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412 History

WHY DID CHANGES TAKE PLACE IN FARMING?

At this time there was a new interest in science and

technology. Many old crafts were becoming modern

industries and farming was no exception. This was

necessary, as cities were growing and their populations

needed more food. In France, an inefficient farming

system had resulted in famine and political unrest.

Agricultural Revolution

The 18th and 19th centuries saw

great changes in Europe and North

America in the way people farmed.

Scientific methods were used to

improve crop yields and breed better

livestock.. MECHANIZATION made

farming more efficient.

4 SEED DRILL

Seeds had been scattered by hand until Jethro

Tull’s seed drill (developed in about 1701)

made it possible to plant seeds in rows,

which could then be easily hoed.

Seed placed here

passed down

the tube

1 BRINGERS OF CHANGE

Landowners wishing to improve their estates were at the forefront of

change. They experimented with new breeds of cattle, and also learned

how to change crops year by year to preserve the goodness of the soil.

AGRICULTURAL SHOWS 3

The Royal Agricultural Society meets at Bristol, England, in

1842. After 1838, the Society helped to spread knowledge of
      crops, livestock breeding, and new machinery among farmers.

DID MACHINES REPLACE PEOPLE?

These new inventions were brought in to make

farming easier and also to reduce costs. By the 1830s,

English farm labourers were beginning to worry that

mechanization would lead to loss of jobs. They

protested by smashing new machinery and burning

hay ricks. Their fears were founded. In the next 150

years, the number of farm workers declined rapidly.

In the 1800s, new machines, such as reaping

and threshing machines, were invented to do

jobs that had previously been done by hand.

MECHANIZATION

WHO WORKED

ON THE LAND?

In many parts of Europe, farming had

changed very little since the Middle

Ages. Peasants laboured in the fields in

great poverty and often had little freedom

to move away from their villages. In Britain,

farm work was increasingly carried out by

large numbers of low-waged labourers.

FIND OUT MORE. Early Farming 364–365 • Ecology 80–81

THOMAS WILLIAM COKE

1752–1842

Thomas Coke was one of the

new landowners determined

to improve agriculture. He

replaced rye with wheat on his

land in Norfolk, England, and

bred cattle, sheep, and pigs.

He also became a Member

of Parliament.

Agricultural

Revolution