What is fencing and what are its consequences?

The fencing in historiography is the process of destruction of communal agrarian farms in Europe. Most often this term is used in relation to England of modern times.

Agriculture of England in the 16th century

To understand what fencing is, one must move to the Tudor era. At this time in England the cloth industry was developing rapidly. Prices for wool grew, which, in turn, gave great economic importance to livestock, in particular, much attention was paid to pastures for pasturing cattle. Around this resource a serious struggle unfolded.

Rich landowners-lords began to buy pastures from poor peasants. These domains were leased to farmers. Single farms have declined. Most of the English land was divided between the nobility, the church and the state.

Free Speakers

The then English peasants could be divided into two groups. The first - freeholds, or the so-called free owners. They did not know what fencing was. Their relationship with the lords was as follows. The peasants paid a small rent for their plots of land and could dispose of them as they wanted. This group was in the most comfortable conditions for the then agrarian class. At the same time, there were very few freeholders. They were a very small part of the rural population of England.

Copiers

The situation in the second peasant stratum was quite different. Such plowmen were called copy-builders. This class was formed in the XIV century, after the abolition of serfdom in England. The fencing process is connected with them.

Kopigoldery owned their site only on life rights. This meant that the peasant had to coordinate with the lord-landlord the terms of his inheritance to future generations. The same applied to any transactions with land. In fact, such peasants (and there were a majority of them) became dependent on lords. In addition, each copyholder paid money rent for his site.

Since the wool in the country began to appreciate, the lords began to overstate the prices of rent. This contributed to the massive impoverishment of the peasants. They found themselves in debt and became bankrupt. The traditional system of coexistence in the village was soon broken. This happened in the 16th century.

Impoverishment of the peasantry

As payment for debts, the peasants were selected for their own plots. This process served as the beginning of capitalist reconstruction in the countryside. The expropriated plots fenced off from the previous owners (it was from here that the name of the concept we are considering went).

Often a peasant could lose all the land that he had before. Such people became hired workers from the same lords. What is fencing for most of them? It is a process of impoverishment. This phenomenon also has a popular term synonymous with "pauperization". The poor became beggars and tramps. This was the effect of the fencing.

Also, this process was aggravated by the English Reformation that happened. The royal power was in conflict with the Pope. Henry VIII announced that his own church will now operate in his country. At the same time, confiscation of lands belonging to monasteries and other religious institutions took place. Allotments were transferred to the state. Many peasants lived on them. Most of them remained without land - here it was also fenced. The conflict associated with these processes led to numerous peasant uprisings throughout the country.

Economic development after fencing

The inhabitants of the northern provinces were particularly poor. This border region had an underdeveloped infrastructure. Many peasants went to serve in the militia instead of paying the usual land tax. Capitalist changes and fencing reached this region last. The epicenter of these processes was Central and South-East England. Here the conflict between lords and peasants was traced particularly clearly.

In the south-west of the country the traditional communal way lasted longer. There were woolen manufactories, many pastures. Coping farms in these provinces were stable compared to other regions of the country.

What consequences for the peasants had fencing in the west? Here they were almost invisible. The Lords tried to increase their holdings by raising the cost of rent. This method was secretive and not as effective as direct expropriation.

What is fencing? This is also a push for the development of large-scale industry. This sphere of economy in England was less developed than in other rich countries. For example, in Holland the number of factories, mills and other innovative farms was large compared to the neighboring island. When the large landowners of England accumulated large capital through fencing, their money went to the development of industry. Thanks to this, the gap between England and Holland in the XVIII century was successfully overcome.