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2. Population and Economy in

Pre--Modern Societies
Pre

Topics
1. The Malthusian Economy
2. The Medieval Agrarian Economy
3. City, Commerce, and Industry

2. Population and Economy in

Pre-Modern Societies (1):
The Mathusian Economy
Issues
1. Long-term, continuous growth had not
started until the 18th century: Standards of
living stagnated for a long period of time.
2. How to explain this stagnant pre-modern
economy? à Malthusian Equilibrium
3. The actual functioning of the Malthusian
economy

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Economic Growth Prior to Industrial Revolution

§ The data are scanty for earlier period, but the existing
evidence suggests that the standards of living of
Europeans in the 18th century were no better than
those of the hunting and gathering society
§ Some pieces of evidence
1) Skeleton remains
2) Population and Mortality
3) Wages and consumption

Long-Term Changes in Standards of

Living in Pre-Modern Era
The Backbone of History
§ About 12,000 skeletons of people who lived in the
Western Hemisphere from 6000 B.C. to the 19th
century had been collected and analyzed.
§ 10 indices of health condition were measured, and a
composite index of health was computed à It is
determined by nutritional status, level of stress at
growing ages, disease, and violence.
§ Based on the composite index, the following is
analyzed:
1) Long-term trend in health
2) The relationship between health and ecological environment

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Health and Nutrition in the Western Hemisphere:

Collaborators and Localities of Burial Sites

Skeletal Measures of Health

• Individual Identification
Ø Age
Ø Sex
• Height
• Dental Hypoplasia
• “Anemia”
Ø Cribra Orbitalia
Ø Porotic Hyperostosis
• Dental Decay
Ø Carious Lesions
Ø Abscesses
Ø Ante-Mortem Tooth Loss
• Arthritis
• Infection
• Trauma
• Specific Diseases

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Components Affected by Ecological

Variables*

Category Components

300+ meters stature, hyp., anemia, inf., DJD

Dispersed or village stature, DJD

Town or urban stature, hyp., anemia, inf., DJD, trauma (+)

Open forest-grassland hyp., anemia, inf.,

Domesticates hyp., anemia, dental, inf., DJD

Coastal hyp. (+), dental (+), inf. (+), DJD (+)

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Major Results from the Project on

The Backbone of History
§ The index of health in the New World began to
decline long before Columbus arrived.
§ Declining health condition was perhaps related to
settlement in arable lands, spread of agriculture,
emergence of the ruling class (government), and
urbanization.
§ The effects of settlement and agriculture:
1) Transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture: why?
2) Lower labor productivity in agriculture
3) The quality of diets declined (meat à grain)
4) Increase in socioeconomic inequality.
5) Rise in population density à Risk of contracting disease
increased
6) But the settled, agricultural society was safer and less violent.

Population

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Life Expectancy in Agrarian Economies

Preindustrial Life Expectancy at Age 20

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Laborers’ Wages

English Laborers’ Real Wages

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Comparative European Real Wages

Engel Curve
Relationship between income and the composition of
consumption expenditure

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Share of Different Products in Food

Consumption of Farm Workers

Male Labor Hours per Day

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Calories Produced per Worker-Hour

Male Heights from Skeletons in Europe

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Malthusian Economy

The Malthusian Model

1. The birth rate is increasing with material
living standard.
2. The death rate declines as living
standards increase.
3. Material living standards decline as
population increases (“diminishing
return to scale”)

§ The material wellbeing of people was

under the constraint of balance between
the size of population and resources.
They were not the conqueror of the
nature yet.

Diminishing Marginal Return to Scale

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Long-Run Equilibrium in the Mathusian Economy

§ Equilibrium: N and y* à B=D à

no population change
§ Deviation from the equilibrium: N0
and y0 à B > D
à population increases (changes
from N0 to N)
à income per person decreases
(changes from y0 to y*)
§ Returning to the original
equilibrium: The above population
and income changes continue
until the economy returns to N
and y*.

Changes in the Birth Rate Schedules

§ The initial equilibrium (N0* and y0*)

§ “Exogenous” increase in the birth
rate (e.g. change in culture): The
birth rate schedule (B0) moves up
to B1.
§ Deviation from the equilibrium:
For the given income (y0*), B > D
à population increases (changes
from N0* to N1*)
à income per person decreases
(changes from y0* to y1*)
§ Transition to a new equilibrium
(N1* and y1* ): A larger population
and lower income.

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Changes in the Death Rate Schedules

§ The initial equilibrium (N0* and y0*)

§ “Exogenous” decrease in the
death rate (e.g. new medicine):
The death rate schedule (D0)
moves down to D1.
§ Deviation from the equilibrium:
For the given income (y0*), B > D
à population increases (changes
from N0* to N1*)
à income per person decreases
(changes from y0* to y1*)
§ Transition to a new equilibrium
(N1* and y1* ): A larger population
and lower income.

Effects of Isolated Technological Advance

§ The initial equilibrium (N0* and y0*)
§ “Exogenous” increase in
productivity (e.g. additional lands,
improved plow): the labor demand
curve (relationship between
income and population) shifts up.
§ Deviation from the equilibrium:
For the given income (y0*), B > D
à population increases (changes
from N0* to N1*)
à income per person decreases
(changes from y0* to y1*)
§ Transition to a new equilibrium
(N1* and y1* ): A larger population
and the same level of income.
§ The increase in income is
transitory (“Iron Law of Wage”)

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Mechanisms of Population Change

§ Positive Check

Demand for Labor

(-) (-)
Wages Mortality Population
(-) (+)
Grain Price

§ Preventive Check

Demand for Labor

(+) (+)
Wages Marriage Rate Fertility

Grain Price Population

(-) (+) (+)

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Marriage Patterns and Fertility

§ Ecological Niches

(+) (+)
Mortality Marriage Rate Fertility

Population
(-) (+)

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§ Industrial Loop
(-) (+)
Mortality Wages Demand for L

Population Grain Price Industrial Production

(+)
Urbanization
(+)

The Case of England

§ The Cambridge Group for Population History

§ English Parish Registers
à Records of marriage, birth (baptism), and death.
§ Two Types of Reconstructions
1) Family Reconstruction à Age of marriage, the number of
children, age of death for householders.
2) Aggregate Reconstruction à The rates of birth, death, and
nuptiality.

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The Total Population

Annual Growth Rates of the Population

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Fertility and Mortality

Real Wages and Fertility

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Real Wages and Crude Marriage Rates

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Marriage Rates and Birth Rates

Mechanism of Population Change: Late 16th Century

Strong preventive check and weak positive check

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Mechanism of Population Change: The 17th Century

Strong preventive check and growing industrial loop

Population Change: The Early 19th Century

Broken link in preventive check and strong industrial loop

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Population Change: The Late 19th Century

No preventive check and strong industrial loop

English Population Change

Largely explained by changes in birth rates
– strong preventive check, weak positive check

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Comparison with France and Sweden

France: no population growth, Sweden: positive check

A Malthusian Economy until the 17th Century

Strong Trade-Off between Income and Population

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Summary
§ Evidence from Skeleton Remains à Long-term decline
in health from 6000 BC to 1800. It was related to
settlement, agriculture, urbanization, and coming of
the ruling classes.
§ No improvements in standards of living until 1800.
§ Why stagnation for so long? à Malthusian trap.
§ A model of Malthusian equilibrium.
§ Population models of Malthusian economy.
§ The mechanism through which an economy recover
the balance between population and resources
differed across places and across times.

2. Population and Economy in

Pre-Modern Societies (2):
The Medieval Agrarian Economy
Issues
1. Historical background of Medieval Europe
2. The Structure of the Medieval Feudal society
3. The Operation of the Manorial System
4. Features of Medieval Agriculture

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Historical Background
Rome + German → Medieval Feudal Society
Rise of Rome
§ BC 700: A city nation
§ BC 300 : Occupation of the Italian peninsular was
completed.
§ BC 31: Conquering of the whole Mediterranean areas
(Pax Romana)
§ The inflow of slaves and taxes from the Empire
enriched Rome.
§ The newly conquered land was acquired largely by
wealthy families and powerful nobles. Imports of
grains from the occupied regions destroyed the small
farmers.
à Consolidation and concentration of land
à Large plantations based on slavery (Latifundium)
emerged.

The Roman Empire at Its Peak (117 AD)

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Rome

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Roman Empire

Roman Empire

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Historical Background
Rome + German → Medieval Feudal Society
The Roman Economy
§ Slavery: The number of slaves in Rome increased from
600,000 in 225 BC to 4.5 million in 43 BC.
§ Latifundium: Using slave labor. Cultivating grape, olive,
and grains for market.
§ Urbanization: The city of Rome may have had a
population in excess of 1 million people at its height.
§ Commercial Development
- The Roman legal system allowed considerable
freedom of enterprise. It provided a uniform, coherent
legal framework for economic activity throughout the
empire.
- Construction of paved roads, wide use of coined
money, unified weighing system, secured sea
transportation as a result of pax

Historical Background
Rome + German → Medieval Feudal Society
Changes in the Roman Economy
§ The Colonatus
- Decline of slave supply
- Colonatus: Landlords rented land out to tenant
farmers who were bound to soil (referred to as
“Colonus”). à The Roman origin of serfdom.
§ Decline of cities and commerce.
§ The Precarium
- In face of increasing political and military turmoil,
small land owners transferred their ownership to
powerful nobles or clergies, and received customary
right to use the land as well as protection.
à The Roman origin of the feudalism
§ The Collapse of the Roman Empire

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Historical Background
Rome + German → Medieval Feudal Society
German
§ 4th C: German tribes moved into the Roman territory.
§ 5th C: Their invasions were critical to the fall of the
Western Roman Empire
§ 6th C: German tribes completed settlement in various
parts of its former territory by the 6th century.
§ 7-8th C: Western Europe was reunified by the Franks
Military System of German
§ The relationship between tribal leaders and soldiers
based on oath, promising exchange of economic
means (protection) and military service (loyalty). à The
German origin of the feudal system.

4th century: German tribes moved into western Europe, and

confronted the Roman Empire.

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The early 5th century: German tribes moved into the Roman territory,
and Rome was invaded by the Vandals.

AD 476: The Western Roman empire fell, and Germans began to

settle in its former territories.

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AD 565: The Franks conquered western Europe; Eastern Roman

empire expanded.

AD 830: The reunification of western Europe by Frankish empire.

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AD 888: The Frankish empire divided; The Normans and the Muslims
invaded western Europe.

AD 1000: During the relatively stable and peaceful period, the

medieval feudal society was established, and developed.

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Feudal System: Structure

Lord (King, Nobles)

honorable relationship based on oath

material means (land) ↔ loyalty and military service

Vassal (Lesser Lords, Knights)

economic relationship based on customs

or legal document
labor service, dues ↔ protection

Peasant (Serf)

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Feudal System: Institutional Origins

§ The Feudal society is characterized by chains of human
relationship of protection and obedience
§ These chains are found for the entire hierarchy of the
society
§ human nature, and customs à formal institution
↑
The fall of Rome à turbulence and chaos
(greater need for protection and mobilization)

Roman institutional origin à “precarium”:

German institutional origin à The relationship between
tribal leaders and soldiers.

Variations across Times and Places

§ The feudal system slowly evolved over time from the
end of the Roman Empire. It was established and
stabilized between the 10th and 13th centuries. It
began to be disintegrated in the 14th century,
following the Bubonic Plague.
§ The pace of development and operations of the feudal
system greatly differed across regions.
§ The typical type of the feudal system is found in
Northern France, Low countries, and Northwestern
Germany.
§ Most descriptions of the typical feudal society are
based on what emerged in Northern France between
the 11th and 13th centuries.

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The Manorial System (1)

The Ruling Class
§ Three orders in the Medieval Era
1. The lords: “fighting”
2. The clergy: “praying”
3. The peasants: “working”
§ The lords received manors from the king or higher-
order lords in return for providing military service.
They were entitled for the outputs from demesne and
various types of dues, and in charge of judicial system
in the manor.
§ Religious establishments such as cathedrals and
abbeys also owned manors.
§ Many nobles held several manors, and thus were
technically vassals of more than one lord.

The Manorial System (2)

The Peasants
§ There were wide spectrums in the status of the
peasant population, from slaves to completely free
farmers. People were converged into the status of
serfs as the medieval society developed over time.
§ Serfs were not the property of their masters, but
bound to the soil. They were not free to move from
one village to another, to acquire or dispose lands,
and to marry without their lord’s permission.
§ Peasant cultivators (free or not) would remain secure
in their tenures, protected by the “customs of the
manor” and occasionally by documentary evidence.

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The Manorial System (3)

The Manor
§ Legal Division of Manor
1. The lord’s demesne
2. Peasant holdings
3. Common land
§ The lord’s demesne typically accounted for 25 to 30%
of the total arable land of the manor. It also included
the manor house, barns, workshop, gardens, and
perhaps vineyards and orchards.
§ Peasants tilled both demesne and their lands (that
were usually mixed). Labor service on demesne was
the most important obligation of peasants.

The Manorial System (4)

Obligations of Peasants
§ Labor service on the lord’s demesne
§ Annual money rents
§ Dues and fees in money or in kinds
ex) a sheep or a few chickens at Christmas or the
lord’s birthday
ex) a fee for the assumption of a deceased peasant’s
tenure by his heir or at his marriage.
§ They were forced to use the lord’s facilities, such as
mill, winepress, and oven, often paying a higher fee.
§ They were subject to the lord’s justice in the manorial
court, which often involved payment of fines.
§ Payment of a tithe to the church.
§ They were sometimes subject to royal taxation.

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The Manorial System (5)

The Village and the Manor
§ Usually, Manor = Village; But sometimes multiple
villages were in a manor or vice versa.
§ Dual membership to a village community and manor.
§ “Physical” division of manors
1. Arable lands à Demesne and peasants’ holdings
are mixed. They were cultivated by peasants.
2. Commons, woods, and wasted lands à Resources
from commons are shared by all villagers.
3. Enclosed demesne (arable, pasture, meadow,
woodland) à It was managed directly by the lords
using wage laborers.

A Medieval Manor
The Village of Shilbottle in Northumberland, England

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Open Fields with Scattered Long Strips in Caen (1738)

The shaded parcels belong to Claude Vanier
The parcels blocked out in black belong to Jean le Febvre

Medieval Agriculture (1)

The Shape of the Arable Land - 1
§ Strip: Typically long and rectangular-shaped piece of
land. The basic unit of the land cultivated by peasants.
Distinguished from the other by the ridge and the
furrow. At both ends of a strip, a headland was spared
for turning the plow and animals.
§ Furlong: A dozen to several dozen strips with a same
direction formed a furlong with a distinct name.
§ Field: A field with a distinct name was composed of a
number of furlongs.
§ Scattered holdings: Holdings of a single peasant
household or of the lord were scattered throughout
the fields of the manor.
§ Open Field: The lay in large open fields, not divided
by fence or any barrier.

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Medieval Agriculture (1)

The Shape of the Arable Land - 2
§ Variations in the shape of lands under cultivation.
§ Irregular Open Fields
1) The strip is not long.
2) Marc Bloch: It was perhaps due to the use of light
plows without wheels à Long-shaped strips are not
needed because changing direction of the plow is
easy.
§ Enclosed Fields
1) One’s holding is fenced.
2) This type is found in infertile lands in remote areas.
Perhaps, lands were enclosed to be used as pasture.
Fences were built to protect crops or cattle from wild
animals.

Irregular Open Fields (Berry in 175)

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Irregular Open Fields (Pays de Caux in 1769)

Enclosed Fields (Bocage County of Normandy, circa 1700)

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Medieval Agriculture (2)

Production
§ Predominance of cereals
§ Forage crops (peas and beans) might be alternated
with cereals.
§ Raising livestock: (1) meat and dairy foods; (2) leather
and wool; (3) draft animals; (4) Manuring of the fields
§ Stock raising was limited by the vicious cycle of low
agricultural productivity.
Shortage of Livestock
↗ ↘
Shortage of Forage Shortage of Manure
↖ ↙
Shortage of Crop production

Medieval Agriculture (3)

The Heavy Wheeled Plow
The Lighter, Simpler Roman Plow
§ It could be operated by manpower.
§ It could not break deep into the soil, so cross-plowing
was needed, lowering labor productivity.
The Heavy Wheeled Plow
§ It was perhaps first introduced to Gaul by the Franks.
§ It was capable of breaking and turning the heavy clay
and loam soils of northwestern Europe.
§ No need for cross-plowing à increased labor
productivity.
§ Its use required several oxen or other draft animals,
and thus contributed to the cooperative nature of
cultivation.

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Medieval Agriculture (4)

Draft Animals
§ Animals were the major source of power
§ Oxen were the most widely-used draft animal
§ Horses are more powerful but more expensive.
§ Form the 9th century, horses began to replace oxen:
1) Introduction of new harness
2) Introduction of sheoing horses
§ Horse husbandry was confined to northern France,
Flanders, parts of Germany, and England.
1) The supply of oats was not too costly.
2) Adoption of the three-field crop rotation and heavy
wheeled plow à The size of the unit of exploitation
was sufficiently large to keep the animal fully
employed.

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Medieval Agriculture (5)

Development of Crop Rotation System - 1
1.Two-Course (Biennial) Rotation System:
§ Fields had to be rested to avoid exhausting of the soil.
§ An older and more traditional method originating
from the Mediterranean Basin: A field would be
ploughed and sown one year (usually in autumn,
sometime in spring), and rested in the next year.
§ In any given year, approximately one half of the arable
lands was under cultivation, while the rest remained
unsown.

Medieval Agriculture (5)

Development of Crop Rotation System - 2
2.Three-Course (Triennial) Rotation System:
§ Division of arable lands into three fields (First year)
1. Field (A): “Winter corn” (wheat, spelt or rye)
2. Field (B): “Spring corn” (barley, oats, and forage
crops
3. Field (C): Fallow.
§ Crop rotation
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
A Autumn Spring Fallow Autumn
B Spring Fallow Autumn Spring
C Fallow Autumn Spring Fallow

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Map Showing Crop Rotation: Monblainville in 1769

Wheat Spring Sowing Fallow

Medieval Agriculture (5)

Development of Crop Rotation - 3
2.Three-Course (Triennial) Rotation System:
§ Its diffusion was related to the development of the
heavy wheeled plow, which was capable of breaking
and turning the heavy clay and loam soils of
northwestern Europe.
§ Advantages:
1. Increased land productivity by one third.
2. Increased labor and capital productivities
3. Spreading of field works more evenly over the year.
4. Reduced risk of famine.
5. With more lands available for food crops, new and
more varied plants could be introduced with favorable
effects on nutrition.

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Medieval Agriculture (6)

Cooperation and Coercion - 1
§ The organization or work involved a mixture of
customary cooperation and coercion, with very little
scope for individual initiative.
Open Fields with Scattered Holdings
↓↑
Cooperative and Coercive Cultivation
§ Peasants had to follow the common crop rotation à
communal choice of crops and timing of sowing and
harvest à The entire field had to be rested for this
purpose.
§ Fallow fields were used as a common grazing land
§ Marc Bloch: Perhaps, the shape of land holdings was
designed in a way to enforce communal customs.

Medieval Agriculture (6)

Cooperation and Coercion - 2
§ Communal customs and collective idea were generally
strong.
§ Once land became unproductive (after harvest), it was
no longer capable of individual exploitation.
§ The Biblical customs of gleaning
§ The right to ‘stubble’:
§ However, the village economy was not entirely
egalitarian. In case of grazing, each villager, regardless
of the size of land holding, was allowed to contribute
a minimum number of animals to the common herd.
Beyond this minimum, the number of animals allowed
to each individual depended on the extent of his lands.

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Medieval Agriculture (7)

A Puzzle of the Shape of Lands
§ Why long, rectangular shape, and why scattered?
§ Why puzzling? Higher productivity in enclosed land
§ Some Hypotheses
1. Team Plowing
2. Common Grazing
3. Gradual Acquisitions of Lands.
4. Diminishing Risks by Portfolio Diversification (D.
McCloskey): No insurance, difficulty in storage, and
less developed transportation à Dispersion of lands
could reduce the adverse impact of a highly local
shock (flood, insects, birds, etc.)
à This motive became weaker, as interest rates fell,
agricultural technology improved, and non-agricultural
incomes rose.

Donald and Deirdre McCloskey

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Growth and Expansion (1)

Population Growth
§ Increase in agricultural productivity during the Middle
Age.
§ Better nourishment was perhaps a major cause of
population growth.
§ Population Growth
1. Western Europe: 12-15 million à 45-50 million
2. Christian Europe: 18-20 million à 60-70 million
§ Consequences of Population Growth
1. Urbanization
2. Land clearing on the outskirts of fields
3. Cultivation of formally wild and unsettled land
4. Geographic expansion and colonization

Growth and Expansion (2)

Geographic Expansion and Settlement
Major Examples
1. The reconquest of the Iberian peninsula and Sicily
2. The expansion into the east of the Elbe River
The Process of Colonization
§ How? Individuals called locators (similar to real estate
developer) made contacts with a great landlord or
local ruler to establish a village. They also recruited
colonists.
§ Religious orders (the Cistercians and the Teutonic
Knights) were also involved in the process of
colonization.
§ Motivation? The lord would gain from additional rents
and dues. New settlers would have more land, fewer
burdens, and greater freedom than in the regions
where they came from.

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Colonization
(East of the Elbe River)

Colonization
(Iberian Peninsula: Cordoba)

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Colonization
(Iberian Peninsula: Granada)

Summary (1)
Creation of New Economic Institutions
Political, Social, and The fall of Rome, Invasions of
Economic Conditions: Normans and the Muslims

New Institution: The Manorial System à Less incentive

for hard work or innovation

Pre-Existing Institutions: The Roman and German

institutions

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Summary (2)
Technology, Institution, and Economic Behavior

Technology: low productivity, no sources of insurance

Economic Institutions: the shape of land holdings,

cooperative, coercive agriculture

Economic Behaviors: no individual initiatives,

less incentive for innovation,
greater risk aversion
Slow Technological Progress

Summary (3)
The limit of Technological Progress

§ Some technological progress

- The heavy wheeled plow
- Crop-rotation system
- New and better (iron) equipments and devices
§ Population growth and geographic expansion
§ Malthusian trap à The plague and population decline
in the 14th century.

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2. Population and Economy in

Pre-Modern Societies (3):
City, Commerce, and Industry

Issues
1. Revival of urban life in Europe
2. Long-distance trade in the Middle Age, and
institutional changes in commerce related to
it.
3. Technological and institutional changes in
manufacturing.

The Revival of Urban Life

Historical Background
§ Decline of cities and urban activities after the fall of
the Roman Empire.
§ Pirenne’s thesis: The decline of cities were caused by
the invasion of the Muslims in the 8th and 9th centuries
that cut the Mediterranean trade networks.
§ A number of Italian cities managed to maintain the
urban tradition, though they suffered and shrank, too.

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Some Characteristics of Medieval Cities

§ Economic: The centers of commercial and
manufacturing activities. Division of labor with
surrounding rural areas.
§ Legal: Autonomous community of free citizen
§ Size: They were relatively small in today’s standards.
§ Appearance: Usually, surrounded by castle walls for
protection.
§ Significance: Less than 10% of the population lived in
urban areas even in the mid 14th century. But a major
force of the economic and social changes of the time.

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Medieval City: Toledo (Spain)

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Medieval City: Toledo (Spain)

Medieval City: Avila (Spain)

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Medieval City: Avila (Spain)

Origins of Medieval Cities

§ Several origins of Medieval cities:
1. Revival of Roman cities
2. New cities with natural origins: Sea and river ports,
intersections of major routes, residence of secular or
religious nobles, and military fortress à transportation
and security needed for commercial activities.
3. Planned cities built by colonizers.

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Roman Cities: Provence (France)

Roman Cities: Arles (France)

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Roman Cities: Bath (Britain)

Roman Cities: Segovia (Spain)

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Why From the Eleventh Century?

§ It was largely related to the revival of commerce
(especially Mediterranean trade).
§ Pirenne: Merchants settled in places favorable for
commercial activities, and these places grew into cities.
§ Postan: Why the cities of the particular features (e.g.
freedom)? Rural villages in the Middle Age were not
desirable places for commercial activities (feudal
restrictions on geographic mobility, disposal of
properties, and freedom of contracts) à The
development of commerce required a rise of cities
that were free from the feudal orders.

Establishment of Autonomous Medieval Cities

§ How did autonomous cities emerge? – through
purchase and fight
§ Cities were initially subject to the feudal system.
§ Forming of urban government (communes):
Associations of successful merchants and urban-
dwelling aristocrats were formed to attend to
municipal affairs, and developed into urban
governments
§ Urban governments bargained with their feudal lords
for charters of freedom, or fought for them (e.g. Milan
won freedom in 1035).

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Establishment of Autonomous Medieval Cities

§ Successful cities obtained the following privileges:
1. Status: Citizen were treated as free people. Nearly
unrestricted ownership of lands were granted. Their
own courts were established.
2. Finance: Right to tax own citizen. Paying only fixed
amount of taxes to the lord.
3. Monopolistic privileges in local commercial activities.

Growth of Medieval Cities (1)

Northern Italy
§ Urban tradition of ancient Rome + Predominance in
Mediterranean trade à Early and rapid development
of cities.
§ Italian cities were most successful in obtaining
autonomy.
§ Major cities and their population at the end of the 13th
century:
Milan (200,000), Venice, Florence, and Genoa (each
exceeded 100,000), Pisa, and several other cities
(50,000).
§ Italian cities were strong enough to extend their power
over the immediately surrounding countryside, similar
to the ancient Greco-Roman city-states.

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Venice
100,000 in the 13th Century

Florence
100,000 in the 13th Century

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City-States of Northern Italy

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Growth of Medieval Cities (2)

Northwestern Europe
Low Countries
§ The southern Low Countries (Flanders and Brabant)
were the only region comparable to Italy in terms of
urbanization.
§ These cities were the centers for the trade through
North Sea and the continental Alpine trade.
Other Countries
§ Paris was the largest city in northwestern Europe
(80,000 to 200,000 in the late 13th century).
§ London was a small city even by the late 14th century
(35,000-40,000).
§ Cologne was the largest city in Germany with a similar
population size.

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Brugge
Low Countries: Urban Population 1/3

Paris
80,000~200,000 in the 13th Century

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London
35,000~40,000 in the 14th Century

Cologne
35,000~40,000 in the 14th Century

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Medieval Commerce (1)

Local Trade
§ Regional division of labor due to differences in
endowments led to trade between two regions.
ex) pasture areas ßà grain-producing areas
ex) city (manufacturing products) ßà country-side
(foods, materials)
§ Incomplete self-sufficiency: Some necessities (salt,
metal goods, furniture, pepper, cloth) had to be
purchased in the market.
§ Presence of wage workers: They had to purchase
goods with money incomes.
§ Need for money: Peasants had to sell their products in
the market to obtain money to be paid as rents and
dues.

Medieval Commerce
Long-Distance Trade
§ In terms of volume, less important than local trade.
But in terms of social and economic impacts as well as
the pace of growth, it was much more important type
of commerce in the medieval period.
§ Three Major Types of Long-Distance Trade
1. Mediterranean trade between Italy and the Levant.
2. North Sea Trade among northern European regions.
3. Continental trade between the northern and
southern Europe.

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영국: 양모 - 모직물 북부독일 스칸디나비아

(목재, 가죽, 타르, 청어)
저지대: 모직물

프랑스 남부독일 중부유럽

(포도주) 상파뉴 지방 (은, 동, 아마) (금속, 아마제품)

이탈리아 도시 비잔틴제국 동양
(모직물, 유리) (양탄자) (향료, 도자기)

남부유럽 시실리 (곡물) 근동 (면제품)

(와인, 치즈, 소금, 건어)
회교국

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Medieval Commerce
Long-Distance Trade in the Mediterranean
§ Italian merchants (first Genoa, then Venice) took
charge. Exclusive privileges of free access to all ports
in the Byzantine Empire, and (after the failure of the
Crusades) similar rights for the Seljuk Turks.
§ Imports: spices from the East, silk and porcelain from
China, brocades from the Byzantine Empire, raw cotton
from Syria.
§ Exports: cloth of wool and linen and furs from
northern Europe, metal wares from central Europe and
Lombardy, and glass from Venice.
§ Imports of Sicilian grains to Italian cities.

Medieval Commerce
Long-Distance Trade in the Northern Seas
§ German trading cities, organized in Hansa, dominated
the trade of both the Baltic and North seas.
§ Major commodities traded: woolen products from
Flanders, French wine, sliver, copper, and linen from
continental Germany, herring, timber, furs, grain, naval
stores (e.g. tar and pitch) from the Baltic and
Scandinavian regions, and raw wools from England.

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Medieval Commerce
Long-Distance Trade in the Continent
§ The great Alpine passes through Germany and eastern
France à major trading route between the northern
and southern parts of Europe.
§ Feudal lords controlling the routes charged tolls in
return for providing protections against bandits.
§ Religious brotherhood organized relay stations and
rescue services (St. Bernard dogs)
§ The great fairs of Leipzig, Frankfurt, and especially
Champagne served as meeting ground and place of
business for merchants from the North and the South.
§ The counts of Champagne provided merchandizing
facilities, special commercial courts, and protection on
the road.

Commercial Institutions
Business Organizations
§ Increased need for combining more people and larger
amount of capital.
§ The commenda (a form of partnership): A senior
partner provided capital for a junior partner who
actually undertook the voyage. à Raising capital for
merchants with vigor and courage but not money.
§ True company (vera società): Numerous partners and
operation in many cities through out Europe. Banking
along with mercantile operations.
§ The Bardi and Peruzzi companies of Florence.
§ Development of maritime insurance.

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Commercial Institutions
Informal Economic Institution (A Greif)
§ Merchants could reduce transaction costs by
cooperation with overseas agents. The problem was
monitoring their cheatings.
§ A coalition of merchants was formed, and members
switched the roles of the principal (merchant) and
agent. If detected, the cheater was excluded from the
coalition.
§ It increased the importance of “reputation,” making it
a common knowledge that honest behavior would be
beneficial in the long run.
§ Evidence
1. Letter informing the cheating.
2. Information network

Commercial Institutions
Coined Money
§ Increase in the need for money
§ How was coined money minted?

people needing money

gold, silver↓ ↑ coined money
mint
seiniorage ↓ ↑ guidelines for minting
king, lords

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Commercial Institutions
Coined Money
§ Advantages:
1. Medium of transactions
2. Means of keeping wealth
§ Drawbacks:
1. Heavy and bulky.
2. Discrepancy between the face value and the actual
value of the precious metal contained in it. (e.g.
debasement)
3. Lack of uniformity of both weight and fineness
among various coined monies.

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Commercial Institutions
Banking and Credit
§ Private merchant bankers operated their offices in
major European commercial centers (Venice, Genoa,
Barcelona, Geneva, Bruges, and London).
§ Bills of Exchange: Merchants issued and accepted bills
of exchanges in long-distance trade, instead of taking
risks by shipping coin and bullion. Private bankers
made the credit transactions possible by buying and
selling the bills.
§ Bills of Exchange were eventually used as financial
instrument.
§ Double-entry bookkeeping was developed. It remained
the standard method of accounting until the late
nineteenth century.

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Medieval Industry
Clothing Industry in the Middle Age

§ Cloth, especially woolen cloth, was the most important

industry in the Middle Age.
§ Major centers were Flanders, northern France (what is
now Belgium), Italy and Tuscany (especially Florence),
southern and western England, and southern France.
§ Besides wool, linen was produced in many areas
(especially France and eastern Europe).
§ Silk and cotton productions were confined to Italy and
Muslim Spain.

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Medieval Industry
Clothing Industry in the Middle Age

§ Organization of Wool Production: The industry was

dominated by merchants, who bought the raw
materials and sold the final products. In England,
“putting-out” system was used.
§ In Italy, work was done in shops under the monitoring
of a supervisor.
§ Major technical innovations: the pedal loom
(replacing the simple weaving frame), the spinning
wheel (replacing the distaff), and water-powered mill.
à The labor productivity increased by several times as
compared with that in ancient times.

Medieval Industry
Other Major Industries in the Middle Age

§ Building trades may have been the closet second to

cloth.
§ The metallurgical industries: They were smaller than
cloth, but strategically more important.
§ Other important industries: tanning and leather
working, woodworking, pottery.
§ Major inventions and innovations
1. Water and wind mills: innovations in transmission
and modification of power (improved gears).
2. The manufacture of clocks à It contributed to a
fundamental reorientation of the medieval mentality.

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Summary
§ Medieval cities and commerce were much less
important quantitatively than rural areas and
agriculture.
§ However, they were highly heterogeneous to the
mainstream society and more dynamic.
§ Some scholars regard these as major causal factors of
the decline of the feudal system.
§ Certainly, they were major elements of the transition
from the pre-modern to modern society.
§ Economic institutions developed in the course of
urban and commercial growth had lasting impacts.

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