Background The Enclosure Acts were essentially the abolition of the open field system of agriculture which had been the way people farmed in England for centuries. The ownership of all common land, and waste land, that farmers and Lords had, was taken from them. ³ Any right they had over the land was gone. New fields were designed, new roads were added, and the land was eventually re-allocated to different farmers and Lords. Originally this process was agreed upon through informal agreement but Parliament took over during the 17th century. Between 1604 and 1914 there were over 5,200 bills enacted by Parliament which equates to a little more than one fifth of England. ³
Main Causes England utilized an Open Field system for much of its history before the start of the Enclosure. This system worked well because it suited what was needed by society at the time. Agricultural and cultivation systems were not very advanced, but it allowed each village to be self-sufficient. This was extremely necessary because transportation was still very primitive. However, over time things began to change. Transportation became much easier with the implement of new roadways, canals and waterways were easier to navigate, and agricultural knowledge increased.³ In the end, the open field system was not capable of reaping all of the benefits of the newly industrialized England. Therefore, by taking control of the land, the government was able to decide the uses for the land based on what suited it best. This increased the efficiency and profitability of farming. Efficient agriculture was greatly needed at this time due to the fast increase in population; demand for food was at it’s all time highest. ³ Stages of the Enclosure process (Before 1801) ¹ Stage 2 -A small committee from Parliament came to hear any objections the village people had -Parliament then either passes the act, or rejects it depending on the advice from the earlier committee -Commissioners are then appointed to observe the enclosure of the land ¹Stage 3 -A detailed map is drawn up of the current land holdings, marking the land into individual plots -Landowners must then prove their legal entitlement to the land they are currently farming -A new map is drawn, giving legal land owners their share-Landowners then build fences and roads on their new land ¹ “The political dominance of large landowners determined the course of enclosure….[I]t was their power in Parliament and as local Justices of the Peace that enabled them to redistribute the land in their own favor. A typical round of enclosure began when several, or even a single, prominent landholder initiated it … by petition to Parliament.… [T]he commissioners were invariably of the same class and outlook as the major landholders who had petitioned in the first place, [so] it was not surprising that the great landholders awarded themselves the best land and the most of it, thereby making England a classic land of great, well-kept estates with a small marginal peasantry and a large class of rural wage labourers.” ⁶ –Joseph R. Stromberg, Library Historian
Effects of the Enclosure Act on English Society For over 500 years, politicians, historians, and world preservationists have argued about the enclosure acts. The subdivision and fencing of common land into individual plots is the biggest issue. Those in favor of this change insisted that it was necessary and not optional for the growth and development of the economy. Those against this change claimed that it deprived the poor people of making a good living, which will lead them to live unsustainable lives.The Enclosure Acts took away the rights the local people had to the rural land during prior generations. ² As a result, the people were taken away from their comfort zones. They were offered alternative land that was smaller and of poorer quality, most times not even having water or wood supplies. The landowners could not afford the legal costs of enclosure, so they were pushed out towards the cities where they could survive on their paycheck. The seized lands were then turned into privately owned farms with extremely politically intertwined farmers who got the finest lands. Even as of 2009, in England, a property-owning democracy, nearly half the country is owned by 40,000 land millionaires. That is 0.06 percent of the population, leaving most of the people to spend the greater majority of their lives working to survive and maintain a small piece of land barely big enough to sustain a modest living situation. ²
After Enclosure:
Effects on Romantic Writers
Ye friends to truth, ye statesmen who survey The rich man’s joy encrease, the poor’s decay, ‘Tis yours to judge, how wide the limits stand Between a splendid and a happy land. Proud swells the tide with loads of frightened ore, And shouting Folly hails them from her shore; Hoards even beyond the miser’s wish abound, And rich men flock from all the world around. Yet count our gains. This wealth is but a name That leaves our useful products still the same. Not so the loss. The man of wealth and pride Takes up a space that many poor supplied; Space for his lake, his park’s extended bounds, Space for his horses, equipage, and hound Even though Goldsmith was an Augustan poet and not a Romantic poet, the movement towards the Romantics were influenced by what the Augustans endured. England was one of the first countries to become industrialized because of the open land being enclosed by the acts presented by the government which caused mixed emotions among the farmers. Goldsmith presents a negative view of the situation in the above passage because he saw the acts as a way for the rich to take over the land which also forced some of the farmers and people in smaller villages to migrate into the cities. Works Cited 1.”Enclosure Acts- Great Britain 1700-1801.” Enclosure Acts. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. http://www4.uwsp.edu 3. Frank A. Sharman (1989) An Introduction to the Enclosure Acts, “The Journal of Legal History”, 10:1, 45-70. 4. Mahoney, John L. William Wordsworth, a Poetic Life. N.p: Fordham UP, 1997. Print. 5. “Managing and Owning the Landscape.” Parliament UK. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014. http://www.parliament.uk 6. McElroy, Wendy, (2012), The Future of Freedom Foundation, “The Enclosure Acts and The Industrial Revolution,” WEB, April 23, 2014. 7. Rosenman, Ellen. “On Enclosure Acts and the Commons.” BRANCH: Britain, Representation and Nineteenth-Century History. Ed. Dino Franco Felluga. Extension of Romanticism and Victorianism on the Net. Web. 12 May. 2014. 8. Tanenhaus, Sam. The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge. New York City: New York Times Company, 2011. Print |