Jeff Scudder
AP US History
Summer Assignment
Essay #3 "Explain how the enclosure movement led to urbanization."

	The Enclosure movement in England led to urbanization of the entire country. This is partly due to social unrest in England, as well as the amount of money the colonies were making as opposed to the English farmers and landlords. Enclosure eventually led to urbanization of the country, which increased competition with the colonies in North America.
	In the 1570's Queen Elizabeth's advisors told her they needed to compete for American colonies. They linked colonization to the social change in the homeland. This social change was because of the enclosure movement occurring due to the colonies.
	The enclosure movement occurred when farmers and landlords needed to seek better and higher income. This was because the prices of European goods rose drastically due to inflation in the New World. The landlords' rents were fixed by custom so they needed a way to make more money. One example is how many fenced off lands used as pasture for villagers and instead used them as grazing lands for sheep, so they could make more money off of wool. Enclosure dislocated many large numbers of farmers.
	All common lands were eventually affected by enclosure, and the people of these areas could no longer live the lives they used to, and were forced to move to the cities to live better lives. The roads were crowded with homeless people because of this large movement. This is how the cities became more urbanized, and how they became the centers of England. 
	England decided to use these crowded people to help plant colonies in the New World. Many thousands who lost their homes from enclosure left for America to start new lives, fixing some of England's problems with overcrowded cities, and giving the people opportunities to start new lives.
	The Enclosure movement in England led to urbanization of the county, but it also fueled England's need for people to colonize in America. Because of urbanization, England was able to get many new colonies started in the New World. The more successful colonies, the more people moved over, causing England to quickly become a powerhouse of the New World, eventually overtaking many other colonies which were already claimed by other European nations.