A History of Enclosures
Beth Nolan
Quick Chart on land area of
England
 Already enclosed in 1500: 45%
 Enclosed 1500-1599: 2%
 Enclosed 1600-1699: 24%
 Enclosed 1700-1799: 13%
 Enclosed 1800-1914: 11.4%
 Commons remaining in 1914: 4.6%
Source: Dr. Michael Turner, Parliamentary Enclosures
th
17
Century & Before
 From as early as the 12th century, some farmlands in GB were being
enclosed. The process than began to speed up in the 15th and 16th
centuries (the Tudor period) as sheep farming grew more profitable
than using the land for farming because of the high demand for sheep
wool.
 After about 1529, the increase in demand for wool with the scarcity of
tillable land caused rents to rise dramatically, thus, also causing people
to become even more distraught. Angry tenants began to illegally
destroy enclosures. Beginning with Kett’s Rebellion in 1549, more
rebellions such as the Midland Revolt and Newton Rebellion in 1607,
began to take over the country.
 Following the plague’s 6% decrease of Englishmen/women, inflation
resulting from the Great Debasement of the 1540s was probably the
next largest cause of enclosure. The enclosures followed because the
threat of the landowner’s wealth by King Henry VIII’s actions, forced
the landowners into becoming more efficient.
 The English Civil War greatly accelerated enclosures, with
parliamentary leaders heavily favoring landowners.
Source: Wikapedia.com
th
20
century
 The Case of Kenya
The people of Turkwel River have a system where a
committee of elders decides to should be allowed to use
the acacia trees growing off the banks, and for how long.
Anyone coming into the area that wants to feed their goats
must negotiate with the elders, thus overexploitation is
avoided.
In the 1960s and 1970s the Turkana were hit by droughts and
enemy tribes. With many people close to starvation, the
Kenyan government and UN came into to help. Not
realizing their system of commons, and seeing it more as a
free-for-all system, they forced the trible to settle down,
get rid of most of their animals, and encouraged them to
farm. Thus, massive land was transferred from the
commons to the state and individuals.
Source: Monbiot.com
21st century and beyond
 Toll Roads? Are they a form of enclosure?
 What about the enclosure of the urban commons?
In today’s world, enclosure has gone beyond the
well known enclosure of the English’s land. Places
in China, the U.S., and Thailand are experiencing
the enclosure of urban areas where developers are
taking common land and turning them into
condos.

More on the topic of urban enclosures can be found in an article in GeoJournal 2006, by
Shin Lee and Chris Webster, titled: Enclosure of the urban commons.