Abstract：

At the beginning of the 19th century, due to the large increase of the total population and non-agricultural population in Britain, as well as the protection of grain prices by the Corn Law, agricultural operation was profitable. Under the scientific production and management of the tenant farm, which is based on large aristocratic estates, the scale economy is remarkable, and the prosperity of the tenant farm promotes the development of agricultural capitalism in Britain. By the 1870s,with the repeal of the Corn Laws, the prices of agricultural products without price protection continued to fall under the impact of cheap grain from the Americas,and the extreme climate caused continuous crop failure. Thus British agriculture fell into depression. Crisis brought land devaluation, agricultural operating costs rose, nobles sold real estate one after another, large tenant farm was unable to sustain and went into decline, while family farm began to develop further at the end of the 19th century with advantages such as relatively low operating costs, moderate scale, flexible operation, timely adjustment of production structure, and more intensive cultivation. This started the process of gradual transformation from tenant farm to family farm.

Keyword：19th century; Britain; Tenant Farm; Family Farm;

Published on Journal of Tianjin Normal University (Social Sciences), Issue 3, 2024.