How Did the Open Field System Work? Essay

When the community planted wheat year after year in a field, the nitrogen in the soil was depleted. Therefore, three-year rotations was introduced in order to retain the fertility of the soil. 3. Where and why did the agricultural revolution start? Include political, social and economic reasons. With the coming of the French Revolution, European peasants were able to improve their position by means of radical mass action. The agricultural revolution gradually spread throughout Europe beginning in the Low Countries, mainly the Dutch. The problem of soil exhaustion was solved using sophisticated patterns of crop rotation without using fallowing to increase land cultivation by 50 %. Economy was prospering because of trade and businesses. New ideas out of medieval age. 4. What was enclosure and was it a swindle of the poor by the rich? Enclosure is the term used to describe the need to enclose and consolidate scattered holdings into compact fenced-in fields in order to farm more effectively. It was not exactly a swindle of the poor by the rich because large investments were required and it imposed risks for the nobles as well. 5. What accounted for the increasing population of the 18th century? Increasing population in the 18th century was stimulated by commerce and overseas trade. 6. How was the grip of the deadly Bubonic Plague broken? Women were able to have more children because they married at a younger age due to new opportunities of employment. New improvements in water supply and sewage systems resulted in better public health and helped reduce diseases. Human beings became more successful in their efforts to safeguard supply of food in case of famine. 7. What was the putting out system? What were the advantages and disadvantages of this system for the merchant and for the worker? The putting-out system was used to describe the key features of the 18th century rural industry – for the new form of industrial production. Merchants advantages- large profits. Worker’s advantages- buy their own materials and work as independent producers before selling it to merchant.