More handpicked essays just for you.
Broadly discuss the history of agriculture
Broadly discuss the history of agriculture
An article on history of agriculture
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Broadly discuss the history of agriculture
Have you ever wonder who, where, when and how farming was in the medieval times? Farming is a process of making food and raising animals to make money. Farming in medieval times was different than present day farming. There were two levels of people who did farming, peasant and lords or priest. Peasants were farmers who don’t have a lot of freedom like marry or sell. Lords or priest had freedom. These are the months they did farming. January & February was the time to work indoors repairing hunting nets, sharpening the tools, making utensils, but on mild days, they work outdoors gather firewood, prune vines and mend fences. March, they did work in the fields, plowing and cultivating. In April, they would clean ditches, pruning trees, fixing
The person in charge of the peasant he "owned" was known as a lord. A lord and peasant were very courteous towards one another because of the fact that a lord, no matter what, could not evict a peasant and also a peasant was unable to decline work (Gilberts para. 1). A peasant would work three days a week on his lord's land. Peasants proved to be very precious to their "landowner because of the work" they were capable of achieving.
The farmers were accustomed to a daily routine. Their activities revolved around farming. The farmers used traditional methods that were created by their ancestors. Many of the traditions of small villages were abandoned and they were introduced to new things. This helped the villages to become more advanced. Abandoning traditions allowed the small villages also become familiar to new technology. New features were introduced to Britain, such as the cultivation of turnips and potatoes. Two of the contributors to agriculture were Jethro Tull and Lord Towenshend. Those men made the importance of root crops important to agriculture. In addition to the innovations helping villages, they could also hurt them. These changes were very complex for the farmers. Learning new techniques could be confusing and could also destroy their crops, which would definitely hurt the farmers.
The serf daily life starts off by waking up as an early as 3am. After they will eat breakfast, which was usually pottage. Working in the fields was than their main job. This includes reaping, which is cutting crops for harvest, sowing, ploughing, haymaking, threshing, hedging and more. They farm because they had to work his lords land and paid the lord a certain dues in return of the use of the land. The payment can be money or food etc. The serfs had to pay 3 days a week, and if they didn’t work then they are punished or resign to a new owner. There other jobs for the serfs such as craftsmen, bakers, farmers, and tax collectors. Women had to maintain their household, and assists their husband. Usually the women serf can only be a maid, servant or nun.
An important farming technique, field rotation, was vital to a farmer’s success. One field was planted in the autumn with winter wheat or rye, another field was planted in the spring with oats, barley, or vegetables, and finally the third field was left to fallow or remain unplanted (Gascoigne). This technique kept the fields fertile and in good shape for planting. The lord needed his “cut” of the profits in order the sustain the feudal structure, the lord obtained this through his serfs. Serfs had to take care of the manor, for example they repaired the roads and buildings within their respective villages (Cels 8). More importantly, serfs paid many fees, taxes, and fines, to fund the lord (Cels 8). Like tallage, an annual payment (Cels 22). They also had to pay “wood-penny” if they used wood from the lord’s own forest (Bennett 99). Serfs were forced to give away their best poultry and livestock and a cut of their crops (Bennett 99). Fifteen to thirty peasant families supported only one lord in medieval times (Gascoigne). A lord could accumulate wealth very easily through the food, rent, fees, and fines they collected from their peasants (Cels
have three seasons, for the most part the farmers were busiest during planting and growing
The Lords started to realized that the had less control over workers and began to change what they produce. The peasants had to grow and harvest grain, so the lords began to raise sheep. Raising sheep requires less workers and the sheep attracted more customers for the meat and for woolen clothing. As the peasants income rose , people were able to buy more veggies and fruits. Some peasants moved from the estates and bought their own land.
Peasants were at the bottom of the society, but still gave and received many things. Peasant's offered many things. Peasants grew different crops depending on what area you were in. Rye in the mountains, wheat in the lowlands, and barley, oats, and vetch were grown through Europe (Hacket 253). Peasant serfs raised livestock like chicken and goats. They then gave a majority to their lords (S 2). Serfs had to also pay a tithe which was 10% of their crops donated to the church (Jovinelly 10). Peasants mostly farmed wheat and rye because that was a main source of food for people in the middle ages and most of the food supply came from them (Cels 11). Peasants also were given many things. Serfs had to pay taxes, but if they were ever attacked,
The use of tools, animals, and farming processes made the productivity of a farm in the Middle Ages grow. Peasants in the Middle Ages, also known as serfs, could plant and harvest more crops in an easier fashion. The use of tools made the serf’s life more productive because they were designed to make the motions that the serfs did more natural. The serfs used animals because they were stronger and they could work longer than a human. Some of the processes that the serfs in the Middle Ages used are still used today, including crop rotation and fertilization. Technology used in Medieval Times made the farms generate more crops with less vigorous work.
Life in a medieval town was relatively easy, compared to living in a village. However there were many downsides to living in a medieval town, including hygiene, finding work, taxes, curfews and disease.
Farming or agriculture was a major improvement over foraging. One noticeable difference in this time period was humans began using more complex tools to do more advanced techniques of farming. They also began domesticating plants and animals, this was one of the leading factors of the beginning of agriculture. This was a huge turning point for humans everywhere. People could now live together in communities, villages, cities, etc. This was very different than the traditional way of a nomadic lifestyle. Farming also allowed the population to grow extremely, birth rates sky rocketed. Food, because of farming, could now be produced with less time and effort. Civilization with farming can provide a more assured source of constant food. With communities and people together, people are grouped together they can learn collectively and also have more protection against other predators. Perhaps the most significant reason farming is a major improvement over foraging is that specialization could occur. Specialization is when an individual or a group focuses on one craft that will better help their communities. One example of this is being a shoemaker. Having a wide variety of skills is crucial to a community.(hunter…shelters 6),(Reilly 17)
Life was very difficult during the Middle Ages. During this time, people were dictated by wealth, power, and status in the European era. Most people were unable to read or write, and as people moved to rural areas, learning became less important. Peasants, including serfs and villains spent most of their days working and living in the village, and were unable to leave their land without the lords permission. Manor house and castles were made with
In the spring and summer, farmers dealt with weeds, sheared sheep, cut and stored hay, and worked on the lord’s land and gardens. They also harvested crops in late summer. In autumn, their job was to reap, thresh, and store grain. They also plowed the fields and planted seeds for the next harvest. Farmers also had to kill livestock to supply food such as in the winter with pigs (Nardo 25, Bishop 234, Bishop 112, Macdonald 18, 19). In the work of farmers, most of the supplies they produced was given to the vassal and monarch while they only got a small amount leftover (Nardo 25). To do their work, farmers had specific ways and tools to help them do their job. Farmers had an assortment of tools and equipment to use to help them farm. When it is time to plant seeds for the next harvest, farmers use a plow to make the soil ready to be sowed. Wheeled plows are used on sandy soil and moulboard plows that are pulled by oxen or horses are used to plow soil with lots of clay in it. Wooden rakes are then used after the soil is plowed to harrow or drag soil over the seeds to cover them (Hunt and Lapworth
Farming is important for various reasons like food, jobs, and it helps our environment. Do you know about farming? Farming is a very difficult task. It takes a lot of time and work that keeps you busy from sunup to sundown. But most importantly it assists with food, jobs, the environment and many more.
As the population of Earth continues to increase, more food production is needed than ever. It is ridiculous for people to think that no one wants to be farmers anymore. They may also believe that farming is an “old style” of living. This idea may have occurred because the human population is over-reliant on technologies in today’s world. In reality, farmers are still incredibly relevant and people should not belittle the role they play. Farming should not be considered outdated because there are people in this world that want to be part of it. It is their desired lifestyle and choice that no one should label as “backward” or “savage.” No one should generalize the whole global population by understating that no one wants to spend his or her lifetime farming.
In Europe, agriculture went through a few significant chances during the Middle Ages. Tools including the plow and scythe were improved from classical versions, a three field system of crop rotation was invented, and the moldboard plow and wheeled plow become increasingly needed. Also, draft horses and oxen were bred and used as a working animal in many parts of Europe. At the time, much of Europe had low population densities, which made extensive farming beneficial. In other parts of the world, agriculture differed a bit.