1. What were the most important elements of the agricultural revolution in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries?

What factors explain the Dutch leadership in this revolution? Why and how did it spread to England?

Agriculture and the Land 1. Drew their livelihoods from agriculture, more so in Eastern Europe 2. Harvests were poor, or even failed completely, every eight or nine years 3. Famine foods: chestnuts, dandelions and grasses, bark, humans; eaten to escape starvation 4. Unbalanced diets = weak and ill people a. Influenza and smallpox b. Death rate soared 5. Open Field System a. 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; the fields were open, and the strips were not enclosed into small plots by fences or hedges; peasants farmed each large field as a community; each family followed the same pattern of plowing sowing, and harvest b. System permitted a year of wheat or rye to be followed by a year of oats or beans and only then by a year of fallow 6. Lands were common lands, set aside primarily for the draft horses and oxen so necessary in the fields 7. Gleaning of grain; poor women would go through the fields picking up the few single grains that had fallen in the ground in the course of the harvest 8. State and landlords continued to levy heavy taxes and high rents 9. Peasants were worse in Eastern Europe because of serfdom; could go for five to six days without pay 10. Agricultural Revolution a. Technological progress peasants could replace the idle fallow with crops, and could increase the land under cultivations b. Secret to eliminating the fallow lies in alternating grain with certain nitrogen storing crops, such as turnips, potatoes, clovers, and grasses c. Crop rotation: new patterns of organization allowed some farmers to develop increasingly sophisticated patters to suit different kinds of soil i. New crops made ideal feed for animals ii. More animals meant more meat and better diets for he people iii. More manure for fertilizer = more grain iv. Skepticism and farmers had to get all the villages consent made it difficult v. Needed to enclose and consolidate their scattered holdings into compact, fenced in fields in order to farm more effectively (enclosure) 11. The Leadership of the Low Countries and England a. Holland led the way b. Intensive farming in the Low Countries; enclosed fields, continuous rotation, heavy manuring, and a wide variety of crops c. Reasoning for increase in agricultural interest: dense population provided good markets d. English drain and water control

i. Cornelius Vermuyden directed one large drainage project in Yorkshire and another in Cambridgshire ii. Jethro Tull adopted a critical attitude towards accepted ideas about farming and tried to develop better methods through empirical research iii. Advocated sowing seed with drilling equipment rather than scattering it by hand iv. Improvements in livestock v. Surge of agricultural production provided food e. By 1700 a highly distinctive pattern of landownership and production existed in England. At one extreme were a few large landowners; at the other, a large mass of landless cottagers who labored mainly for wages and who could graze only a pig of cow in a common village Some historians argued that the fairness of given funds was more apparent than real because enclosure acts were passed by parliament, who was swayed by large landowners, and therefore may cause unequal land distribution 1. Cottage Industry: domestic industry 2. Protoindustrialization: a stage of rural industrial development with wage workers and hand tools that necessarily preceded the emergence of large scale factories 3. Putting out System: two main participants, merchant capitalist and rural worker a. Merchant loaned raw materials to several cottage workers who processed the raw materials in their own homes and returned the finished product to the merchant; sometimes several workers toiled together; industrial wages usually became more important; king of capitalism

2. Read "The Decline of the Guilds" in "Listening to the Past". How does French finance minister Turgot justify his abolition of the guilds? How do Turgot's arguments parallel those of Adam Smith as presented in the textbook? How do they seem to differ?

Turgot was the French Adam Smith. His Reflections on the Production and Distribution of Wealth, which predated Smiths The Wealth of Nations by ten years, argues against government intervention in economics. Turgot recognized the function of the division of labor, investigated how prices were determined, and analyzed the origins of economic growth, which often times was not a likely choice for guilds, or trade corporations. Turgot was a leading Physiocrat attempted to reform the most stifling of his governments economic policies. Probably Turgots most important contribution to economics was to point out that capital is necessary for economic growth, and that the only way to accumulate capital is for people not to consume all they produce. Most capital, he believed, was accumulated by landowners who saved the surplus product after paying the cost of materials and of labor. Turgot also believed that savings in one period become investment in the next. Turgot exercised a deep influence upon Adam Smith. His book, Reflections on the Formation and Distribution of Riches introduced the concept of capital. He also clarified the meaning of surplus and provided the link between surplus and growth and relating the profit rate to the rate of interest. He was also among the first to make clear the distinction between market price and natural price. All of these ideas were taken up by Adam Smith. Adam Smith and economic liberalism Despite mercantilism's contribution to imperial growth, a reaction to it set in. The Scottish professor Adam Smith founded modern economics through his general idea of freedom of enterprise in foreign trade. He claimed that mercantilism stifled economic growth. He advocated free competition; he believed that pursuit of selfinterest would lead to harmony and progress, for workers as well as employers. He believed that the government should only be involved in three aspects of the peoples lives: 1. Protection against foreign invasion 2. Maintain civil order with courts and police protection. Should sponsor certain indispensable public works and institutions that could never adequately profit private investors

3. While England was building the preeminent world empire and greatest economic power base in Europe, its society was undergoing profound changes. Describe these changes, being sure to identify their causes and consequences.

f. Reasoning for increase in agricultural interest: dense polulation provided good markets g. English drain and water control i. Cornelius Vermuyden directed one large drainage project in Yorkshire and another in Cambridgshire ii. Jethro Tull adopted a critical attitude towards accepted ideas about farming and tried to develop better methods through empirical research iii. Advocated sowing seed with drilling equipment rather than scattering it by hand iv. Improvements in livestock and increased production of food 12. The Cost of Enclosure a. Many historians stressed that the open fields be enclosed fairly, with owners receiving their fair share after the strips had been surveyed and consolidated b. Others argue that fairness was more apparent than real; had large landowners influenced Parliament to pass hundreds of enclosure acts that authorized the fencing of open fields in a given village and the division of the common land in proportion to ones property (enclosure acts) c. By 1700 a highly distinctive pattern of landownership and production existed in England. At one extreme were a few large landowners; at the other, a large mass of landless cottagers who labored mainly for wages The Growth of Cotton Industry 4. Rural industry became a crucial feature of the European economy 5. Cottage Industry: domestic industry 6. Protoindustrialization: a stage of rural industrial development with wage workers and hand tools that necessarily preceded the emergence of large scale factories 7. Sparked renewed interest in Europes early industrial development and shown again that the mechanized factories grew out of a vibrant industrial tradition 8. Putting out System: two main participants, merchant capitalist and rural worker a. Merchant loaned raw materials to several employers who processed the raw materials in their own homes and returned the finished product to the merchant; industrial wages usually became more important; king of capitalism b. Competitive advantages; underemployed labor was abundant, and poor peasants and landless laborers would work for low wages c. Workers and merchants could change procedures d. Textiles, buttons, gloves, clocks, musical instruments 9. Rural manufacturing appeared first in England, particularly for the spinning weaving of woolen cloth Building the Atlantic Economy 1. Growth of world trade 2. Great Britain benefited most 3. Mercantilism: system of economic regulations aimed at increasing the power of the state, and put the needs of the state first

4. Navigation Acts: Oliver Cromwell; restored monarchy of Charles II; required that most goods imported from Europe into England be carried on British owned ships; form of economic warfare; targeted the Dutch 5. War of Spanish Succession: threatened to destroy British colonies in North America 6. Britain controlled Spains slave trade (asiento); British could send one ship annually of goods 7. War of the Austrian Succession: became a world war 8. French, money; British, empire 9. Treaty of Paris: France lost all possession 10. Land and Labor in British America a. Americans could keep most of what they earned; slaves worked on sugar plantations and earned large profits; most from Africa, because Native Americans died too quickly b. Blacks were nearly 20% of the pop c. Middle colonies: less slaves, and more exports d. Free land = rapid pop growth e. Agricultural development raised the standard of living 11. The Growth of Foreign Trade a. England sold a lot of woolen cloth; began declining in late1700s b. Sold metals to Africa and America c. England stationed on the atlantic with three continents needing wool 12. Atlantic Slave Trade: forced migration of millions of Africans remained a key elements for economic expansion a. 6.13 million slaves total b. Labor brought large scale production of valuables (4/5) c. Cheaper sugar coffee, rice, cotton d. Resulted in changes such as small scale raiding