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Population boom / agricultural revolution
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Economic development in 19th century Britain
Population Agricultural Revolution Industrial Revolution
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Lecture outline I/ The population boom II/ The Agricultural Revolution
III/ The Corn Laws
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I/ The population boom
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Outline A) An increase in population B) The census
C) Population and the Agr. Revolution
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Introduction: Britain in 1815
Largely rural Sparsely populated (13 million inhabitants, 3 cities of more than ) Few roads, few schools and only a minority had the vote
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Introduction: Britain in 1914
The population had more than trebled Mostly urban population Highly literate A majority of men had the vote « Politics had been transformed from the pastime of the landowners to something recognisably similar to the business it is today » (Years of Expansion p.2)
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A) An increase in population
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Population growth = fastest population growth ever in the UK. 1815: 13 million inhabitants. Doubled by 1871.
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Fertility, birth and mortality rates
Increase in birth rate Biological reasons Social reasons Drop in the mortality rate Limited impact of wars and epidemics Improvement in living conditions !! Social and geographical disparities !!
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B) The census
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The earliest census attempt
First census in England = Domesday Book (1086), compiled for tax purposes Source: historyof information.com
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Source: Wikimedia + abhsscience.wikispaces.com
Thomas Malthus ( ) 1798: An Essay on the Principle of Population Source: Wikimedia + abhsscience.wikispaces.com
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John Rickman ( ) 1798: 12 reasons for conducting a census (taken up in Parliamentary debates) Source:dustshovellersgazette.blogspot.com
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Decennial census 1801: first census of the general population of Great Britain (1811 UK) : purely statistical censuses. 1841: first census to record the names of all individuals in a household or institution. Source: histpop.com
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C) Population and the agricultural / industrial revolution
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A consequence or a cause?
More productive agr. + more manufatured goods better living conditions lower death rate. A cause: Larger population more labour force + larger market.
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II/ The Agricultural Revolution
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Outline A) Enclosures B) Spreading ideas C) Role of the gentry
D) Improvements in crops and cattle E) Mechanisation F) Conclusion
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A) Enclosures
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Introduction End 18th cent. Britain = predominantly agr. country
Could feed most of its population Agr = 1/3 labour force + 1/3 national income
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Definition and chronology
≈ Open fields enclosed with fences and hedges. Wastelands and commons reclaimed. 1801: General Enclosure Act (but in fact, the process was largely complete by then).
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Strip farming (top) and enclosures (bottom)
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Open field system (advantages)
People too poor to buy land could use the commons Community feeling: farmers could always get help
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Open field system (drawbacks)
People have to walk over your strips to reach theirs Field left fallow Difficult to take advantage of new farming techniques No hedges or fences Show picture first and ask for ideas about what the problem might be. Introduce and explain – encourage note taking at this stage in brief bullet points Land in different fields takes time to get to each field Animals can trample crops and spread disease No proper drainage (c) Mrs Sims-King schoolhistory.co.uk
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Social consequences Economically successful but socially damaging.
Poor peasants could no longer rely on the commons. Growing landless class. BUT Each farmer independent = free to introduce any necessary improvement.
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A new hierarchy Landlords Tenant farmers Landless labourers
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B) Spreading ideas
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1660: Royal Society (Philosophical Transactions)
1798: Board of Agriculture Popularized new methods of farming
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C) The role of the gentry
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Landowners sensitive to new ideas.
Increasingly managed their estates themselves. Were willing to experiment (improvement fashionable). Money investment.
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D) Agricultural and technical improvement
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Introduction of new crops
Crop rotation New breeds of animals
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New crops Swedish clover Turnip (1700) Charles 2nd Viscount Townshend
(« Turnip Townshend »
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Crop rotation: the old system
Year 1-2 = grain Year 3: fallow
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Crop rotation: the new system
Year 1 Year 2 Grain Grain Root crop Animal food Year 4 Year 3
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New breeds of animals Robert Bakewell
Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (« Coke of Holkham ») New Leicester sheep (selective breeding) Technical improvement as moral duty
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Jethro Tull (1674-1741) and the seed drill
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John Fowler (1826-1864) and the steam driven plough
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E) Consequences of the Agricultural Revolution
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(written by Pr Mark Overton, University of Leicester) By 1850, only 22% of the workforce in agriculture (smallest proportion in the world). Most of the great figures overrated.
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A farm market economy Farmers no longer worked to feed their family
Market gardening for towns and cities Exports Feeding the army (up to the Napoleonic wars) Farming became profitable + subjected to the laws of the market. !! British agriculture never as outstanding as industry !!
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Resistance movements: the Swing riots (1830-1831)
« Captain Swing »: a fictitious identity Destruction of agricultural machinery Arson (in particular haystacks) Demands for food, beer or money contributions. 600 rioters imprisoned, 500 sentenced to transportation, 19 executed.
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III/The Corn Laws
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Outline A) The Corn Laws B) The Anti-Corn Law League
C) Towards the repeal of the Corn Laws
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A) The Corn Laws
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Definition and chronology
Protecting British corn (= grain) by taxing imports. 1815 Importation Act Importation of corn forbidden until price > 80 shillings per quarter 1828: Prohibition replaced by high import duties 47
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Problems (1) Encouraged speculation.
(2) High cost of living for urban / industrial middle and lower classes. Riots (3) Contrary to the interests of free trade (defended by industrialists).
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B) The Anti-Corn Law League
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1838: Anti-Corn Law Association (Anti-Corn Law League after 1839).
Peaceful agitation for repeal.
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Richard Cobden ( ) Manchester businessman and leader of the Anti-Corn Law movement.
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Anti-Corn Law arguments
Argument 1: cheaper bread = lower wages. Argument 2: repeal other countries would buy manufactured goods in return for corn.
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C) Towards the repeal of the Corn Laws
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A changing context 1840s = « the hungry forties »
Bad harvests ( ) Corn Laws accused of increasing cost of living + limiting foreign trade and home manufacture 54
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Sir Robert Peel ( ) 1841: Sir Robert Peel elected as Prime Minister. Conservative BUT believed in liberal (= free trade) doctrines.
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Conclusion 1845: potato famine in Ireland.
1846: repeal of the Corn Laws. No benefit for the Irish. Robert Peel had to resign.
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