18th Century Agricultural & Industrial Revolutions

Topic 2: The 18th Century Revolutions

Agricultural Revolution

The Agricultural Revolution saw remarkable increases in food production due to key innovations:

• Changes in farming systems
• Introduction of new machinery
• New property structures

The spread of crop rotation (e.g., the Norfolk system), combining cereal and fodder cultivation, eliminated the need for fallow periods.

Increased Production & Demographic Growth

Increased food production led to lower food prices in the 18th century, contributing to significant demographic growth. Birth rates rose, mortality rates decreased, and life expectancy increased.

Industrial Revolution

The concentration of workers in factories led to the decline of many handmade crafts, with factory production replacing traditional methods.

Mechanization and New Industries

Key innovations included:

• The flying shuttle, new spindles, and mechanical looms
• The use of hydraulic and steam engine power (James Watt, 1769)

Emblematic sectors of the Industrial Revolution included the cotton industry, coal and steel industries, chemical industry, and metallurgy.

New Transportation

Transportation saw major advancements with:

• Improved fluvial channels for navigation
• Railways, locomotives, and steamships

Economic Liberalism and Capitalism

Economic liberalism, based on the principles of 18th-century thinkers like Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Thomas Robert Malthus, and John Stuart Mill, emphasized individual supremacy, self-interest, and supply and demand.

Capitalism, characterized by private ownership and competition, emerged with its periodic crises and debates between free trade and protectionism.

• Free trade: Non-state intervention in international trade.
• Protectionism: Imposition of tariffs on foreign products.

Social Changes

Migration to cities led to significant urbanization processes.