The Open-Field System .Three field rotations helped keep fields fertile traditional village rights reinforced traditional patterns of farming.Peasants were exploited in a number of ways, with those in Eastern Europe generally the worst off.The Agricultural RevolutionThe use of more complex systems of crop rotation increased the amount of land under cultivation.Grain crops were alternated with nitrogen-storing crops.The open-field system was ended by "enclosing" the fields, particularly in England.The enclosure movement meant an end to common lands and to the independence of the rural poor who relied on them to survive.The Leadership of the Low Countries and EnglandPrior to the agricultu ...view middle of the document...
Merchants loaned, or "put out," raw materials to workers who processed the raw materials and returned finished goods to the merchant.The putting-out system grew because it had competitive advantages.Rural manufacturing did not spread across Europe at an even rate.The Textile IndustryThroughout most of Europe's history, the textile industry has employed more people than any other industry.Most participants in cottage industry worked in textiles.Cottage industry was a family enterprise.Relations between workers and employers were often marked by conflict Urban GuildsEurope's guild system reached its highest point in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.Guild masters were at the top of the world of work.Guilds jealously restricted their membership.The power of guilds varied across Europe Critics of guilds saw them as obstacles to innovation and progress.Over the course of the eighteenth century, some guilds grew more accessible to women.The Industrious RevolutionOne scholar has used the term "industrious revolution" to describe Europe's social and economic transformation.Northern European households made new choices about the allocation of time and resources.The impact of these new patterns of the quality of life for ordinary people is hotly debated.Economic and social change in the eighteenth century laid the foundation for the Industrial Revolution Building the World EconomyMercantilism and Colonial War English mercantilism was characterized by government regulations that served the interests both of the state and of private individuals. Mercantilism in other European countries generally served only state interests.The Navigation Acts of 1651-1663 were a form of economic warfare against Dutch domination of Atlantic shipping. They gave British merchants and ship owners a near monopoly on trade with Britain's North American colonies.After defeating the Dutch, England fought a series of wars with France for maritime domination of the world.War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713)War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748)The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) ended with British winning full control over India and North America.London grew into the West's largest and richest city.Colonial populations provided an expanding market for English manufactured goods.English exports were increasingly balanced and diversified.Despite their losses, the French profited enormously from colonial trade.Land and Labor in British AmericaIn Britain's North American colonies cheap land and scarce labor resulted in the following:Rapid increase in the colonial population in the eighteenth century.Import of African slaves to tobacco plantations in southern colonies. The Atlantic Slave TradeThe forced migration of millions of Africans was a key element in the Atlantic system and western European economic expansion.After 1700, Britain was the undisputed leader of the slave trade.Increasing demand led to rising prices for African slaves.Africans participated in the trade.Af...
