Agrarian Revolution In Britain

​​From mid 18th century onwards, scientific ideas and new techniques of farming were applied as a result of the scientific and industrial revolutions.
The changes that marked the Agrarian Revolution in Britain. (What were the characteristics of the agrarian revolution in Britain?)

• The land enclosure system (fencing and hedging of plots), which replaced the Open Field system in 1750.
• Mechanization, i.e. use of new farming methods, which required large farms as opposed to the previous small strips.
• Abolition of fallows. Farmers could no longer leave the land fallow to regain its fertility as was the tradition. Increase in population meant demand for more food, which required most of the land to be put to use.
• Introduction of crop rotation. Lord Viscount Townsend developed a four-course rotation system called the Norfolk, which consisted of barley, clover, turnips and wheat on the same plot of land over a four-year period, by which land retained or gained but would not lose its fertility.
• The introduction of inter cropping. It was discovered that growing crops like maize and beans on a given piece of land at the same time enabled land to regain fertility, since such crops did not require the same nutrients from the soil and they gre w well if planted together.
• Use of fertilizer. This was pioneered by Lord Viscount Townsend, who recommended manuring of land to increase yields per hectare.
• Use of machines. This changed agriculture from a small scale subsistence activity to a large scale business for both subsistence and commercial purposes.
• Selective breeding of livestock. This was invented between 1725-1795 by Robert Bakewell.
• Introduction and all-time availability of cattle feed, which helped ensure supply of fresh meat all the year round.

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​The animal breeds that resulted from Robert Bakewell’s Selective Breeding technique

• New improved cattle breeds like Devon, the Shorthorn, Hereford, Ayrshire and Aberdeen Angus
• Sheep breeds such as the Leicester, Shropshire, Suffolk and Oxford.
• Pig breeds like Yorkshire, Berkshire and Tamworth

​The inventions/innovations  that were made during  Agrarian revolution in Britain

• Jethro Tull’s invention of the Seed Drill and the horse -drawn hoe in 1791,, with which seeds could be sown in rows, which eased inter row cropping and kept the land between the rows clean.
• Introduction of the Iron plough in place of the wooden plough in 1825.
• Formation of the Royal Agricultural Society in 1838, which publicised new ideas and techniques of farming all over Britain. This encouraged adoption of modern methods of farming.
• Opening of a super phosphates factory in London in 1843 by Sir john Bennet Lawes, following the earlier discovery by scientists that Nitrogen Phosphorus (in phosphates) and Potassium (in Potash) are nutrients for all plants.
• Andrew Meikle's’ invention of the Mechanical Thresher in 1876, which improved Patrick Bell’s earlier invention of the Mechanical Reaper, which replaced the sickle in harvesting corn. A Binder was added to the reaper so that corn was cut and bound at the same time. Other modern machines like tractors and the combined harvester could reap and thresh corn simultaneously.

​The Land Enclosure System

​How the Enclosure system serve as an agricultural  landmark in Britain

• It was necessitated by use of new farming methods that required large farms as opposed to the previous small strips
• Rich farmers bought up all the land and, through the Enclosure Movement, demanded that land be enclosed by fencing
• Through the Enclosure act of 1750, the British government mandated farmers to fence their land. This enabled the rich to acquire a lot more land and created large farms that were easily managed as farmers could specialize in crop or animal production, which was highly profitable
• The farmers that bought up the land got title deeds, which they could use to borrow money from firms to improve their farms
• Peasants, who could not buy their own estates were evicted from and lost their land, which was sold off to rich landlords
• There was displacement and a lot more hardship for those who lost their land as they had to sell their labour to the rich farmers and to the factories in the urban as others emigrated to the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa
• There were many changes in lifestyle as agriculture was transformed from a simple human occupation to a complex highly profitable business
• Fallow land was cultivated and wasteland reclaimed. Food could now be grown round the year due to increased irrigation
• Cultivation methods and equipment improved, which meant adequate and surplus food production
• By 1800, all farmland in Britain was enclosed, which greatly reduced the risk of animal and crop diseases. Aggressive farmers could now increase production without the hindrance of their neighbours

​The results of Agrarian revolution In Britain

• ​Improved farming methods, which led to increased food production.
• Population increase as food was abundant.  Life expectancy was higher too.
• A large variety of crops e.g. clover, potatoes, beans, maize, vegetables and citrus fruits.
• New animal breeds such as the Friesian cow as well as Leicester and Suffolk sheep, among others.
• large scale farming in place of subsistence farming.
• Mechanization of farming as cultivation of large farms was adopted.
• Rural-urban migration as peasants were compelled by the Enclosure movement to sell their land to rich farmers.
• Availability of raw materials required in the agro based industries, thus contributing to the industrial revolution.
• Expansion of both local and international  trade
• Expansion of the transport network.
• Enhancement of research and scientific innovations.
• Migration of some of the landless to the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other places overseas.
• Minimization of pests, diseases and epidemics.
• High standard of life, particularly  for farmers due to increased agricultural  income.
• Availability of food and feeds round the year.
• British culture was spread and administered overseas.
• Emergence and growth of more and more urban centres due to rise of a non-food producing population

​The negative effects of the Agrarian revolution

• ​Land was concentrated in the hands of a few rich people, leaving the wider majority under poverty and insecurity due to forced sales of their land.
• The fact that work, for which those who lost their land had to look, was not easy to find, for the landless outnumbered the landlords by a greater margin.
• Most of those who migrated overseas died due to exposure to strange climates.
• Some of the emergent non-food producing population indulged into permissive and unbecoming behaviour, a lot of which remains to date.
• Some fertilizer and pesticides, such as DDT, became destructive to the environment.
• Urban centres were overcrowded, with poor living conditions due to influx of poor landless peasants into towns.
• The idea of colonization stems from Agrarian revolution since almost all places where British emigrants went to after the Agrarian Revolution, such as the USA, Canada, Australia,, New Zealand, South Africa, etc became British colonies

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