The Portuguese had introduced opium into China in the 16th century.

The new technology created grounds for the Great Agrarian Depression of the 1930's
(i) The new technology led to such rapid expansion of production of wheat during the war and post war years that there was a large surplus.
(ii) Once the war ended, unsold stocks piled up and storehouse overflowed with grain and vast amounts of corn.
(iii) With reduced demand, farmers had no alternative but to use wheat and corn as animal feed.
(iv) Excess stocks, reduced wheat prices and collapse of export market all created grounds for the Great Agrarian Depression of the 1930s that ruined farmers everywhere.

Agrarian expansion in the USA is closely connected to the westward movement of the white settlers who took over land.
(i) After the American War of Independence (1775 to 1783) and formation of the United States of America, the white settlers who till 1780's were confined to a narrow strip of coastal land in the east began to move westward.
(ii) By the time Thomas Jefferson became President of the USA in 1800 over 700,000 white settlers had moved on to the Appalachian plateau through passes.
(iii) Seen from the east coast America seemed to be a land of promise where forest could be cut for timber, mountains mined for gold and minerals, animals hunted for skin.
(iv) After 1800 US government began drawing the native American Indians westward. They moved into Mississippi valley between 1820 and1850. After the 1860's the settlers swept into the Great Plains across the river Mississippi.
(v) In the process of westward expansion numerous wars were waged in which Indians ." were massacred and many of their villages burnt. The Indians who resisted were finally forced to sign treaties giving up their lands.
(vi) Forests were burnt and slashed, lands were cleared for cultivation, and fences were erected around fields. The land was ploughed and sown with wheat and corn. In subsequent decades this region became a major wheat producing area of America.

The poor were opposed to the threshing machines because for them they were a sign of bad times.
(i) The machines reduced the dependence of landowners on labour and led to their displacement.
(ii) Many poor lost their jobs during the threshing season and had to tramp long distance to seek alternate employment in other villages or cities.
(iii) Machines gave landowners bargaining power.
(iv) They reduced the status of the poor to wage earners.
(v) The jobs of the poor became insecure, income unstable and livelihood precarious.

Rich farmers invested in threshing machines because:
(i) They feared shortage of labour due to Napoleonic wars.
(ii) Moreover they felt that the available labour was insolent, lazy and prone to drinking.
(iii) To reduce dependence on labour and increase efficiency.

(i) War between England and France disrupted trade and import of foodgrains from Europe. The prices of foodgrains in England skyrocketed.
(ii) Disruption of trade due to war and increased prices of foodgrains encouraged landowners to enclose land and enlarge area under grain cultivation.
(iii) Lanlords sliced up pasture lands, carved up open fields, cut up forest commons, took over marshes and turned larger and larger areas into agricultural fields.
(iv) Farmers began using simple innovations like crop rotation and planting turnip and cloves to restore soil fertility to increase food production.
(v) The profit from enclosed lands under grain production enriched landowners. These landowners pressurised the Parliament to pass enclosure Acts legalising enclosures.

(i) Rapid increase in population meant more demand for foodgrains. Increased foodgrain production was possible by bringing new lands under cultivation.
(ii) With four fold increase in population, the market for foodgrains expanded. Increased demand for foodgrain led to rise in prices. This increased the profit margin and encouraged landlords to slice up pasture lands, cut forest commons and enclose open fields.
(iii) Use of machine by farmers to meet increased demand also encouraged enclosure.
(iv) The urban population depended on rural areas for foodgrains. Increase in urban population due to migration of people from rural to urban areas. This also contributed to enclosures.

(i) The British insisted on farmers growing in India to balance their trade with China. The British could buy tea from China only by paying in bullion. This resulted in outflow of treasure. Opium was one commodity which the British could sell and persuade the Chinese to buy. Its addictive properties in China. Therefore, the Indian farmers were forced to cultivate opium and sell at a cheap price. This was then illegally smuggled into China and sold at a high price.
(ii) Opium grown in India helped the British to reverse the unfavourable balance of payment with China.
(iii) Opium trade resulted in two Opium Wars.
(iv) These wars forced China to open her territories to foreign trade.

In early 19th century farmers in the USA had uprooted all vegetation and used tractors to break the sod into dust. In early 1930s when rains failed year after year and temperature soared, winds blew with ferocious speed. Dust storms became black blizzards because the entire land had been ploughed over and stripped of grass. The lessons we can draw from the USA's conversion of the countryside from a bread basket to a dust bowl are:
(i) Man must respect the ecological conditions of each region.
(ii) Man's uncontrolled ambitions, greed and desire to conquer nature can lead to ecological disbalance and nature's wrath.
(iii) Technology and development should be nature-friendly otherwise the very livelihood of mankind could be at stake.

Native Americans lived by hunting, gathering, fishing; others cultivated corn, beans, tobacco and pumpkin.