Knowra British Agricultural Revolution British Agricultural Revolution The transformation of British farming from the 17th to 19th centuries through changes in crops, livestock, landholding, and cultivation that raised productivity and supported population growth and urbanization.
Enclosure : The consolidation of common or scattered farmland into bounded holdings, often ending customary access rights. Enclosing fields enabled coordinated rotations and investment while displacing some customary users.
Early modern England : The period of English history from the late 15th century to the early 18th century, marked by religious, political, and economic change. Many agricultural changes took shape within this period's expanding markets and shifting rural institutions.
Jethro Tull : An English agricultural writer and inventor associated with the seed drill and horse-drawn hoe. His machines and arguments for intensive cultivation became emblematic of agricultural improvement.
British population history : The study of population size, structure, and change across the history of Britain. Improved food supply formed one part of the context for sustained population growth.
Open-field system : A communal farming arrangement in which villagers cultivated scattered strips within large unfenced fields. Enclosure replaced or reorganized this system, changing common rights and field management.
Norfolk four-course system : A crop rotation of turnips, barley, clover, and wheat that maintained soil fertility and supplied livestock feed. This rotation reduced fallow land and linked crop production to larger livestock herds.
English Civil War : A series of armed conflicts in England from 1642 to 1651 between Parliamentarians and Royalists. Political and property changes after the wars formed part of the setting for later land reorganization.
Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend : A British politician and landowner associated with promoting turnip cultivation and crop rotation. His Norfolk farming helped popularize the rotation linked with his name.
Urbanization : The growth of towns and cities and the increasing share of people living in them. Higher farm productivity helped release labor and supply food to expanding towns.
Medieval agriculture : The farming systems and practices used in Europe during the Middle Ages. It provides a longer-term baseline for understanding what changed in British farming.
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