A New Agricultural Revolution and Coal, Steam, and the Energy Revolution
A change in agriculture made possible the Industrial Revolution. Gradually, new farming methods led to better crops and more crops. The quality and quantity of food continued to improve. Farmers mixed different kinds of soils and tried out new growing methods to produce more crops.
Wealthy landowners used enclosure to make their farms larger and more productive. Enclosure is the practice of taking over and combining lands that had been shared by peasant farmers. With these larger farms, profits rose. The number of crops increased. Now, there was a surplus, or extra, food. Fewer people were dying from starvation. This led to an increase in the population.
Enclosed farms meant fewer workers were needed. Many of these workers moved to the cities. There, they began to form the labor force that would become the factory workers during the Industrial Revolution.
New technology also helped to start the Industrial Revolution. James Watt, in 1764, improved the steam engine. His engine became an important power source of the Industrial Revolution. The steam engine was used to power machines. Later, it was used to power locomotives and steamships.
How did the agricultural revolution open the way for the start of the Industrial Revolution?