Continental openfields in Europe and inland Spain.

Marta Sahagún. 3º ESO 2009-10. IES FRAY PEDRO DE URBINA

DEFINITIONEach peasant’s lands are not separated, because there is no element of enclosure.And collectively among all farmers, it is decided when to plant and how to plant.

Advantages

• It met the country's need for food for many centuries.

•The system provided security - villagers always had someone to rely on for help and a sense of structure.

Disadvantages

• It was very inefficient: Land was wasted annually by the

fallow field because one third of the land went unused.

Land was wasted with pathways that separated farmer's strips in the fields.

There were no fences, so animals sometimes wandered around crushing crops.

The openfield system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe from the Middle Ages to as recently as the 20th century in some places.

Open-field in Europe

ZONES WHERE YOU CAN FIND OPENFIELDS

EXAMPLE OF OPENFIELDS

• By Marta Sahagún