Before the Agricultural Revolution, many people lived in rural areas because

Before the Agricultural Revolution, many people lived in rural areas because

A.they could grow food on small areas of land.

B.nearby farms produced plenty of food.

C.they could grow crops quickly and efficiently.

D.wealthy landowners gave them jobs on farms.

Answer: D.wealthy landowners gave them jobs on farms.

In the feudal agricultural structural farming system prominent before the 18th-century Agricultural Revolution, most of the people were rural dwellers. This system was characterized by the presence of large-scale farming and big landowners who gave employment to the majority of the population as farm workers.

During this period, agriculture was a high manpower requiring business and was not productive at all. Many employees had to fulfil the duties of planting crops and farming animals with conventional practices. For example, ploughing was carried out using hand or animal-pulled ploughs, sowing was by tossing seeds in the field by hand, and harvesting was done with simple tools such as a sickle. These activities were very labour–intensive, implying that a large number of people were needed.

Large landowners were drawn more from the members of the aristocracy or gentry who respectively owned large pieces of land. They offered sources of income for the rural communities, where the rural people got opportunities to work for the landlords as tenant farmers, farm workers, or servants in these estates. They created this arrangement that was at the centre of the rural economy and social structure.

For instance, one can have many workers depending on the size of the estate – from field workers, shepherds, blacksmiths, house servants, etc. Hitherto, it offered employment to the rural people, though the standards of living were typically low.

They were also crowded in the rural areas because of restricted mobility and the importance of staying near the sources of food. Towns were less developed and could not house numerous people because there was little food and inadequate methods of hygiene in the cities.

It is rather essential for the distinct comprehension of the radical social and economic changes initiated by the Agricultural Revolution and followed through the Industrial Revolution.