HIST 125 Chapter 6: Old Regime in the 18th Century
Document Summary
Chapter 15: society and economy under the old regime in the 18th century. Prior to the agricultural enlightenment, the main goal of peasant society was a stability that would ensure the local food supply. A failed harvest meant death amongst the population from starvation or malnutrition. Also meant a rise in grain prices, which put pressure on peasant/artisan families. Agricultural revolution: the innovations in farm production that led to a scientific and mechanized agriculture in the eighteenth century. The drive to improve agricultural production began during the 16/17th centuries in the. Dutch landlords/farmers devised better ways to build dikes and to drain land to get more farming property. Experimentation with new crops (i. e. clover/turnips) increased the supply of animal fodder and restored the soil. Charles turnip townsend: learned how to cultivate sandy soil with fertilizers and instituted crop rotation. Robert bakewell: pioneered new methods of animal breeding that produced more and better animals and more milk and meat.