Early 18th century

Beginning of the agricultural revolution in Europe

During the 18th century, the improvement in agri­cul­tural tech­niques led to higher yields and better food quality: the extension of farmland, the intro­duction of new crops and the end of fal­lowing thanks to crop rotation. Advances in science and tech­nology, together with a favorable climate during this period, fostered such changes. A number of the­orists and agro­nomists intro­duced new prac­tices, encouraged by the pos­itive stance taken by the mon­archical state. These innov­a­tions brought radical changes to the lives of rural pop­u­la­tions and French society in general.