UNIB10003 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Anthropocene, Malaria, Osteomalacia
Modern Revolutions : Agriculture and Industry from the 17th century
Key questions
• What have been the ecological impacts of
o Agricultural intensification
o Industrial expansion and technological innovation
• How have these new ecological environments impacted upon human life
• How has human nature fed into the ecological crises --> patterns of consumption
Brief history of english farming - struggle, strife and breaking the malthusian bounds in the
agricultural revolution
• Agricultural changes
o New foods
o Enclosures, consolidation, land reclamation
o Increased food for nation but decreased self sufficiency and work for the poor
• Farming in the middle ages
o Manual labour
o Shared labour
o Common land
o Three field system
o Gleaning by the poor
• Enclosure movement
o Putting hedges/fences around common land
o Small holdings taken away from farmers
o Many forced off the land and into cities and towns
o Acts of parliament
• Impacts of enclosure
o Benefits large landowners. Eg. Aristocrats
o More efficient farming
o Reduction in labour costs
• Technological innovation
o Iron plough technologies
o Seed drill
o Reaper
o Better crop rotation
o Selective breeding - increase in milk, meat and wool
• Effects of the revolution
o Inccrease in agricultural production
o Cheaper food
o Expansion in populaltion
o Hardship, migration, urbunisation
Industrialisation and ecology - from the 18th century to the mid victorian era
• What malthus got wrong (1): Huge increase in food production
o Increase in geometric growth in food
o Rapidly growing population are fed due to colonial expansion
• What malthus got wrong (2) : the energy revolution, from the organic to the fossil economy
o Fossil fuel short circuited geological time - used millions of years of stored carbon for
heat energy
o Industries could now develop
o England rebuilt in brick, with glass, ect.
Document Summary
Modern revolutions : agriculture and industry from the 17th century. Key questions: what have been the ecological impacts of, agricultural intensification. Industrial expansion and technological innovation: how have these new ecological environments impacted upon human life, how has human nature fed into the ecological crises --> patterns of consumption. Brief history of english farming - struggle, strife and breaking the malthusian bounds in the agricultural revolution: agricultural changes, new foods, enclosures, consolidation, land reclamation. Increased food for nation but decreased self sufficiency and work for the poor. Aristocrats: more efficient farming, reduction in labour costs, technological innovation. Iron plough technologies: seed drill, reaper, better crop rotation, selective breeding - increase in milk, meat and wool, effects of the revolution. Inccrease in agricultural production: cheaper food, expansion in populaltion, hardship, migration, urbunisation. Industrialisation and ecology - from the 18th century to the mid victorian era: what malthus got wrong (1): huge increase in food production.
