Chapter 17 & 18 Century Economy and Society

Describe how the cottage industry worked

Merchant capitalist provides raw objects, sends to poor, they work, and send it back for payment

Holland's leadership in farming methodology can be attributed to..

The necessity to provide for a densely populated country

What was the greatest achievement of 18th century medical science?

Conquest of smallpox

Who was Cornelius Vermuyden?

Drainage

Who was Jethro Tull?

Seed drill

Which of the following describes the enclosure movement of the 18th century?

The land was divided into plots bounded by fences to farm more efficiently

What was a competitive advantage of the rural putting out system?

The rural poor worked for low wages

Merchant capitalists complained bitterly about..

Their inability to supervise and direct the work of rural laborers

The spinning of thread for the loom..

Required the work of several spinners for each loom, which led merchants to employ the wives and daughters of agricultural workers at terribly low wages

What caused an increase in textile production after the year 1700?

Cottage industry and protoindustrial tech Ex: Spinning Jenny

What were the Navigation Acts?

British attempt to pull business away from Dutch and Portuguese, had to be carried on British ships with British crews

Economic liberalism or "laissez-faire" economics values what the most?

Compare mercantilism to economic liberalism - Mercantilism: Strength of state Economic: Value the individual more than the strength of the state - Negative is government isn't there to ensure success (survival of the fittest)

How did the Dutch find more farmland to feed their growing population?

Drainage - Had to move the water and turn the land under into useable farmland

Which European nation dominated the Atlantic economy in the early 17th century?

Dutch - Golden age

How did the Dutch Republic stay commercially successful after 1700?

Dutch - golden age, then had to reinvent themselves, shifted attention to banking instead of trade, first to use paper money

The English Navigation Acts mandated that all English imports and exports be transported on English ships, and they also..

Gave British merchants a virtual monopoly on trade with colonies

What was the "South Sea Bubble?"

Grows large early on, can't maintain itself and crashes, large scale financial crashes

In the 18th century, advocates for agricultural innovation argued that..

Landholdings and common lands needed to be consolidated and enclosed in order to farm more effectively

What was the main reason for the population explosion that occurred around the year 1700?

People are living longer, more food, better immune system

What were some of the positives and negatives consequences of the enclosure movement?

Positives: Land owner gets larger, commercially successful farmers, parliament is friendly to wealthy - Negatives: No commando and for peasants animals, look for work, low pay, women lost work and sent daughters away

What were the main causes of the Agricultural Revolution?

Science and technology applied to agriculture

Who was Robert Bakewell?

Selective breeding

Who was James Hargreaves?

Spinning Jenny

What was the most important commodity in the Atlantic economy?

Sugar

Which of the following describes the treatment of children in the seventeenth and early eighteenth century?

The disciplining of children was often severe in order to conquer the child's will

At the center of Adam Smith's arguments in The Wealth of Nations was the belief that..

The pursuit of self interest in competitive markets would improve the living conditions of citizens

Describe the main ways the agricultural revolution was able to increase the production of food

Able to increase food product by crop rotation, more diverse crops (corn and potatoes), using manure, selective breeding, seed drill

What were some of the advantages and disadvantages of the cottage industry?

Advantages: Merchant doesn't pay a lot, increased production of textiles, provides income for those who lost farm - Disadvantages: Constant disputes over weight and quality, wild and hard to control

The proletarianization of peasants in the eighteenth century forced them to..

Become landless rural wage earners

Define mercantilism

Main goal is economic self sufficiency - take in less than you put out (tariffs, navigation acts)