Before The Industrial Revolution, The British Transfer Of Rural Labor

This article studys mainly migration of countryside labourers in pre-industrial England, consists of three parts, five chapters in all. The first chapter analysizes briefly the background of countryside labourers migrating; the second part (contains 2nd, 3rd, 4th chapter) narrates largely the expierence of the labourers, which migrated during primery phase and development phase; the last chapter makes commentary on the migration of village labourers in pre-industrial England.The first chapter analysizes the causes of the medieval village labourers. Many factors make them move to towns and cities, changing into artisans or workers, of which getting rid of serfdom, the shortcomings of agriculture both are immediately factors, behind them lying in the promotion of husbandry productive force, the deeper or the most important, hi the Middle Ages, the serfs hadn't any right of migration or changing occupations, including the small freeholders because the lords were their owners. The limitations of Agriculture farming such as seasonal unemployed, marginal decrease progressively of profit, and tillage limited so on, also caused villagers to migrate and made them transform into village industry. However, without the progress of agarian farming, or the increase of extra agriculture products, The citizen and townspeople in urban areas and folk in country woundn't make a living solely and worked by themselves. And they wound be forced to engaging into agriculture farming finally, even if they once migrated to towns and cities, changed into artisans temporarily for sometime. So, the prime impetus is the improvement of productive force for the peasantry move to urban area, transition to non-husbandry. Certainly, the way or mode maybe various.The second chapter describes mostly the migration of village labourers at early days. During 11th-13th century, the population of countryside once were eagerly move to cities, resulting in many towns and cities reappearing in the Later Middle Ages, but henceforth, quite a few folk shifted to urban area when 14th, 15th century was coming. There weremuch fewer population in many cities, and some small towns disappeared unexpectedly. Most villagers went around their homeland or neighborhood in the countryside after Blackdeath, or colonizing in the borderland while fewer villagers move to urban areas, and stockbreeding and texture in the country begin to emerge and attract some villagers into them. As a whole, the dimensions of village labour migration go within levels of agriculture productive forces.The third chapter and the fourth chapter outline mainly conditions of villge labours migration and engagement in non-farming during 16, 17 century and nonage of 18 century. Many village labourers shift to urban areas, especially to London, the capital of England, which expanded rapidly and became a giant city. There also were many new-type towns and cities emerging, such as spa towns, dock or shipyard towns and industry cities so on. And village industry developed on former basis, arriving at a new phase, namely the proto-industrialization, more and more villagers undertook industry in the countryside. The reason that the migration of the countryside labour and engagement in village industry were broad in scale, was the progress of agriculture productive force. And the Enclosure began to develop in many regions of England at grand scale, changing the relations of production in country, accerlated evenly the speed of village labour migration, and more village labour took up weaving as a profession.The last chapter evaluates the migration of village labourers in pre-industrial England, comparing briefly with migration of post-industrial Revolution against motive power, dimensions and direction of the migration so on, and analysizes simplely the factors which limit the migration of village labour or changing occupation. And lastly, the author makes conclusion that during primary phase (11th-!5th century) the migration and engagement in village industry contributed a great deal to...