Agricultural Revolution in England: The Transformation of the Agrarian Economy 1500–1850

by Mark Overton

• ISBN13: 9780521568593
• ISBN10: 0521568595
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-05-31
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This book is the first available survey of English agriculture between 1500 and 1850. It combines new evidence with recent findings from the specialist literature, to argue that the agricultural revolution took place in the century after 1750. Taking a broad view of agrarian change, the author begins with a description of sixteenth-century farming and an analysis of its regional structure. He then argues that the agricultural revolution consisted of two related transformations. The first was a transformation in output and productivity brought about by a complex set of changes in farming practice. The second was a transformation of the agrarian economy and society, including a series of related developments in marketing, landholding, field systems, property rights, enclosure and social relations. Written specifically for students, this book will be invaluable to anyone studying English economic and social history, or the history of agriculture.

Table of Contents

Preface

A note on weights, measures, money and boundaries

1. The agricultural revolution

2. Farming in the sixteenth century

3. Agricultural output and productivity, 1500-1850

4. Institutional changes, 1500-1850

5. The agricultural revolution reconsidered

Guide to further reading

Bibliography.