Enclosure Act Essay, Research Paper
Enclosure Act
The Enclosure Act was passed to create more commerce for farmers and use the lands more rationally. The enclosure was good because it increased food production. The enclosure also began a capitalistic attitude in Europe. The Enclosure Act damaged the pheasant population. Before the enclosure of the land, there were strips of land poor farmers would farm. There was also common land farmers would use to allow their animals to graze. This system discouraged improvement and favored the small time farmers. When the enclosure happened the landlords consolidated their lands, they transformed the strips of land into block fields, and fenced up the common land.
The enclosure increased the amount of food produced and the food supply. The enclosure allowed the continuation of innovations and inventions to help increase food production. The land was used more efficiently. The decisions on what crops to plant were not made communally as like in the village method. The farmers would use crop rotation and had more manure to use as fertilizer.
The farmers wanted to make more money after the enclosure. There was an entrepreneurial attitude. The farmers wanted to own land. These attitudes, however, hurt the poor farmers. The landlords, who were concerned about profits, did not care like they did during the village method about waving rents and look out for the farmers. Now all they wanted was their money.
One of the bad things that happened during the enclosure of land was what happened to the small farmers. In some cases the population of the poor cottagers, common pasturagers, and small farmers dropped. The landlords were not taking care of them like they us to during depressed times. The Enclosure Act broke up small traditional communities.
After the Enclosure Act in England agriculture was a growing business across Europe. Many other countries enclosed their land also. The advancement of the agriculture business, such as inventions and new methods of farming were directly related to the enclosure of land. The enclosure was an economic and social breakthrough in Europe.