History. Objectives: Vocabulary: Development of lesson: Introduction

Transcription

1 History Objectives: To enable the children to 1. Get a brief introduction to the history of agriculture 2. Appreciate how the first villages were formed 3. Get an overview of the history of farming in Ireland 4. Become familiar with some of the key dates in Irish Agriculture in the last 100 years. Vocabulary: Agriculture, productive, evolution, domestication, civilisations, environment, moisture, productivity, co-operative, population, geographical, isolation, traction, transportation, markets, tenants, colonisation, mechanisation. Development of lesson: When and where was agriculture first developed? What were the benefits of agriculture to early man? When did farming villages develop and what types of activities were carried out in them? What was Ireland like when people first settled here? List some of the major developments in farming down through the centuries. List some of the key dates in Irish agriculture. Introduction It is generally accepted the agriculture began as far back as 8,000 BC. In the Middle East, on a productive strip of land curving from Iran around Iraq and Syria to the Valley of the Nile. The invention of agriculture was the most important cultural innovation created by man. If it had not evolved man would still be a hunter roaming from place to place. The discovery of sowing, growing and harvesting of crops and later domestication of animals ensured that complex societies and civilisation could evolve. Farming gives man the power to manipulate his environment. Whereas before he adapted to it, now he could alter it to suit his

2 needs. He discovered, for example, that the growth of wheat or barley could be encouraged by the removal of competitive weed plants. In a similar manner, he altered the balance of animal life by domesticating food-producing animals and killing or driving off animals that harmed his crops or herds. Having modified his environment to suit his needs, he began to extend farming to others areas where it could not naturally exist. In forest areas he cut down trees to allow light in and provide space for crops, in dry areas he devised ways to bring water from rivers to produce necessary moisture. Productivity was born. The notion that a certain area of land could be adapted to produce more food became a reality. Man had discovered a more efficient way of life and one over which he had more control. He would no longer depend on collecting whatever nature provided; he would make nature give him what he needed. Did you Know? The word 'cereal' is derived from the Roman Goddess Ceres & means grain in general. The First Villages Obviously it was a gradual process but by 7,000 BC man had begun to settle down and early farming villages were developing. There were many advantages with settling down in villages - the very young and the old, instead of being a burden to a band of hunters could be cared for and the experience of the old used to good advantage. Typical food consumed at this time included bread, porridge, nuts and fruit. Barley, beer and water were the typical drinks. There were disadvantages also, the risk of crop failure leading to famine, the risk of fire in the village and the threat from foes. People continued to live in farming villages from Neolithic times until the modern industrial age. Their food came from neighbouring fields and pastures. They developed skills to make their lives more comfortable i.e. cooking, pottery and other crafts. Work was shared in early co-operative effort. Diseases, famines and wars ravaged the populations from time to time but in general the structure of society was to remain the same for many

3 centuries. Did you Know? Beer was made from barley 7,000 years ago in Iraq. 2 kinds of wild wheat, wild einkorn and wild emmer, that grew in the Middle East 10,000 years ago still grow there today. Ireland Man first settled in Ireland around 7,000 BC. This was relatively late in the context of Western Europe and was probably due to our geographic isolation. At that time the country was heavily wooded with a wide range of native species including ash, oak, elm and Scots pine. Trees were used by these early settlers as building materials and fuel. They settled in small clearings along river estuaries and lake shores. Their main foods were fish and game birds such as wood pigeon and woodcock but they also hunted wild pig and red deer. These early settlers were not farmers but hunters and gatherers. It was about 4,000 BC that farming began in Ireland. Trees were cleared using Stone Age technology, the land was cultivated using primitive wooden ploughs and barley and wheat were grown. Flint sickles were used to harvest the crops and the grains were crushed in hallowed-out stone querns. These early farmers were also livestock farmers. Land was enclosed or fenced for cattle and sheep. Over time the native wild pig was domesticated. A wellorganised prehistoric field system in North Mayo, the Ceide Fields provides much of our knowledge about early farmers in Ireland. Farming took place at Ceide between BC. In this early period on Irish agriculture, cattle were also were used for traction and transportation. The domesticated horse was introduced to Ireland only in the late Stone Age/Early Bronze Age, approximately 1,500 years after the first arrivals of cattle and sheep. In the late Bronze Age and Iron Age (880 BC - AD 300) new cereals such as rye and oats were introduced. The widespread use of the coulter plough, introduced from Roman Britain at this time, enabled the expansion of farming into areas with heavier and more difficult soils in Monaghan, Cavan and Leitrim. A heavier plough,

4 the mouldboard plough replaced the coulter plough by AD 600. Kilns for drying corn and water mills to process grain were developed at this time. In the early Christian times (AD AD 1000) dairy farmers and their families lived in Ring forts or Raths, many of which survive to the present day. Cattle were important in the economy and in the absence of coinage became the accepted unit of currency. There are many accounts of the importance of cattle in their writings from this time - the Tain Bo Cuailnge being one of the best-known examples. The establishment of the monasteries in Ireland in the 12th Century and the 13th Century had a major influence on land management. The Cistercians, the first religious order to settle in Ireland created internal markets for selling cattle, horses and wool. Their abbeys were located near good supplies of water and they reclaimed large areas of wetland and woodland. The Normans arrived in Ireland in the middle of the 12th Century at by the end of the century ruled much of the country. Land was divided among the Normans among tenants and sub-tenants. Manors and villages with open-field systems were occupied by colonists from England and Wales. Networks of towns, castles and roads were established. The large-scale colonisation of Ireland took place during the seventeenth century. The ownership of land was transferred to English and Scottish landlords. In most cases the native Irish remained as tenants on the land. These landlords developed the estates, parkland and estate villages throughout the country that are part of the present-day rural landscape. It was also during this period that early maps and land surveys were carried out. From rapid improvements took place in farming methods. Organisations like the Royal Dublin Society (founded in 1731) introduced ideas and inventions that improved farming standards and productivity. Mechanisation on the farm has arrived. With the passing of the Land Acts of 1881 and 1885, ownership of the land by the Irish tenants was possible and with ownership came development. By 1900, 400,000 farmers had secured ownership of their holdings. Today the number of farms in the country is 170,000.

5 Did you Know? The pig has domesticated for over 9,000 years. Before coins were invented, cattle were used as the basic unit of currency in Ireland! Key Dates in Irish Agriculture The main farming developments in Ireland over the past 100 years are summarised below: 1890 Irish farmers begin to get their own land 1894 IAOS now ICOS founded 1900 Department of Agriculture founded 1930's The economic war with Britain 1944 Macra na Feirme founded 1948 Irish Farmers' Journal founded 1950 ICMSA founded 1950 NFA (now IFA) founded 1967 CBF (now part of Bord Bia) established 1968 Launch of FBD 1972 IFA formed 1973 Ireland joins the EU 1996 Agri Aware established Copyright 2003 Agri Aware - all rights reserved