Zoe Lipman

AP Euro- Chapter 19 Essay

Known as a great milestone in human development, the agricultural

revolution can be defined as the gradual elimination of fallow land from the mid-

seventeenth century and on. Often described as, “one of the noblest stories that

can be told,” the new farming techniques and technology invented during this

time period greatly increased crop production and efficiency. This new

abundance of food also led to population increases across Europe. While many

countries adopted these new innovations, countries such as Holland and England

truly paved the way for the revolution.

There were many factors that contributed to the success of the

agricultural revolution. One example of an important factor was crop rotation.

Crop rotation was practice of growing different types of crops in the same area in

sequential sessions to prevent the build up of pathogens, balance the fertility

demands of various crops, and avoid excessive depletion of soil nutrients. This

technique greatly decreased the number of fallow land and increased the

number of crops produced. Another main factor of the agricultural revolution

was the use of nitrogen-storing crops. Because grain crops depleted the soil and

made fallowing a necessary task for farmers, the alternation of nitrogen-storing

crops with grain crops helped remove fallowing as a necessity.

Other than these techniques, new inventions also helped revolutionize the

way farming was carried out. One example of an important invention was the
seed drill. Before this invention, the land had to be seeded by hand and was

extremely time consuming. Crops were also not placed in precise spots. The seed

drill, invented by Jethro Tull, reduced seeding time and also gave farmers a

precise spot where certain crops would appear. Other inventions that

revolutionized farming were the plow, which helped create a small ditch for

seeds to be planted, and numerous harvesting machines such as sickles, reapers,

and harvesters.

Already being the most advanced country in Europe, Holland had an

extensive farming system established by the mid-eighteenth century. This head start

on the agricultural revolution can be credited to the dense population within the

country and a desperate need for enough food. As the need for more food increased,

the need for new techniques and innovations did as well. This need for new

techniques became so important that farmers would have to suffer consequences if

they did not implement new ideas to maximize their crops. This led to the

widespread use of new practices such as enclosed fields, continuous crop rotation,

heavy manuring, and a wide variety of crops. Another reason the Dutch had a great

head start on farming was the growth of towns and cities. Because of the strong

overseas trade and commerce, the city of Amsterdam from thirty thousand to two

hundred thousand inhabitants during the seventeenth century. This great new

urban population provided Dutch peasants with new markets for all they could

produce and allowed each region to specialize in what it did best.

England was another major country in which the agricultural revolution

spread to. Being extremely good students, the English learned Dutch techniques
and implemented them into their own ways of life. One example of this was

drainage which was taught to them by Dutch experts when they helped drain

England’s marshes. Cornelius Vermuyden, a famous Dutch engineer, conducted two

large drainage projects in Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire and helped convert

throusands of acres of swampy wilderness into some of the best farmland in

England. As stated before, Jethro Tull’s seed drill and plow made a large impact on

the revolution in England as well.

The agricultural revolution is often described as, “one of the noblest stories

that can be told.” This statement is definitely true considering the large impact it

made on the world during that time period and on modern culture. The new

innovations of farming discovered and invented during this time period allowed for

a new abundance in food production and caused populations everywhere to

increase. With this increase in population, more techniques needed to be

discovered in order to support them. This cycle of innovations and population

increases is what caused more people to start inventing and paved the way for

modern farming. Without the innovations made during this revolution, many of us

would not even be alive to day.