Second Agricultural Revolution Activity

 How did the Agricultural Revolution change Great Britain?   Objective: Describe the changes brought about by the Agricultural Revolution in Great Britain.  Introduction Directions: Examine the graph below and answer the questions to the right.  1. Based on the graph to the left, what was similar about the causes of the increases in world population in the 1750s and 1930s? World Population Growth       2. Other than an increase in population, identify an effect that a surplus [more of something that someone needs] of food might have on a society.              The Agricultural Revolution Directions: Using the text, video, and images on the following pages, fill out the graphic organizer below with information about farming before Agricultural Revolution, what caused the changes during the Agricultural Revolution, and the effects of those changes. Before the Agricultural Revolution Which innovations caused a change? Effects of the Agricultural Revolution                                 The Agricultural Revolution (mid-1700s- late 1800s) started in Great Britain and was the first of two important non-political revolutions that started in the 18th century. It was both a revolution itself and an important cause of the Industrial Revolution.  Agricultural Revolution- the transformation of agriculture from traditional medieval farming to more productive, efficient, and mechanical methods of farming through scientific innovation and new techniques starting in the mid-1700s.  The Agricultural Revolution led to a drastic increase in population in Great Britain and elsewhere, and increased urbanization because people moved away from their farms to cities.  Innovations of the Agricultural Revolution: Enclosure Movement BEFORE the Agricultural Revolution INNOVATION Common Land The Enclosure Movement EFFECTS of the Innovation Peasants Move to the City The peasants who once used the common land to farm and graze animals either worked for the farmers who owned the enclosed land or they moved to a nearby urban area and got jobs in factories.   A map of a medieval manor. The green sections were “common land” During the Middle Ages and up until the Agricultural Revolution, communities had “common land” that was used by all of the peasants to farm and hunt on.        An example of modern-day enclosed fields. Enclosure was the process of making common land into private land, owned by a farmer. The land was then fenced in, or enclosed. Sometimes an individual bought the land from a town or the government of the town decided to enclose the common itself.   Agricultural Innovation on Private Farms The new owner of the land was able to farm it however they liked since it was theirs. They often used innovative techniques that made the land more productive than it had been before.  Innovations of the Agricultural Revolution: Seed Drill BEFORE the Agricultural Revolution INNOVATION EFFECTS of the Innovation Hand Sowing Seeds Jethro Tull’s Seed Drill Higher Agricultural Yields More Food! More Time! Less Workers!   Medieval Farmers plowing a field and sowing seeds by hand. Before the Agricultural Revolution, farmers used a plow to create furrows (ditches) then scattered seeds into them and covered them back up with dirt. This method was ineffective because birds and other animals could easily eat the seeds and they were planted with little accuracy.  Components of Jethro Tull’s Seed Drill. Jethro Tull Invented his horse-drawn seed drill in 1701. The machine drilled holes for three rows of seed at a time to the correct depth, planted the seeds, and covered them in dirt in one action. Tull’s seed drill increased crop yields [the amount of food grown] five times. In addition, planting with the seed drill was much quicker than hand planting and required fewer workers. As a result, farmers could plant and grow more crops. The workers who were no longer needed on the farm had to find work elsewhere, usually in a nearby town or city where factories employed many people.  Innovations of the Agricultural Revolution: Four Crop Rotation System BEFORE the Agricultural Revolution INNOVATION Three Crop Rotation System Dutch Four Crop Rotation System  Since the Middle Ages, farmers in Europe had used the three-crop rotation system which involved leaving one field fallow [empty] every year. This meant that they could not grow as much food and that livestock only had one field to graze on.  EFFECTS of the Innovation  During the Agricultural Revolution, a new method of crop rotation used by the Dutch in the Netherlands was introduced in Great Britain. The Dutch had discovered that a type of vegetable called legumes, like turnips, could replenish the field’s nutrients just as well as leaving it fallow. More Food and Livestock   As a result of the four-crop rotation system, British farmers could be more productive. The turnips replenished the soil with needed nutrients, provided another crop for farmers to eat and sell, and gave their livestock something to live on during the winter.