Abstract:

Britain was the first country to establish clear land property rights in theory and practice, and parliamentary enclosure in the 18th century was the main way to establish land property rights. The basis for land proprietors to obtain compensation was not the area of land they hold, nor the quantity of common rights, but the market value of land and common rights. The compensation of land rights could be completed through a series of specific procedures, reflecting the characteristics of openness and legalization. The results of land rights compensation indicated that parliamentary enclosure was not a violent deprivation of peasants’ land; its purpose was to confirm and compensate for the land rights of various proprietors, taking into account the interests and needs of various social classes, and reflecting the principles of fairness, openness and impartiality.

NI Zhengchun is an associate professor of Nanjing Normal University.  Her main research interest included economic history, social history and history of England.

Published on Economic and Social History Review, Issue 1, 2024.