Topic: The Enclosure Act
-DefineBefore the enclosure act was done the fields, which were set up
around a village, were separated into lanes that were owned by
different farmers. When they were enclosed many lanes were
collected together to make a larger field that is owned or rented by
one farmer. This is to make the farming more specialized.
Key Vocabulary (4 -7 terms)
Enclose –
To secure or to shut in.
-Change in agriculture in 18th-19th centurySince the enclosure act was established in the 1700’s, not many
farmers used this system. During the 18th and 19th century, more and
more people were starting to use enclosure on their farms. Enclosure
changed the way that people not only in Europe farmed. The
enclosure act allowed more fields to be specialized in a certain crop.
For example, Kent, England could have been growing hops and in
Devon the specialized crops were cider apples. Not only did
specialization play a part, put also putting up protective fences to
separate peoples crop farms from others
-Positive and negative consequence that
were causedAfter the enclosure act the export of wheat increased by about 800%
in 60 years. This means that the style of farming gave more product
and surplus. The livestock also had a good effect, it was better quality
and there was more quantity. When the land was being enclosed
there were some nobleman and peasants that had to sell their land
because of lack of money. This caused lot of people to get a lot of
money and lose a lot. It ended up with some people having to beg for
survival.
Fallow –
Land left to recover for a year.
Rural –
Country side or areas out of the
city.
1 hectare = 10,000
1 acre= 0.4 hectares
Grazing –
When an herbivore eats/feeds on
plants
Nobleman –
A man who has a noble rank or
status
An example of what the
Enclosure Act might have
looked like
Example of fences that
might have been used
during the enclosure act
Follow Up Question:
What could have made the enclosure act more successful?
Landlord –
Person who owns a certain
amount of land