Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2008
Paul JohnsonAffiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
- Chapter
Summary
INTRODUCTION
British agriculture developed in a distinctive manner that made important contributions to economic growth. By the early nineteenth century, agricultural labour productivity was one third higher in England than in France, and each British farm worker produced over twice as much as his Russian counterpart [Bairoch 1965; O’Brien and Keyder 1978; Wrigley 1985; Allen 1988, 2000]. Although the yield per acre of grains was no higher in Britain than in other parts of north-western Europe, the region as a whole reaped yields twice those in most other parts of the world [Allen and O’Gráda 1988; Allen 1992.]
Most accounts of British farming link the high level of efficiency to Britain’s peculiar agrarian institutions. In many parts of the continent, farms were small, operated by families without hired labour and often owned by their cultivators. Farms often consisted of strips scattered in open fields, and animals were often grazed on commons. Peasant farming of this sort was consolidated by the French Revolution. In contrast, in Britain, the open fields were enclosed, farm size increased and tenancy became general. While this transformation had been underway since the middle ages, it reached its culmination during the industrial revolution. Furthermore, it is often claimed that the agrarian transformation made important contributions to industrialisation by increasing output and supplying the industrial economy with labour and capital.
Type
ChapterInformation
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2004
Access options
Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. [Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.]
Recommended textbook solutions
America's History for the AP Course
8th EditionEric Hinderaker, James A. Henretta, Rebecca Edwards, Robert O. Self
470 solutions
America's History for the AP Course
9th EditionEric Hinderaker, James A. Henretta, Rebecca Edwards, Robert O. Self
961 solutions
U.S. History
1st EditionJohn Lund, Paul S. Vickery, P. Scott Corbett, Todd Pfannestiel, Volker Janssen
567 solutions
America's History for the AP Course
8th EditionEric Hinderaker, James A. Henretta, Rebecca Edwards, Robert O. Self
470 solutions
Read Online [Free] relies on page scans, which are not currently available to screen readers. To access this article, please contact JSTOR User Support . We'll provide a PDF copy for your screen reader.
With a personal account, you can read up to 100 articles each month for free.
Get StartedAlready have an account? Log in
Monthly Plan
- Access everything in the JPASS collection
- Read the full-text of every article
- Download up to 10 article PDFs to save and keep
Yearly Plan
- Access everything in the JPASS collection
- Read the full-text of every article
- Download up to 120 article PDFs to save and keep
Log in through your institution
Purchase a PDF
Purchase this article for $16.00 USD.
How does it work?
- Select the purchase option.
- Check out using a credit card or bank account with PayPal.
- Read your article online and download the PDF from your email or your account.
journal article
Agriculture and the Industrial RevolutionThe Economic History Review
New Series, Vol. 30, No. 1 [Feb., 1977]
, pp. 166-181 [16 pages]
Published By: Wiley
//doi.org/10.2307/2595506
//www.jstor.org/stable/2595506
Read and download
Log in through your school or library
Alternate access options
For independent researchers
Read Online
Read 100 articles/month free
Subscribe to JPASS
Unlimited reading + 10 downloads
Purchase article
$16.00 - Download now and later
Journal Information
The Economic History Review publishes articles based on original research on all aspects of economic and social history. The Review is edited on behalf of the Economic History Society by leading scholars. It has been published since 1927 and is one of the world's leading journals in the field. The Review welcomes contributions based on the full range of methodological approaches used by economic and social historians and is pleased to publish high quality research on the economic and social history of any area of the world. The emphasis is on broad coverage of themes of economic and social change, including their intellectual, political and cultural implications. In addition to regular papers, some issues contain contributions to a series of 'Surveys and Speculations' which are more reflective survey articles. For many years past a comprehensive annual list of publications on the economic and social history of Great Britain and Ireland has been published. Each issue also contains a substantial number of book reviews. JSTOR provides a digital archive of the print version of Economic History Review. The electronic version of Economic History Review is available at //www.interscience.wiley.com. Authorized users may be able to access the full text articles at this site.
Publisher Information
Wiley is a global provider of content and content-enabled workflow solutions in areas of scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly research; professional development; and education. Our core businesses produce scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, reference works, books, database services, and advertising; professional books, subscription products, certification and training services and online applications; and education content and services including integrated online teaching and learning resources for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for more than 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Wiley has published the works of more than 450 Nobel laureates in all categories: Literature, Economics, Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Peace. Wiley has partnerships with many of the world’s leading societies and publishes over 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols in STMS subjects. With a growing open access offering, Wiley is committed to the widest possible dissemination of and access to the content we publish and supports all sustainable models of access. Our online platform, Wiley Online Library [wileyonlinelibrary.com] is one of the world’s most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.
Rights & Usage
This item is part of a JSTOR Collection.
For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions
The Economic History Review © 1977
Economic History Society
Request Permissions