Enclosure

Caty Zick
Discussion 1H

In rural areas of Britain and Wales, land was held in common by all the people in the surrounding community. This land was available to everyone to use for grazing their sheep and even keeping small plots of vegetables.

Between 1760 and 1820, the process of enclosure began throughout the countryside as a result of Parliament passing various Enclosure Acts. Enclosure was the process of taking this common property and giving it to private landowners. Stone walls built between plots of land were physical evidence of this division and enclosure of once-public land. Without land, the common people no longer had a source of livelihood, and were forced to roam the countryside looking for work, which eventually led many people to find jobs in the new factories in London.

Enclosure was an enormously controversial issue, as it abolished a centuries-old system of agriculture in rural England, and caused many commoners to lose their source of income. The process of enclosure provides another example of the rich gentry taking from the poor commoners for their own economic advancement. The outrage over enclosure helped create the social, political, and economic climate that led the British populace to call for a stronger voice in their own government.

Professor Makdisi discussed enclosure in his lecture on January 22nd.