Life before the change
Around 1700 most people in Europe lived in villages and farmed. Work was done by hand and with animals. In many places fields were open strips shared by the village. In the three-field system one field rested (lay fallow) each year so the soil could recover. That meant a third of the land gave nothing.
A farm made enough food for the family and a little more. If rain failed, food prices shot up and people went hungry. Cloth was spun and woven at home or in small workshops. This is the picture we call the "old way". The 1700s changed it, slowly but deeply.
The agricultural (agrarian) revolution
Farmers and landowners found better ways to farm. Four changes were important:
- Crop rotation. Growing wheat, turnips, barley and clover in turn meant no field had to rest. Clover puts nitrogen back in the soil; turnips feed cattle through winter, so more animals survive and give more manure.
- Enclosure. Common and open fields were fenced and became private farms. Owners could try new methods, but many poor villagers lost the right to use common land and had to look for other work.
- New tools and breeds. Seed drills sowed seeds in neat rows; better ploughs and careful breeding gave stronger sheep and cattle.
- Result. Each field gave more food. Food was cheaper and more reliable.
Why people moved to towns
When each field gives more, fewer farmers can feed everyone. With more food, babies and adults survived more often, so the population grew. Those who lost common land or were no longer needed on farms moved to towns and mining areas to find work. So the agricultural revolution made two things: extra food and extra workers. Both were needed for the next change.
The industrial revolution: machines and factories
Britain wanted a lot of cotton cloth, partly because fine cotton cloth from India was so popular. Inventors made machines to spin and weave faster. The spinning jenny let one worker spin many threads at once. The water frame and later the steam engine gave power that did not tire. Coal and iron were mined to build and run them.
Machines were put under one roof in factories. Workers came to the machines and worked set hours. Cloth became much cheaper. Towns near coal and rivers grew very fast. In time, railways and steamships carried goods and people, and the change spread to other countries.
Capitalism: capital, profit and competition
Capital is money and things (machines, buildings, raw material) used to make more money. An owner who invests capital hopes for profit: income from selling minus the costs of wages, materials and machines. Profit is then invested again, so the business grows.
This system, where private owners invest to earn profit and goods are sold in markets with many sellers, is called capitalism. Competition pushes owners to cut costs and invent. The Scottish thinker Adam Smith explained the idea of free markets in 1776. Capitalism brought rapid growth and cheap goods, but also long working hours, low wages and child labour in early factories. Later, workers formed unions and governments passed laws to protect them.
Try it: follow one cotton shirt
Read the label of the shirt you wear. Where was the cloth made? Make a chain on paper: cotton field โ spinning โ weaving โ factory โ shop โ you. For each link, write whether it was done by hand or by machine in 1650 and today. Then answer: which link changed the most, and which people lost or gained work because of it?
Key formulas and definitions
- Agricultural revolution = crop rotation + enclosures + new tools and seeds โ higher yield per field
- Higher yield โ fewer farmers needed โ more people free for other work
- Industrial revolution = machines + new power (water, steam) + factories
- Capitalism: capital (money and machines) is invested to earn profit; profit is invested again
- Profit = income from sales โ costs (wages, materials, machines)
Worked examples
1. A field gave 40 sacks of wheat under the old method. With crop rotation and better tools it gives 80. By what percent did the yield rise?
Rise = 80 โ 40 = 40 sacks. Percent = 40 รท 40 ร 100 = 100%. The yield doubled.
2. In the three-field system, one field in three rests. What fraction of the land gives a crop each year, and what fraction when no field rests?
Three-field: 2 of 3 fields give a crop = 2/3 (about 67%). With four crops in turn: all fields give a crop = 100%.
3. A village of 100 people: each farmer feeds 1.6 people. How many farmers are needed? After better farming each farmer feeds 3.2. How many farmers are free for other work?
Before: 100 รท 1.6 = 62.5, so 63 farmers. After: 100 รท 3.2 = 31.25, so 32 farmers. Free: 63 โ 32 = 31 people can work elsewhere.
4. A hand spinner makes 1 unit of thread a day; a jenny worker makes 8. A mill has 50 jenny workers. How many hand spinners would make the same thread?
Mill output = 50 ร 8 = 400 units. Hand spinners needed = 400 รท 1 = 400. So 50 machine workers replace 400 hand spinners.
5. An owner invests 1000 coins. Costs for the year: wages 500, materials 300, machine wear 100. Sales: 1200 coins. Find the profit and the profit as a percent of the capital.
Costs = 500 + 300 + 100 = 900. Profit = 1200 โ 900 = 300 coins. Percent of capital = 300 รท 1000 ร 100 = 30%.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the industrial revolution happened in one year. It was a slow change over many decades.
- Thinking machines came first. Better farming came first and freed people (and food) for the factories.
- Mixing up capital with profit. Capital is the money and machines put in; profit is what is left after costs.
- Thinking life improved at once for everyone. Early factory work was hard, hours were long and many children worked.