It has long been argued that the enclosure of land in England facilitated the agricultural and industrial revolutions that transformed Britain into a modern capitalist state. Yet the connections between land enclosures within England and the English-led colonial enclosures that were taking place at the same time have been less explored. This session examines connections between the enclosure of land and people within England and within the colonial world (from the 16th century). In contrast to nation-bound understandings of English capitalist modernity, which focus on land enclosures, the Industrial revolution, and the formation of a new class society within England, this session is concerned with English colonial enclosures on a global scale, and with understanding Britain as an Imperial State, whose multiracial class society was forged through Empire.

Keywords. Enclosure, Agrarian Revolution, Industrial Revolution, Slavery, Indenture, Waged Labour, Colonialism, Capitalism, Plantation, Factory

• Baptist, Edward. 2014. The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism. New York: Basic Books.

A Short History of Enclosure in Britain.

National Archives Enclosure Maps:

Right to Roam Campaign.

Casualties of History podcast from Jacobin magazine focusing on EP Thompson’s The Making of the English Working Class.

Slavery and its Legacies Podcast.

The 1619 Project podcasts – The Economy That Slavery Built.

• What are enclosures?