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Start of Agricultural Revolution
This is the period of time from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century were the idling of fields were slowly eliminated. It originated in the Low Countries of Europe, mainly Holland. This is from the introduction of crop rotations to make the soil more fertile. This led to peasants being able to have more feed for their animals and so they had more meat which led to better diets. The introduction of crop rotations led to better lives for peasants than earlier centuries. -
Mughals concede trade privileges to Britain
Before the 18th century, the Portuguese then the Dutch dominated trade in the Indian Ocean. However, the Dutch become challenged by the British with the creation of the English East India Company. Britain was not able to develop a foothold in Asia until 1716 when the Mughals gave them trading privileges across their empire. By the end of the 18th century, Britain had destroyed all competition, colonized Australia, and was the dominate trading power in the Atlantic and Indian ocean. -
John Kay invents the Flying Shuttle
John Kay's invention of the flying shuttle allowed weavers to throw the shuttle back and forth with only one hand. This was a great invention for textile workers. While this invention was a change in the textile industry itself, the importance of the textile industry had not changed. It was the industry that employed the most people in Europe centuries before and a century after. The lives of these people were not fantastic, often working in small cabins with little windows. -
The Atlantic Slave Trade
Due to a rise in plantation agriculture, the slave trade intensified especially after 1750. It was a key part of the Atlantic economy. About 80 thousand slaves were transported across the Atlantic each year. Europeans started using the shore method of trading because it was less expensive than trading posts. Africans up the price of slaves due to increase demand. Europeans began to realize that slavery was not okay with a campaign arisng in Britain in 1775 to end it. -
Start of European Population Growth
The 18th century saw fewer deaths and rising birth rates, which made the population of Europe boom. Bubonic plague disappeared in Europe. There was inoculation available for smallpox. Water supply and sewage improvements increased public health. Water marshes being drained led to a decrease in insects. Also, more safeguards were put in place to protect against famines. These all caused deaths to decline. This population caused an increase difference between economic opportunities and the masses. -
The Seven Years' War
The French went to war with Britain to decide colonial holdings in North America. Britain used its navy and kept France cutoff from trading. When the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763, it gave all of its possessions in North America to Britain. This gave Britain a monopoly on colonies. This meant that England could sell manufactured goods to the agricultural colonies at a staggering rate. While their trade rose, the mercantilist system they had employed in the 17th century boomed. -
Enclosure Movement
Holland were the pioneers of enclosure and England wanted to copy them. By 1750, about half of England's fields were enclosed. In the 1760's, Parliament passed the Enclosure Acts, which authorized the enclosing of open fields and the dividing of the common land. This meant that peasants no longer had access to the common land. The landless people would work fields for little wages. Proletarianization helped lead to the industrial revolution. -
Putting-Out System
The Putting-Out system was a kind of industrial system were merchants would provide rural workers raw material to make a product and then sell the product and pay the rural workers. This system was already largely present in England in the 16th century. It spread slower to the continental country, and it was not until 1762 when France's government supported the putting-out system by limiting urban industry and giving rural industry free reign. Germany and the Low Countries also followed France. -
Spain receives Louisiana from France
Spain was on the decline until Philip V became king in 1700. Spain received the Louisiana territory from France in 1763. They also sent missionaries as far out as California. This expansion created whole new groups of people, the Creoles, and the mestizos. The Creole were people of Spanish descent born in America. The wanted the luxuries of Europe and Creole merchants wealth rose during this trade. Mestizos were Spanish and Native, creating a middle class in Spanish Colonies. -
Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations
Smith argued that enterprise should have freedom from government control. This was called Economic Liberalism. Smith thought that the individual pursuit of self-interest would act as an "invisible hand" and benefit both the rich and the poor. The Wealth of Nations was influential across all of Europe. However, Adam Smith was not a cruel capitalist as people thought. He applauded the increase in wages of the poor.
