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WEEK 2 Was there a 17th century yeoman’s agricultural revolution?

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1 WEEK 2 Was there a 17th century yeoman’s agricultural revolution?
Dr Frances Richardson conted.ox.ac.uk uk/series/womans-work- never-done-womens- work-england-and-wales drive/folders/1T2z3pq_9 C_mMAakDPib3742CSH uD-ztm

2 Summary of Week 1 New crops and rotations still important
CRITERIA for AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION Conceptual and empirical Technical: A wide variety of changes in farming techniques Success in responding to the challenge of feeding a growing population An increase in output brought about by rising productivity Institutional: Subsistence or capitalist farming Private property rights, farm tenures How workers were employed New crops and rotations still important Greater prominence for increased animal output Increased emphasis on convertible husbandry and regional specialisation Innovation possible in the open fields Capitalist institutions such as large farms were not a necessary condition for growth Britain more industrialised by 1700 than previously thought – 37% of men worked in crafts and industry Only 50% of men worked in agriculture c Critical shift of labour from agriculture to industry started well before the classic period of agricultural revolution Food production must have increased significantly before 1700. Agricultural productivity showed steady improvement over a longer period – less ‘revolutionary’

3 Timing Three main periods of ‘revolution’ in England Scotland
A 17c yeoman’s revolution (Bob Allen) The 18c landlord’s revolution (Overton, Mingay) The 19c ‘second agricultural revolution’ (Thompson) Scotland Rapid change in later 18c

4 1 2 3 Overview INSTITUTIONAL IMPACT on OUTPUT and PRODUCTIVITY
Background & TECHNICAL 1 INSTITUTIONAL - Who were the yeomen farmers? - (Peasant v capitalist agriculture) 2 IMPACT on OUTPUT and PRODUCTIVITY 3

5 DISCUSSION Was there a ‘yeoman’s agricultural revolution’ in the seventeenth century? What is the evidence from Blith for new agricultural methods in the 17c? What other major agricultural changes took place in the 17th century?

6 The agricultural economy 1660-1750
Declining population Agricultural depression and Low prices for traditional produce, especially corn and wool Changing fashions in food Rising food demand from London, other urban and industrial areas Increased demand for industrial crops Growth of national markets Incentives for gentry to manage estates more efficiently Stimulus to increase efficiency. More grass needed

7 Technical The old system - England
Ideal type English open field village Open field 1 wheat Open field 2 barley Open field 3 fallow Meadow Common Home farm or former demesne Manor house 2 fields growing corn in individual strips Meadow divided into strips to provide hay for winter feed Cornfields and meadow thrown open after harvest for common grazing 3rd field fallow, grazed by animals at night to manure and clear weeds Common for grazing animals at other times, timber, fuel etc Former manor demesne leased out as enclosed farm

8 Scotland Infield – inner circle Outfield – outer circle
Fermtoun farming unit, often shared Lowland infield-outfield system, significant areas of waste or rough grazing Infield cropped with fallow every 3 years Outfield folds shifted in rotation between grass and arable Families held scattered rigs (strips) Common cropping and grazing pattern Common herd moved around infield, outfield and commonty Cottars held land in return for labour J. Slezer, Theatrum Scotiae (1693)

9 wales Welsh gwely or gavel landholding
Cefn Cyfarwydd meadow Individual farms Communal meadow Communal rough grazing Cefn Cyfarwydd meadow In Welsh Wales, e.g. NW, land held by kinship groups Gwely for free kindred, gavel for bond land Land held collectively by gwely till 16c Acts of Union Individual farmsteads, land could be reapportioned among kindred Communal meadow for hay, cattle graze after hay harvest Communal rough grazing in hills Acts of Union made enclosed land private property Typical 7 year rotation, 3 crops, left to grass for 4

10 TECHNICAL – 17th century innovations
New crops v new farming systems New crops: - turnips clover, sainfoin, ryegrass potatoes tobacco New system – convertible husbandry Land improvement – water meadows Land reclamation - fen drainage

11 Convertible husbandry ley farming, up and down husbandry
DEFINITION: Alteration of arable and grass in place of fixed division between permanent arable and permanent pasture BENEFITS: Could operate in open fields Grass and legumes better-suited to heavy clays than corn (or turnips) Allowed a fairly intensive mixed farming AIMS: Temporary grass (leys) used to feed more animals Alternating arable and pasture almost eliminated need for fallows UPTAKE – expanded in Midlands till 1650

12 Evidence of improvement in the open fields
Use of sainfoin, clover and improved grasses in the rotation of crops Improved soil nitrogen and fertility More fodder More animals and manure Better crop yields Reduced fallow, diversified output

13 Oxfordshire open-field improvement
Public domain In 17th century Oxfordshire, numerous examples of 2 open fields divided into 4 Introduction of new crops Reorganisation to allow extra field for sainfoin/clover/improved grass OR local agreements to temporarily enclose part of open field and all farmers to grow sainfoin/clover/grass Division of open fields aimed to reduce fallow Hitching = using part of fallow used for fodder crops Increase in wheat, reduction of barley and rye Increased sheep numbers Spelsbury

14 2. INSTITUTIONAL Who were the yeoman farmers?
TENANT Freehold Type of tenure Secure Insecure Type of payment Tenancy at will Rack rent Quit rent or none Copyhold of inheritance Copyhold for 3 lives Beneficial lease (3 lives or 21 years) Short lease e.g. 7 years Entry fine plus low annual rent Buying lease

15 3. Allen’s yeoman’s agricultural revolution
DISCUSSION Why does Allen argue that agricultural productivity was increased more by a yeoman’s agricultural revolution in the 17c? Why is Allen’s view contested?

16 Allan’s theory Yeoman’s agricultural revolution of the 17th century, landlords’ of the 18th century The 17c yeoman’s revolution doubled corn yields and labour productivity, and significantly increased national income Open field farmers achieved 75-90% of yield increase to 1800 Its benefits were distributed widely among the population The 18c landlords’ revolution – mainly enclosure and farm amalgamation – added only 14% to grain yields Productivity was increased by reducing labour – led to surplus labour Landlords were the only beneficiaries

17 What raised crop yields?
IMPACT OF ENCLOSURE Enclosed villages more likely to undertake new techniques Boosted yields by 25% in heavy arable district No difference in yields on light lands between enclosed and unenclosed villages Conversion of arable to pasture lowered total output Large farms did not have higher yields EVIDENCE of increased corn yields CAUSES of increased yields: Installation of hollow drains in heavy district Higher livestock density led to higher yields Improved seed selection in 17c Tenurial changes – yeomen had incentive to improve productivity, London and industrial demand Source: Allen, Enclosure and the Yeoman (1992)

18 Criticisms of Allen’s theory
Overton: - ‘Examples where conclusions do not square with examples, yet there is considerable value in this book’ Boyer: - ‘Outstanding and very important At times he makes strong assertions based on little evidence’ e.g. rents, causes of grain yield increase, origins of labour surplus and faster birth rate. - To what extent do Allen’s finding for the south Midlands hold good for the country as a whole? Turner: - ‘I may not like everything I read here, but this is a vital book’

19 Regional specialization

20 The evidence problem Type of evidence Period
Local studies – probate inventories, manorial agreements, tithe payments Before 1750 Regional studies – Agrarian History of England and Wales, Vol. V Farmers’ accounts From 1700 Enclosure maps and awards, estate surveys Arthur Young and Board of Agriculture reports National crop returns 1801 Tithe commutation files 1830s - 40s National Agricultural statistics From 1867

21 Kussmaul’s General View of rural economy
Kussmaul used marriage registers for 542 English rural parishes to explore marriage seasons: Autumn marriages after harvest in mainly arable areas Spring marriages in pastoral areas after lambing No clear pattern in rural industrial areas Before 1600, most areas had autumn marriages = importance of arable farming Changes between 1640 and 1740 Dramatic changes in regional farming types: West and Midlands become more pastoral East becomes more arable Growth of rural industry in Midlands and Pennines

22 Changes after 1740 Change from pastoral 1740-1840
Change from arable Majority of arable to pastoral change took place before 1740 Further growth of rural industrial pattern Change from pastoral Increased arable in north Norfolk Heathlands and SE Midlands before 1740 – start of ‘light lands revolution’ Further light lands conversion to arable in Cotswolds and North Downs after 1740 Some Midland areas that became pastoral before 1740 revert to arable with ‘heavy clays revolution’ Regional specialization a major if not the most important factor in raising national agricultural productivity

23 Prep for week 3: Improved farming methods
Discussion topic For one of the following new crops or farming methods, describe in up to 2 minutes: Why it was adopted Which land, soil or climate conditions it suited How successfully it spread Prep for week 3: Improved farming methods cheese farming in Wiltshire A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 4 convertible husbandry Broad, ‘Alternate husbandry’ hops Bowden, ‘Agricultural prices, wages, farm profits, and rents’ market gardening Thick, ‘Market gardening’ stock fattening Williamson, The Transformation of Rural England tobacco Thirsk, The Rural Economy of England turnips Overton, Agricultural Revolution water meadows Smith, Water Meadows fen drainage Williamson, Transformation, pp

24 Background reading: - Overton, Agricultural Revolution, Ch. 3
Conted. Library Williamson, Transformation of Rural England, Ch. 3, 4 or 7 J. Thirsk (ed.) The Agrarian History of England and Wales, Vol VI , Part I Ch. I.II, ‘Changes in land use’


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