Revolutions in World History and Geography
Agricultural Revolution Notes
Two phases: 1) ancient agricultural revolution c 11,00 BCE, 2) British agricultural revolution c 1750 CE.
The Emergence of Sedentary Agriculture.
The earliest agricultural sites in the world have been found in the Near East: in the Nile Valley and Western
Asia, in valleys of the Zagros Mountains in Mesopotamia (now Iran and northern Syria), in Anatolia (modern
Turkey), and along the Jordan River valley (i.e. the Fertile Crescent). Around 10,000 to 12,000 years ago,
agriculture began to emerge as a revolutionary new way of life, replacing hunting and gathering. In this region
of the world, the changes in climate, which accompanied the most recent retreat of the glaciers (e.g., last ice
age c 12,000 BCE), may have triggered the development of agriculture.
Agriculture also emerged in several other regions around the world somewhat later, as other human
communities made the same kinds of discoveries and evolved similar cultural adaptations.
For the past 10,000 years, agriculture has spread over the globe and evolved and assumed many forms,
depending on the plants and animals available locally and the ability of imported life forms to adapt to new
conditions.
British Agricultural Revolution
Between the eighth and the eighteenth centuries, the processes and tools of farming basically stayed the same
and little advancement in techniques or technology was achieved. Farmers in the early 1700’s had no better
tools than the farmers of Julius Caesar's day had; in fact, early Roman plows were superior to those in general
use in England and America eighteen centuries later.
The agricultural revolution was a period of agricultural development between the18th century and the end of
the 19th century, which saw a massive and rapid increase in agricultural productivity and vast improvements in
farm technology.
The following are but a few of the inventions and/or techniques that were created or greatly improved during
the agricultural revolution.
Plow & Moldboards
By definition a plow (also spelled plough) is a farm tool with one or more heavy blades that breaks the soil and
cut a furrow (small ditch) for sowing seeds. A moldboard is the wedge formed by the curved part of a steel
plow blade that turns the furrow.
Seed Drills
Seed drills sow seeds, before drills were invented seeding was done by hand. The basic ideas in drills for
seeding small grains were successfully developed in Great Britain, and many British drills were sold in the
United States before one was manufactured in the States. American manufacture of these drills began about
1840. Seed planters for corn came somewhat later, as machines to plant wheat successfully were unsuited for
corn planting. In 1701, Jethro Tull invented his seed drill and is perhaps the best known inventor of a
mechanical planter.
Machines That Harvest - Sickles, Reapers, & Harvesters
By definition a sickle is a curved, hand-held agricultural tool used for harvesting grain crops. Horse drawn
mechanical reapers later replaced sickles for harvesting grains. Reapers developed into and was replaced by
the reaper-binder (cuts grain and binds it in sheaves), which was in turn was replaced by the swather and then
the combine harvester. The combine harvester is a machine that heads, threshes and cleans grain while
moving across the field.
Revolutions in World History and Geography
Agricultural Revolution Notes
The Agricultural Revolution occurred between 1750 and 1900 when the way in which farmers produced food
changed. In 1750 most people lived and worked in villages producing food. As the countries of England (1st),
the United States, and then followed by France, went through the corollary Industrial Revolution, it was
necessary to increase the amount of food grown. This was because the population was increasing quite
rapidly.
Open Field to Enclosure
In the middle ages most farmers had open strips of land that they would grow their food on. This system had
many disadvantages. Banks of earth separating the strips were wasted land, drainage was poor and because
the farmers knew very little about fertilizers they had to leave land fallow (unused) every four years.
As the demand for food increased people began to make improvements to the types of machines used on
farms. A seed drill and threshing machine being amongst the first new inventions to help farmers. Inventions
such as these, along with the enclosure of fields, helped agriculture to develop rapidly and produce enough
food for the growing population.
Crop Rotation
By the early nineteenth century farmers were beginning to use a crop rotation system. This system meant that
no land had to remain fallow. The system worked like this:
Each area of land would be split into four sections. The crop that was grown on each field would be rotated so
that different nutrients would be taken from the land. In the first year turnips or another root crop would be
grown; in the second year barley was grown in the field (barley could be sold at a profit); in the third year clover
or a grass crop was grown and in the fourth year wheat was grown in the field (wheat could also be sold for a
profit).
The four-field system was successful because it improved the amount of food produced:
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Artificial Selection/Selective Breeding
Artificial selection or selective breeding is the process of breeding plants and animals for particular genetic
traits. Typically, strains which are selectively bred are domesticated, and the breeding is sometimes done by a
professional breeder. Bred animals are known as breeds, while bred plants are known as varieties, cultigens,
or cultivars. The cross of animals results in what is called a crossbreed and crossbred plants are called
hybrids. The term selective breeding is synonymous with artificial selection.
In animal breeding techniques such as inbreeding, linebreeding and outcrossing are utilized. Charles Darwin
discussed how selective breeding had been successful in producing change over time in his book, Origin of
Species in 1859. The first chapter of the book discusses selective breeding and domestication of such animals
as pigeons, dogs and cattle. Artificial selection (breeding) was used by Darwin as a springboard to introduce
the theory of natural selection, and to support it.
History of English Population