Essay on Total Land Reform

Submitted By Sirsangel
Words: 1946
Pages: 8
Open Document
1)Agriculture and the Land
a)End of 17th century, Eur agrarian, 80% drew livelihood from agriculture
b)Output was weak, when crops failed ppl forced to eat famine foods- grass, bark, nuts. Famine years made ppl susceptible to illness, population decline
c)Europeans produced barely enough food in good years and agonized thru years of famine
d)The Open-Field System
i)System that divided land to be cultivated by peasants of a village into several large fields, which were in turn cut up into narrow strips, individual or peasant family held scattered strips, farmed each field as a community ii)Exhaustion of soil a problem due to nitrogen depletion- fallow every other year, later three-year rotation introduced w/ crop rotation iii)Common lands set aside for herd and natural pasture iv)The Gleaners by Jean Francois Millet- women picking up remains of grain
v)State and landlord levied heavy taxes and high rents, stripped peasants of earnings
(1)Easter Europe peasants bound to landlord, worked some days without pay
(2)West Eur. peasants generally free from serfdom, owned land and could pass it on to children—poverty still great for most ppl
e)The Agricultural Revolution
i)One way of progress was to overthrow those who owned land but did not work it, but conditions to do so were not right ii)Technological progress could allow Eur to produce and eat more
(1)Agricultural revolution- eliminating the fallow, thereby increasing the land under cultivation by 50%
(2)Involved alternating grain with nitrogen storing crops that rejuvenated soil and gave more produce—peas, beans, turnips, potatoes, clovers, grasses
(3)Sophisticated patterns of crop rotation developed to suit different soils iii)More food allowed for more animal feed, more meat better diets, more fertilizer from animals w/ manure iv)Advocates for new crop rotations argued for the need to enclose and consolidate their scattered holdings into compact, fenced-in fields in order to farm more effectively, also enclose individual shares of the common--- strong opposition from peasants and landlords + nobles
f)The Leadership of the Low Countries and England
i)Holland and Low countries very advanced, England and French jealous ii)Strong middle-class society employed enclosed fields, continuous rotation, heavy manuring, and wide variety of crops iii)Low Countries some of the most densely populated areas of Eur, in order to feed themselves were forced to seek maximum yields for lands iv)Growth of towns and cities stimulated new markets for produce
v)England learned from Dutch
(1)Cornelius Vermuyden, Dutch engineer, led drainage projects in Eland—converted swamps and forests into thousands of acres of farmland
(2)Viscount Charles Townsend (1674-1738)- pioneers of English agricultural improvement, led to increased harvests and incomes
(3)By 1740 agricultural improvement became craze among aristocracy
(4)Jethro Tull (1674-1741)- tried to develop better methods thru empirical research- drilling seeds, using horses, selective breeding of livestock
(5)Increased crops provided food for rapidly growing urban population
g)The Cost of Enclosure
i)Aristocracy benefited directly from higher yields that could support higher rents, initiative and enterprise of big English landowners compared to continental landowners ii)Laws passed by Parliament to survey land led to heavy expenses, smaller landowners had to sell out to pay dues, landless cottagers lost access to common pasture dealing families a blow b/c couldn’t raise livestock iii)By 1700 clear pattern of landownership and production
(1)Few large landowners at one end, large mass of landless cottagers who labored mainly for wages on the other
(2)In between were two groups: small independent farmers who owed their own land and prosperous tenant farmers who sold output on cash market
(3)Small independent farmers decreasing, profit-minded market-oriented tenant farmers increased- key to mastering new farming methods
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on Total Land Reform

Emiliano Zapata and Porfirio Diaz Essays

Man has always been territorial. To some, land ownership represents a sense of economic security. It is also common for land to be passed from generation to generation. In the past, land ownership was also necessary for survival. It was also needed to plant crops for basic food necessities. Land ownership made it possible for man to become wealthy and powerful, as wealthy landowners were able to eventually control the poor masses. In Rome, the Patricians were the wealthy landowners. In feudal times…

Words 1012 - Pages 5

Essay on Deforestation

million hectares for the period 1980-1990 and 13.7 million hectares for 1990-1995. The total forest area lost during the 15year period was approximately 200 million hectares. The tragedy lies in the fact that most of these deforested lands are not suited for long-term farming or grazing and they quickly degrade once the forest has been cut and burnt. In fact, throughout the tropics, very few of the forested lands that are left have any potential for sustainable agriculture. It is important to distinguish…

Words 1103 - Pages 5

The Decline Of The Romanov Dynasty

individual that owned the land. Stolypin, the Prime Minister at this time had planned for agriculture reform in hope that it would succeed in ending these major causes of peasant discontent. His reforms were to include, that the peasants could now demand that their commune allocated them as individuals, peasants were now also able to demand this land as a single parcel rather than the strips in several different areas, and loans that the peasants received from the Peasant Land Bank would help peasants…

Words 1075 - Pages 5

Explain The Types Of People In The House Of Commons And House Of Lords

Walpole was the prime minister from 1721 to 1742 and he achieved a tranquil foreign policy to avoid new land taxes. However, developing trade and industry in Britain in the eighteenth century led to the ever-increasing middle class to approve of the expansion of trade and world empire. The supporters of the empire found William Pitt the Elder as a good spokesman…

Words 665 - Pages 3

Ivan The Terrible Research Paper

beginning of autocracy in Russia. The early part of his reign was relatively peaceful. Ivan made reforms and modernizations. He established a law code, created an army, and established a council of nobles. During this period he introduced the first laws regulating the freedom of the peasants. These laws would eventually lead to serfdom in Russia. Some of the russian nobles (Boyars) still owned their land from their princely days. The Oprichnina was the section of Russia directly ruled by Ivan and patrolled…

Words 287 - Pages 2

Peru Economic Miracle Or Just A Mirage Case Study

Ricardo Pino explore Peru’s strength and weaknesses to outline 12 key recommendations through which Peru can become a developed nation. These recommendations can be consolidated into three key ideas: governmental structure reform, infrastructure development, and business policy reform. However, focusing efforts primarily on business policy in the short-term would allow the Peruvian government to gain the economic independence to finance further change.…

Words 515 - Pages 3

China The Rule Of Law And The Economy 2 Essay

the CPC’s ideology. The CPC’s ideology has historically relied heavily on the Marxist notion of economic determinism. Economic determinism attributes primacy to the economic structure over politics in the development of human history.2 “The sum total of [the] relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real basis on which rises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite form of social consciousness.”3 The CPC has, until recently, employed…

Words 2574 - Pages 11

The Ethiopian Financial Sector Reform Essay

ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES EFFECTS OF THE ETHIOPIAN FINANCIAL SECTOR REFORM ON THE PERFORMANCE OF BANKS AND THE MARKET SHARE DYNAMICS By Dawit Keno A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of Addis Ababa University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Economics OCTOBER, 2009 i Acknowledgement The author of this thesis acknowledges the support and technical assistance from many sources. I am grateful…

Words 29123 - Pages 117

Brazil's Agricultural Miracle

with the “big five” grain exporters for instance, namely America, Canada, Australia, Argentina, and the European Union. In addition, the achievements of Brazil in terms of farm production have also been very significant as between 1996 and 2006, the total value of Brazil’s crops rose from 23 to 108 billion Reais, which is the equivalent of a 365% increase.2 The rapid growth of Agriculture in Brazil has helped the country gain more recognition and presence globally especially in the context of the climate…

Words 4360 - Pages 18

Essay on Republic of Albania

parliamentary democracy with a transition economy. The Albanian capital, Tirana, is home to 421,286 of the country's 2,831,741 people. Free-market reforms have opened the country to foreign investment, especially in the development of energy and transportation infrastructure. Agriculture in Albania employs 47.8% of the population and about 24.31% of the land is used for agricultural purposes. Agriculture contributes to 18.9% of the country's GDP. Domestic farm products accounted for 63% of household…

Words 1971 - Pages 8