CBSE Class 9 Answered

The Enclosure Movement took momentum in Great Britain in the early eighteenth century. The common lands which belonged to the village community were changed to privately owned lands. Its benefits were:

• These lands which were earlier used by the villagers for grazing their cattle were now converted into agricultural fields. This helped in increasing grain production which could keep in pace with the growing population of Britain.
• Enclosure of lands also led to the increase in soil fertility as the nitrogen content of the soil increased by following innovative methods of cultivation like crop rotation and growing of crops like turnips.
• Now the landowners began to produce crops not for the local consumption but also for the international market. This improved the national income of Britain.
• The enclosed lands were also used for breeding of cattle. This further led to improved breeding of cattle.