ABSTRACT
The composition of the rural labour force changed with the agricultural revolution, defined as 'rises in agricultural output and in labour productivity' and with the rapid population growth that started in Europe around the mid-eighteenth century. The number of living-in servants diminished in the nineteenth century since they expensive to keep during agricultural slack times. Even Russia started moving towards more flexible labour, as indicated by the emancipation of the serfs in 1861. Along with the commercialisation of agriculture came an increasing demand for more flexible or seasonal labour, as specialised cash crop cultivation and livestock farming expanded. The chapter suggests that, in its labour-intensive phase, the agricultural revolution probably increased the use of child labour. The agricultural revolution had an impact on children's educational opportunities in the countryside. Large numbers of deprived children signified widespread poverty, and this has usually also been the perspective from which farmed-out children have been considered.
