Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy of any country. It not only provides the population with necessary food products, but also reflects the general level of technological progress of a particular state, incorporating the best achievements of science and technology. This article will discuss what the agrarian revolution is and what basic features are inherent in it. In addition, you will find out how many there were in the history of our civilization.
The agrarian revolution is ...
It turns out that their revolutions are also characteristic of agriculture. Moreover, their essence is no different from the revolutions that happen in the socio-political life of mankind.
The agrarian revolution is a combination of rapid and profound changes taking place in the agrarian complex. Also, this phenomenon is often called an agrarian coup. It must be emphasized that such revolutions are usually very compressed in time frames.
The basic condition for the agrarian revolution is the establishment of stable capitalist production relations. In addition, one can distinguish other features (conditions) of the agrarian revolution. Among them:
- transition to commodity production;
- enlargement of rural enterprises and liquidation of small farms;
- concentration of land by large landowners;
- the emergence of wage labor;
- increase in production volumes;
- implementation of reclamation and other activities;
- breeding new varieties of crops or animal breeds with the best productive qualities;
- use of new and modern technology.
For agrarian revolutions, intensification of agriculture will always be characteristic. This term means an increase in the final output, not due to an increase in land or livestock, but due to the modernization of all processes, the introduction of the latest achievements of science and technology in agriculture.
Agrarian revolutions in history
Of course, each agrarian revolution has its own specific features, respectively, of the time when it took place. Historians distinguish four such revolutions:
- Neolithic (occurred 10,000 years ago);
- Islamic (X century);
- British (XVIII century);
- "green" revolution (twentieth century).
The Neolithic agrarian revolution is processes that were accompanied by the transition of a person from gathering to plant growing, from hunting to animal husbandry. It was at this time that the first cultivars of wheat, barley, and rice appeared. In the same period, the first attempts were made to domesticate wild animals. Scientists today distinguish about seven major centers of origin of cultivated plants, among which the Middle East is particularly prominent.
The Islamic agrarian revolution is a fundamental change in the agrarian complex of the Arab Caliphate, which was accompanied by a powerful development of the natural and geographic sciences. Historians argue that it was precisely in this era that the active globalization of key crops took place.
The British Agrarian Revolution dates back to the 18th century. Some scholars as a separate point also single out the Scottish Agrarian Revolution, which took place at the same time. The British revolution was distinguished by the active introduction of new technologies, the development of fertilizers, etc. It was closely connected with the so-called scientific and technological revolution.
"Green revolution
The last of the agrarian revolutions began around the middle of the twentieth century. Its main features include the active use of fertilizers and pesticides, the breeding of new varieties of crops and the introduction of the latest technology.
Scientists believe that the reason, the impetus of this agrarian revolution is the active growth of the world's population. Thus, in the middle of the last century, the need for food increased sharply, especially in developing countries where the “green revolution” is most pronounced (Mexico, India, Colombia). At the same time, the active use of fertilizers and pesticides provoked some environmental problems. The most serious of these is pollution of fertile soils.
Finally...
As history shows, not one of the processes in the life of society goes smoothly. And agriculture in this regard is no exception. This industry has developed spasmodically, while abrupt and significant changes in agriculture are called agrarian revolutions.