Agricultural Revolution - The agricultural revolution occurred from the 1600s onwards, and was characterized by a change in the traditional ways of farming and a change in lifestyle for those who made their livelihoods in agriculture - Farmers developed the crop rotation system, where the same field will have one crop one season and another the next. Since different plants use different nutrients, this allows the soil to be fertile for much longer. - Agricultural production in England tripled; this reduced the demand for workers on farms, encouraging more people to move into cities. The influx of a large, available workforce to the cities—combined with the invention of machinery and the production line philosophy— sparked the industrial revolution

Crop yields (harvests)

A sheaf-delivery reaper at work The mix of crops also changed, replacing low-yielding types, such as rye, with higher-yielding types such as wheat or barley. The balance between arable and permanent pasture also changed, so that more productive arable land was replacing permanent pasture. This does not mean that fodder supplies were falling, quite the reverse, for the loss of permanent pasture was made good by new fodder crops, especially turnips and clover, in arable rotations. Not only did these crops result in an increase in fodder yields, but they were also instrumental

in the reclamation of many lowland heaths from rough pasture to productive arable farms.

The Worlidge Drill The most important new crop in this context is the turnip, because it meant that the area of fallow land could be reduced. This was because one of the purposes of the fallow was to clear the land of weeds by ploughing, but a crop of turnips sown in rows could be

hoed to remove weeds while it was growing. Thus fallow land was about 20 per cent of the arable area in England in 1700, and steadily declined to reach only 4 per cent in 1871. One of the earliest pieces of evidence we have, concerning the cultivation of turnips for animal fodder, is the inventory taken for probate purposes, in 1638, of the possessions of a Mr Pope, of Burgh Castle in Suffolk. But turnips were not common until the mid-18th century, and not widespread as part of the new Norfolk four-course rotation until the 19th century.

Nitrogen...was the 'limiting factor' in determining cereal yields before about 1830.

Cereal yields also increased. Wheat yields increased by about a quarter between 1700 and 1800, and then by about a half between 1800 and 1850, and the most recent research emphasises the early 19th century as the period of crucial change. The key to increasing cereal yields was nitrogen, which we now know was the 'limiting factor' in determining cereal yields before about 1830.

Table link: http://faculty.econ.ucdavis.edu/faculty/gclark/papers/prod2002.pdf

Population Boom:

- As people flocked to cities, housing was small and expensive - Many workers and their families lived in cramped, dirty conditions - Family life was disrupted by this change; family members held different roles than before - The population was gradually increasing with advanced nutrition and technology, but this population growth complicated housing problems - Factories employed many workers, but did not pay them well; the social hierarchy became more rigid as factory owners became richer from increased factory production - Urbanization: People moving from the countryside into cities. This meant that factories had a great supply of potential workers; owners could force workers to commit to long hours or dangerous work, as the workers knew they would be replaced if they complained or did not complete the tasks - In addition to the traditional workforce, women and children were often forced to work in terrible conditions - In 1833, the government of England passed the Factory Act to prohibit children from working (a) at night, (b) more than 9 or 12 hours a day, depending on their age, and (c) until they were 9-years-old

Imperial Gains:

The lighter color indicates areas under British control at one time or another, 1600-1945.

The British Empire is the most extensive empire in world history and for a time was the

foremost global power. It was a product of the European age of discovery, which

began with the global maritime explorations of Portugal and Spain in the late fifteenth

century.

By 1921, the British Empire ruled a population of between 470 and 570 million people,

approximately one-quarter of the world's population. It covered about 14.3 million

square miles (more than 37 million square kilometers), about a quarter of Earth's

total land area. Though it has now mostly evolved into the Commonwealth of Nations,

British influence remains strong throughout the world: in economic practice, legal and

governmental systems, sports (such as cricket and football), and the English language

itself.

The British Empire was, at one time, referred to as "the empire on which the sun

never sets" (a phrase previously used to describe the Spanish Empire and later to

American influence in the world) because the empire's span across the globe ensured

that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous colonies. On the

one hand, the British developed a sense of their own destiny and moral

responsibility in the world, believing that many of her colonial subjects required

guidance, that it was British rule that prevented anarchy and chaos. Positively, the

education system sponsored by the British promulgated an awareness of such values as

freedom, human dignity, equality—even though those taught often observed that

their colonial masters did not practice what they preached. Negatively, peoples and

resources were exploited at Britain's advantage and more often than not at the cost of

her overseas possessions.

Slavery:

The complex economic relationships established within and between Europe, Africa, and the Americas during the early modern period make it difficult to isolate Europe's economic developments from the American slave complex. Some historians continue to argue that African slaves were responsible for about 75 percent of the American products that fed the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century commercial revolution, which in turn contributed to Britain's urbanization, creation of markets, export manufacture, and shift to industrial production after 1750. Others suggest that the concentration of capital, technological innovation, and organization of labor for efficiency in the colonial sugar plantations were models for the industrialization of the European textile industries.

Free slave labor meant that the goods those slaves produced could be sold at lower prices.

Technological Advancements- Flying Shuttle (invented by John Kay): A piece for a loom that had four spinners allowing weavers to work much more quickly, increasing production - Steam engine (invented by George Stephenson): the first steam-powered locomotive was an invention that revolutionized transportation; it created a new source of power and allowed for the widespread use of railroads. - Steamboat (the first genuinely useful one of which was invented by James Watt in 1765): increased the speed in which goods could be transported in the colonies - The printing press (invented in the west by Johannes Gutenberg in 1450): The printing press allowed publishers to make many copies of a book all at once, and allowed for widespread literacy. - Seed Drill (invented by Jethro Tull): invented the seed drill that allowed seeds to be planted deep in the ground and not easily washed away, an important factor in the major production increases of the agricultural revolution - Dynamite (invented by Alfred Nobel in 1867): Nobel mixed nitroglycerin with other chemicals to make it more stable, so it co uld be used to build railways.

Cotton Industry Stats: