Day 2

1. Day 2

3. Traditional or Pre-Industrial Society • Middle Ages (500-1000 CE) England organized into farming villages • Had to grow food to feed itself • Organized collectively- and separated into 3 fields • One for growing grain for bread (wheat or rye) • One for growing oats for livestock or for barley to make beer • One left fallow (empty) to regain its fertility • Fields were further divided into strips (each peasant owned about 30 strips) • These were scattered all over the fields

4. Field 1 Wheat or Rye A Field 2 Fallow (empty) Barley or Oats Z B G G B A A

5. Disadvantages of Traditional Farming • Paths connecting farming strips wasted much land • Time was wasted • Communal grazing of cattle allowed disease to spread rapidly • Lack of fences = cattle stomping across fields • Farmers had to plow at same time, plant same seeds at same time, harvest at the same time • Hard for any one farmer experiment to improve efficiency

6. What are the top 3 changes you would want to make if you were a farmer at that time?

7. Forces for Change • 2 major developments in 1700’s forced traditional society to change • Population growth: • Britain’s population in 1700 = 5.5 million • Britain’s population in 1800 = 9 million • France put a blockade on England • England couldn’t import foreign corn • More people + less imported corn = English farmers needed to produce more food • Had to develop improved techniques

8. What will happen next?

10. Imagine you are a peasant farmer in the middle ages (1100 CE); what would you experience on a daily basis? Complete the above sensory figure using accurate and complete information from today’s class. DO NOT CREATE SIMPLE SENTENCES LIKE “I SMELL DIRT” OR “WITH MY HANDS I SCRATCH MY FACE” OR ANY ANSWER LIKE THAT!! ANY ANSWER SIMILAR TO THOSE WILL RESULT IN A ZERO ON THE PAPER! Each correct and complete answer is worth 5 points, total 35 points