Enclosure Acts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The enclosure acts were a series of agricultural laws passed by Parliament in 19th century England. They were passed by wealthy landowners within the Parliament. They privatized and fenced off a large amount of farmland that had once been common property (see enclosure).
Small farmers either had to pay rent to large landowners or forfeit their farms. This mass displacement of farmers sent great numbers of people to the city. It also created a large pool of available labor once industrialization got under way. This also emptied the agrarian sector in British economy.
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