Summer 2021

HIS 102: Introduction to World Civilization

Department of History and Philosophy, North South University

LECTURE 16 :
TRADE, MONEY AND
URBANIZATION IN MEDIEVAL
EUROPE
DR. KAZI MARUFUL ISLAM
kazi.islam07@northsouth.edu
4 September 2021
 TALKING POINTS
§ Pattern of Trade
§ Emerging trade Routes
§ Causes of Urbanization
§ Twonship and Rights of
The Town People
§ Black Death
§ Hanseaitic Cities
THE PURPOSE OF THE LECTURE
§ How did the growth of towns decrease the power
of feudal nobles?
§ How did the growth of towns change the social
structure in Western Europe?
BARRIERS TO TRADE DURING THE EARLY
MIDDLE AGES
§ The Manors were self sufficient
§ There was little money available for trade
§ The roads were poor and there were few
bridges that had survived from the
Roman Empire
§ Church rules:
§ “just price” – no profit allowed
§ Usury forbidden – no interest could be
charged on loans
The Crusades had caused an increase in the
demand for trade
The Muslims in the East had been exposed to new products from
Europe

Timber Wool Leather

Grain Wine
Armor
Fish Oils
The Crusaders had brought back products from
the east that were now in demand in western
Europe
Cotton, Linen and Silk

Perfumes, Dyes and Medicine

Gold, Silver and Ivory

Trade Routes Emerge

International
trading began in
Italy – Venice &
Genoa
Trading spread from Italy to Northern Europe first following the rivers, and then by
ship - hugging the coastline.
The cities in Flanders & those of the Hanseatic League began to
spread trade in northern Europe
Markets and fairs emerged as a way for
the towns to trade with each other.
Increased trade led for the need of more products =
manufacturing
Domestic System – All work done at home.
Trader buys wool

Sells product
to highest
bidder
Increased trading
leads to investment.
People start building
capital.

What is
“Capital?
A market economy emerges – Land, Labor and
Capital is controlled by individuals.
 Social Changes created by the growth of
towns.

Rights of townspeople
Guilds Form
Rise of the Middle Class
Merchant & Banking Families Gain Power & Influence
CAUSES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF URBANIZATION IN
THE MIDDLE AGE EUROPE
§ European Urban communities are characterized by chances:
§ more employment opportunities,
§ the hope of greater social mobility,
§ more freedom of thought and actions.
§ But also by risks, including
§ high mortality rates,
§ greater economic and political instability and
§ the danger of poverty.
 CAUSES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF URBANIZATION
IN THE MIDDLE AGE EUROPE
§ From the eleventh century, urbanization increased steadily and
radically changed the character of European societies.
§ There was a fundamental difference with the city foundations of
Roman times which, in the colonies at least, derived from the
urban character of Mediterranean cultures.
§ This was partly the reason why they contracted and
disappeared during the disintegration of the Empire.
§ In another recent synthesis work about European urban history,
the authors delve deeper into the phenomenon of increasing
growth that occurred from the eleventh century.
CAUSES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF URBANIZATION IN
THE MIDDLE AGE EUROPE
§ Firstly, the increased productivity in the agricultural sector,
which generated surpluses of both products and people without
which the expansion of the urban network – that comprised
concentrations of markets, craft production and services –
would have been unthinkable.
§ It was the constant migration of farmers to the cities that set the
first and decisive growth phase of the European urban network
in motion.
§ Thus, the early cities were the primary agricultural market
centres.
§ Secondly, other factors, such as the establishment of political,
religious and cultural institutions, strengthened the growth.
Rights of Townspeople
Freedom: If no one challenged the status of an “escaped”
serf for a year and a day, they became free.

Townspeople did not have to perform services for

the Manor.

Town Justice: Towns had their own courts – were not

under the control of the Lord of the Manor

Commercial privileges: Townspeople could sell goods and

products freely without getting the Lord’s permission.
 Soon Guilds Began to Form in
the Towns
A Guild is an association or a group of people
who are engaged in the same business or the
same trade or profession

There were two types of Guilds:

Merchant Guilds and Craft Guilds

Today a Merchant Guild might be the local Chamber of

Commerce, and a Craft Guild would be a Union
 Merchant
Guilds

- Exclusive right to trade in the town

- Outside merchants had to pay a fee to
trade in town.
- Made loans to members of the Guild
- Supported widows & orphans of
deceased members
 Craft
Guilds

- Set hours & conditions of labor

-Regulated quality of work
- Made loans to members and helped out
poorer members
 Master Apprentice

Master could start Apprentice:

his own business, Age 7: Parents sent
boy to work with
train apprentices and
Master and learn trade
hire journeymen (3-12 years)
The increase
in trade and
commerce
caused a
change in
society

The Rise of the

Middle Class
Middle class was called burgesses in England
and Burger in Germany.

Why did the Middle

Class gain so much
political power in
Western Europe?
Medieval Towns
 Medieval Towns:
Ranged in population from No street lighting
5,000 to 80,000
No police or fire
Narrow streets – dark department
buildings – little sunlight

No sewers – trash in Houses often cold and

street – animals wander damp in winter – hot
in streets and stuffy in summer
 Overcrowded and unsanitary towns became an
excellent breeding place for disease, especially……

THE BLACK DEATH

 QUESTIONS TO ANSWER?
§ Why did towns begin to grow?
§ How did towns begin to change life for people in the Middle
Ages?
§ What is the relation between geography, climate and trade?
§ TWO IMPORTANT LINKS for Answers
§ https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1301/trade-in-medieval-
europe/?visitCount=3&lastVisitDate=2021-3-
20&pageViewCount=7
§ https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-
history/medieval-times/environment-and-trade/v/early-
medieval-trade
THANKS