines. These machines needed large farms. So the rich landlords started enclosing more and open fields.

THE REASONS FOR THE ENCLOSURE IN ENGLAND

Open field system & labourers 1. An open field system held great attraction for the labourer. He could meet almost all his needs from such open fields.2. At the initial stage, the open field system was good for the labourers. They could get jobs in these fields.3. When the demand for wool and food grains increased in Europe, they started, getting regular work.4. During the open field system, the labourers used to live with land owners.

THE IMPACT OF ENCLOSURES ON THE POOR FARMERS1. When fences came up, the enclosed land became the exclusive property of one landowner. The poor could no longer collect their firewood from the forests, or graze their cattle on the commons.2. They could no longer collect apples and barriers, or hunt small animals for meat.3. They could not gather the stalks that lay on the fields after the crops were harvested.

THE IMPACT OF ENCLOSURES ON THE POOR FARMERS4. In the places, where enclosures happened on an extensive scale ( Midlands & counties around), the poor were displaced from the land.They moved to the Southern counties.5. They found their customary rights were gradually disappearing.6. Deprived of their rights, and driven off the land, they tramped in search of work. But nowhere could the poor find secure jobs.7. Labourers were being paid low wages and employed only during harvest time.8. Their work became insecure, employment uncertain and income unstable.

Open field system meant to a peasant woman1. Under the open field system, the women were an important part of the family. They were also playing very important role in daily affairs.2. Cow keeping, collection of wood, gathering of barriers and fruits from the open fields was earlier mostly done by women and children.

Open field system meant to a peasant woman3. With the disappearance of the open fields system, they could no longer collect anything from the open fields.4. It became difficult for women to graze cattle and fulfill the requirement of food for their family.5. With the disappearance of the open field system, the male members had to move, out of villages in search of work. So the burden of family was on the women.6. Went to towns & became domestic workers.

Introduction of threshing machines Introduction of threshing machines Population increased tremendously in mid 18th cent.The demand for food grains was increasing at a very fast rate.Shortage of wasteland.The rich people started using machines.

THE AGE OF ENCLOSURESGrain production grew as quickly as populationIn 1868 England was producing 80% of food it consumed.This was possible as more land was brought under cultivation.Pasturelands, openfields, forest, marshes were turned into agricultural fields.Simple innovations- planting of turnip & clover increasd fertility of soil.Invested on enclosures- to expand land under control & produce more for market.

Opposition of threshing machines by the poor in England1. For the poor the threshing machines had become a sign of bad times.2. The rich landowners complained of the insolence of labourers and the difficulty of making them to work.3. They thought, the machines would help them to reduce their dependence on labourers.

Opposition of threshing machines by the poor in England4. Due to the threshing machines, rich farmers were enclosing more and more open fields.5. This was having an adverse impact on the poor class. Now the area under open fields was decreasing.6. Earlier it was common for labourers to live with the landowners. They used to help their master throughout the year but with the introduction of machines, work became insecure, employment uncertain and income unstable.

AGRICULTURAL DEPRESSIONEnd of Napoleonic wars.Thousands of soldiers became unemployed.Flow of grains from Europe to England.Price of food grains decreased. Setback to landlords.The landowners reduced the area under cultivation.Cut wages & no. of workers employed on farms.The unemployed poor workers had to migrate.Blamed threshing machines for their miseries.

CAPTAIN SWING RIOTS(1830-31)Captain Swing was no person but a mythic name used by poor labourers, who were deprived of their common land, of their livelihood and even of their jobs. They could not openly face the influential landlords, so they adopted this new method of threatening them. At night they would attack the farmhouses of the landowners, destroy the threshing machines, burn their barn and haystacks and sometimes, their entire farmhouses.

CAPTAIN SWING RIOTS The landlords had taken their common land which was essential for their survival, so the poor labourers threatened them of dire consequences under the symbolic name of Captain Swing. This was their novice scheme to save themselves from the operation of the law. This name became so common in about 1830 that the riots started by the poor laboureres begun to be called the Swing Riots

AREAS AFFECTED DURING SWING MOVEMENTCAPTAIN SWING RIOTSContinued for 2 years.Threatened landlords by writing lettersAbout 387 machines were broken Fearing attacks, many landlords destroyed their own machines.Govt. action- 1976 prisoners were tried9 men were hanged505 were transported-over 450 to Australia644 put behind bars

How did the industrialization encourage the enclosure system/movement in England? 1. Industries needed more raw materials and were paying high price to the farmers for their produce. This encouraged the farmers to grow more and to increase enclosures.2. Men from rural areas migrated to towns in search of jobs. To survive, they had to buy food grains from the market. As the population grew demand for the food grains expanded. This demand encouraged the farmers for enclosures.

How did the industrialization encourage the enclosure system/movement in England? 3. Due to increase in the demand for food grains, rich farmers started using machinery. This machinery enhanced farmers to work quickly and with a minimal number of hands.4. The rich people started using machines. These machines needed large farms. So the rich landlords started enclosing more open fields.5. Innovations in agricultural technology encouraged people to bring lowlands under cultivation, open field were carved, pastureland was opened, common forests were cut up and large areas were converted into agricultural lands.

What was the impact of agriculture revolution or enclosures on England?

MODERN AGRICULTURE IN USA MAJOR FEATURES OF USA AGRICULTURE & THE LIFE OF THE RURAL PEOPLE AT THE END OF THE 18TH CENTURY1. At the time that common fields were being enclosed in England at the end of the eighteenth century, settled agriculture had not developed on any extensive scale in the USA.2. Forests covered over 800 million acres and grasslands, 600 million acres.3. Most of the landscape was not under the control of the White Americans.

the Native Americans were nomadic, some were settled. Many of them lived only by hunting, gathering and fishing; others cultivated corn, beans, tobacco and pumpkin MAJOR FEATURES OF USA AGRICULTURE & THE LIFE OF THE RURAL PEOPLE AT THE END OF THE 18TH CENTURY4. Till the 1780s, White Americans settlements were confined to a small narrow strip of coastal land in the east.5. Several of the Native Americans were nomadic, some were settled. Many of them lived only by hunting, gathering and fishing; others cultivated corn, beans, tobacco and pumpkin.6. Some others were expert trappers through whom European traders had secured their supplies of beaver fur since the sixteenth century.

THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF WHITE SETTLERS OF USA1. After the American war of independence from 1775 to 1783 and the formation of the United States of America, the White Americans begun to move westward. By the time, Thomas Jefferson became, the president of the USA in 1800, over 700,000 white settlers had moved on the Appalachian plateau through the passes. USA-Land of promise -Its wilderness could be turned into cultivated fields. Forest timber could be cut for export, animals hunted for skin, mountains mined for gold and minerals.

THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF WHITE SETTLERS OF USA2. After 1800, White settlers forced American Indians to give up their lands and move westward. Indians were massacred and many of their villages burnt. The Indians resisted, won many victories in wars, but were ultimately forced to sign treaties, give up their land & move westward.

THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF WHITE SETTLERS OF USA

3. As the Indian retreated, the settlers poured in. They came in successive waves.They settled on the Appalachian plateau by the first decade of the eighteenth century and then moved into the Mississippi valley between 1820 and 1850.

1775183018501920THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF WHITE SETTLEMENT BETWEEN 1775 & 1920

THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF WHITE SETTLERS OF USA

4. The settlers slashed and burnt forests, pulled out stumps, cleared the land for cultivation, and built log cabins in the forest clearings.5. They cleared larger areas and erected fences around the fields they ploughed the land and sowed corn and wheat.

Thesod houseor "soddywas a successor to the log cabin during frontier settlement ofCanadaand theUnited States. Theprairie lacked standard building materials such as wood or stone; however,sodfrom thickly-rooted prairie grass was abundant.Prairie grass had a much thicker, tougher root structure than modern landscaping grass.Construction of a sod house involved cutting patches of sod in rectangles, often 2'1'6" (600300150mm) long, and piling them into walls. Builders employed a variety of roofing methods. Sod houses accommodate normal doors and windows. The resulting structure was a well-insulated but damp dwelling that was very inexpensive. Sod houses required frequent maintenance and were vulnerable to rain damage.Stuccoor wood panels often protected the outer walls. Canvas or plaster often lined the interior walls.THE GREAT PLAINS-MAJOR WHEAT PRODUCING AREA OF USA

MAJOR WHEAT PRODUCING AREA OF USA DRAMATIC EXPANSION OF WHEAT PRODUCTION IN THE USA From the late 19th century, there was a dramatic expansion of wheat production in the USA. 1. The urban population in the USA was growing, and the export market was becoming ever bigger.2. Increased demand and high prices encouraged farmers to produce wheat.

DRAMATIC EXPANSION OF WHEAT PRODUCTION IN THE USA 3. The introduction of railways made it easy to transport the grains from the wheat growing regions to the eastern coast for export.

4. By the early 20th century, the demand for wheat rose even higher and during the First World War, the world market boomed. 5. During the World War I, there was no supply from Russia. So the whole supply for Europe was in the hands of USA. Plant more wheat, wheat will win war.-Wilson

6. The farmers respond vigorously to the need of the time and they began producing more wheat.

DRAMATIC EXPANSION OF WHEAT PRODUCTION IN THE USA5. Introduction of machines also helped in the production. The use of machines allowed the farmers to finish up the work within a short span of time.6. Production of wheat increased: from the late 19th century, there was a dramatic expansion of wheat production in USA. In 1910, about 45 million acres of land in USA was under the wheat cultivation which increased to 74 million acres in 1929 (65% increase). 7. The Great Plains- Most of the increase in production was in this area.new areas were being ploughed to increase cultivation.8. Wheat barons controlled around 2,000-3,000 acres of land individually.

COMING OF NEW TECHNOLOGYCOMING OF NEW TECHNOLOGY IN 20TH CENT.ADVANTAGES OF THE USE OF MECHANICAL HARVESTING MACHINE IN THE USAFor the big farmers of the Great Plains, these machines had many attractions.1. The price of wheat was high & demand was limitless.

2. The new machines allowed these big farmers to rapidly clear large tracts, break up the soil, remove the grass and prepare the ground for cultivation.

3. The work could be done quickly and with a minimal number of hands.

4. It saved the time of the farmers.

5. It reduced the dependency on workers.

6. It increased the production of crops.

7. Now, it was easy to plough the prairies with the help of modern ploughs.8. With power driven machinery, 4 men could plough, seed & harvest 2000-4000 acres of wheat in a season.

DISADVANTAGES OF THE USE OF MECHANICAL HARVESTING MACHINE IN THE USADisadvantages: for the poorer farmer, machines brought misery.1. Poor workers lost their jobs as a single machine could do the work of many labourers at the same time.2. Most of the poor farmers found it difficult to pay back their debts. So most of them were forced to sell their land.3. Mechanization has reduced the need of labourer. They lost their jobs.Large surplus-unsold stocks piled up, storehouses overflowed with grainsCorn & wheat was turned into animal feed. Wheat prlces fell & export market collapsed. 4. It led to the Dust Bowl Tragedy as Prairies were being extensively ploughed.5. The over-utilization of machines was also responsible for the Great Agrarian Depression of 1930s.

DUST BOWL TRAGEDYDUST BOWL TRAGEDY1. The expansion of wheat agriculture and overgrazing of the prairies were responsible for the Dust Bowl tragedy.2. In 1930s, terrifying dust storms began to blow over the southern plains.3. Black Blizzards( 7000-8000 feet high) rolled in.4. These dust storms had a great impact on the economic and social life of the people.

DUST BOWL TRAGEDY5. The black blizzards were responsible for natural disaster in which people were blinded, cattle were suffocated to death, buried the fields, killing fish in rivers and machinery was damaged beyond repair.6. It was a natural as well as man-made disaster because farmers themselves were responsible for the tragedy.7. The farmers had recklessly uprooted all vegetation and tractors had turned the soil over, breathing the sod into dust.

REASONS THAT LED TO DUST BOWL TRAGEDY CONCLUSIONThe white settlers converted the USA into a bread basket but at very high price.1. The locals were deprived off their resources and most of them became very poor.2. For the poor farmers the use of machines brought misery. They found it difficult to pay back their debt, and were forced to sell their land.3. The overproductions of wheat lead to the Great Agrarian Depression of the 1930s.4. Over-ploughing of Prairies also lead to Dust Bowl Tragedy. Because of this, the land of plenty became a Dust Bowl.5. After 1930s, the government and the settlers realized that they had to respect the ecological condition of each region.MODERN AGRICULTURE IN USA

IMPACT OF THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF THE SETTLERS IN THE USA1. Impact on native people: After the American war of independence, the White Americans began to move westward. They started clearing the native from their land.2. Impact on the natural resources: the white settlers started exploiting the natural resources. They slashed and burnt forests, pulled up the stumps, cleared the land for cultivation and built log cabins in the forest clearings.3. Production of wheat increased: from the late 19th century, there was a dramatic expansion of wheat production in USA. In 1910, about 45 million acres of land in USA was under the wheat cultivation which increased to 74 million acres in 1929.

IMPACT OF THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF THE SETTLERS IN THE USA4. New technology: the dramatic expansion was possible only because of the new technology. Farmers were using modern machines to turn the soil. The use of machines allowed the farmers to finish up the work within a short span of time.5. Impact on the poor: for the poor farmers, machines brought misery. Mechanization had reduced the need for labour and most of the farmers, lost their jobs.6. Dust bowl tragedy: the extensive use of Prairies was responsible for the Dust Bowl Tragedy. The cultivation of wheat had exposed the soil to wind, resulting in the Dust Bowl.

WHY DID THE EAST INDIA COMPANY PERSUADE THE INDIAN FARMERS TO GROW OPIUM?1. In the late 18th century, the English east India Company was buying tea and silk from China for sale in England.2. As tea was gaining popularity in England, its demand rose from 15 million pounds to 30 million pounds.3. England at that time produced nothing that could be easily sold in China.4. This means an outflow of treasure from England to China.

In such a situation, how could they balance their trade? They searched for a commodity they could sell in china, opium was such a commodity. It was used in china for medicinal purposes. English traders began an illegal trade in opium. While the English cultivated a taste for Chinese tea, The Chinese became addicted to opium. To feed this booming export trade, East India Company persuaded the Indian farmers to grow opium.

THE WAYS BY WHICH INDIAN CULTIVATORS WERE RESUADED TO PRODUCE OPIUM

The unwilling cultivators were made to produce opium through a system of advances. Peasants never had enough to survive. Their village headman gave them advances to produce opium. The loan tied the peasants to the headman and through him to the government. Government agents were appointed to advance to the village headman who used to forward these to the farmers. By taking the loan, the cultivator was forced to grow opium on a specified area of land and hand over the produce to the agents once the crops had been harvested. He had no option of planting the field with a crop of his choice or of selling his produce to anyone but the government agent.

The Confucian rulers of China, the Manchus, were suspicious of all foreign merchants.They feared that the merchants would meddle in the local politics and disrupt their authority. So the Manchus were unwilling to allow the entry of foreign goods.

THE IMPACT OF OPIUM TRADE IN CHINA

1. The traders start meddling in local politics.2. Illegal trade started outflow of treasure from China.3. The Chinese became addicted to opium.4. People of all classes started talking drugs.5. People of all classes took to the drug-shopkeepers and peddlers.

METHODS USED BY THE BRITISHERS TO INCREASE THE LAND REVENUE.1. A regular system of land revenue was established.2. Revenue rates were increased.3. Area under cultivation was increased.

the major features of the Indian countryside in the late 18th and 19th centuries.

1. Introduction of regular land revenue system: the British saw land revenue as a major source of government income. So to build the resources of the state, efforts were made to impose a regular system of land revenue increase revenue rates and expand the area under cultivation.

2. Increase in area under cultivation and its impact: as cultivation and its impact: as cultivation expanded, the area under forests and pastures declined. All this created many problems for peasants and pastoralists. They found their access to forests and grazing lands increasingly restricted by rules and regulations. And they struggled to meet the pressures of the government revenue demand.

3. Variety of crops: in the colonial period, rural India also came to produce a range of crops for the world market. In the early eighteenth century, indigo and opium were two of the major commercial crops. By the end of the century, peasants were introducing sugarcane, cotton, jute, wheat and several other crops for export to feed the population of urban Europe and to supply the mills of Lancashire and Manchester in England.

the major factors responsible for the conflict between the British government, peasants and local traders.

1. The agents of the government were offering very low prices to the farmers.2. The government was forcing the farmers to grow opium only.3. Many cultivators began selling their crops to travelling traders who offered higher prices.4. The British government had established monopoly in the opium trade.5. The government had instructed its agents posted in the princely states (areas under Indian rulers) to confiscate all opium and destroy the crops as there were giving tough competition to the British traders.

Indian farmers reluctant to grow opium1. The crop had to be grown in the best land, on fields that lay near villages and were well manured. On this land peasants usually produced pulses. If they planted opium on this land, then the pulses could not be planted there.

2. Many cultivators owned no land. To cultivate, they had to pay rent and lease land from landlords. And the rent charged on good lands near villages was very high.

Indian farmers reluctant to grow opium3. The cultivation of opium was a difficult process. The plant was delicate and cultivators had to spend long hours nurturing it. This meant that they did not have enough time to care for other crops.4. The price the government paid to the cultivators for the opium they produced was very low. It was unprofitable for cultivators to grow opium at the price.5. The government was forcing the farmers to grow opium only.