Impact of Agricultural Revolution between the 15th and 19th Century - Essay Example

Agricultural Revolutions Agricultural revolution describes an era of agricultural advancement between the fifteen and nineteen century that saw an increment in the agricultural output and the net income. This solved the problem of food insecurity. This magnificent revolution also had the title Agrarian Revolution that started in Great Britain. This revolution involved the enclosure of communal or common land and the application of advanced technologies in the improvement of food productivity (Overton 177). In essence, the dry spells and the heightened famine occurrences led to the innovation of various ideas in order to curb this shortage. Other countries followed suit after Britain had made these advances after seeing the need of sustain their population. One of the key aspects involved in the British Agrarian revolution was the development and advancement of land used for crop farming that was previously idle. The common land in use experienced higher yielding capabilities due to the expansion. In short, all land in Britain stopped being idle as it had been in the former years (Overton 11). The improvement on the farming techniques used by the farmers translated to higher yields as they evoked the use of machinery instead of the old low productivity ways. Therefore, the objective of this paper will be to establish whether Agricultural Revolution marked a remarkable turning point in the agricultural history by giving in arguable evidence. Additionally, it will illustrate how the Neolithic societies differed from those of the Stone Age era by showing whether its occurrence was inevitable. The Agrarian Revolution marked the turning point for modern day agriculture, as with its inception agriculture was never the same again. Initially, the Paleolithic era of agriculture evoked the use of primitive agricultural methods by using sticks and hoes to cultivate. Ideally, the food productivity used to be low as the amount of produce generated was only for domestic consumption (Overton 63). Ideally, the implementation of these new methods of farming required fewer work forces, which turned out to be a cost reduction measure. In addition, the food variety improved, as the Britons were able to access more healthy and nutritious diets those that they previously lacked. The food cost went down while the demand for other goods went up. A remarkable aspect of this change was that the population concentrated its efforts on other projects other than trying to create food security. The much time that they had on their hands led to innovations in the technology sector. Some of the advances included pesticides to protect plant cover against pest infestation and the manufacture of heavy agricultural machinery for harvesting (Overton 12). Before the revolution, the level of farming was small scale highly due to the methods that the people had applied. With this in mind, the food produced was mainly for local consumption and not for trade. Remarkably, the British saw the need to bridge the rift that existed between those who were able to cultivate and those who could not practice this trade. The old uncivilized farming techniques paved way for the use of advanced machinery, which required less human capital. This was the start of the journey towards attainment of food security. On the contrary, this revolution was not an all so rosy affair as with its inception it did not characterize a revolution to the humankind. Many lost their sources of livelihood as those that worked in other people’s farms lost to the new and improved machinery. This created a disconnect between the privileged and the poor as those put out of work felt as though their bosses no longer required their services. Another disadvantage brought about by this revolution was that many lost theirs as they the paved way for the enclosure of common land (Overton 47). Additionally, the population grew at an alarming rate with the creation of food security measures. Food was plenty for all and therefore, procreation seized from being the population’s primary fear. Subsequently, the process of defacing the old practices proved tasking to the traditional societies, as they had to undergo training on how to use the new equipments. Financially speaking, the acquisition and training costs combined were unfriendly to the farmers although they had adequate time to move to the updated methods. Early agricultural societies and practices differed from those of the Paleolithic era in a number of ways. The major difference between these two societies was that people within the Paleolithic era were mostly nomadic hunter and gatherers. Their lives involved the movement from one place to another without settling down to cultivate. Subsequently, they realized that lands could be productive when the animals that they could hunt had diminished. In addition, the fruits that they used to hunt did not sustain them fully. Essentially, they saw the need to settle down and make use of their arable land, which could sustain plant cover. These societies incepted the Neolithic societies, which modernized agriculture to what it is today. The Neolithic societies settled down in to groupings and villages that later grew in to towns and capital cities. There was also a dietary difference between these two eras as the people within the Neolithic era grew cereals and farmed crops. These crops had more nutritional value as compared to the gathered fruits from the Paleolithic age. The technological complexity was relatively high to the Neolithic people, as they had made substantial improvement in the way they did their things. In essence, the neolith mastered the art of working on raw materials to produce refined products, a practice that was not present in the traditional societies. This was the beginning of metalwork and creation of clay artifacts. Additionally, the trading factor did not exist in the traditional societies, as there was little that they could use for trade. On the other hand, things had advanced in the post Stone Age era as the people within this time established formative ties with their neighboring societies that facilitated rapid growth. In conclusion, the Agrarian revolution was inevitable as it acted as a link between traditional forms of life and industrialization. The innovation off various technological tools and machines paved way for today’s civilization, which led to the growth of economies. Many societies accepted the change in a reluctant and relatively slow manner. It started in Britain but ended up growing to other neighboring nations that became a world movement. This revolution strengthened ties between nations that in turn led to demarcation and the establishment of the boundaries that exist to date. In addition, this revolution was inevitable because it led to the discovery of more fertile land that the people did not initially own. With this, it gave a rise to civil war as people strived to acquire more land either forcefully or peacefully. This gave birth to slavery and other Neolithic brutalities. However, it was a significant part of history as it facilitated the invention of modernized concepts of agriculture. Works Cited Overton, Mark. Agricultural Revolution in England: The Transformation of the Agrarian Economy 1500-1850. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Print. Read More