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modern economy, growth of banking, technological improvements, agricultural improvements, commerce, towns, merchant class
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7.41 Trace the emergence of a modern economy, including the growth of banking, technological and agricultural improvements, commerce, towns and a merchant class.
I can trace the emergence of a modern economy, • So that I can understand the growth of banking, technological and agricultural improvements, commerce, towns and a merchant class. • I know I have it when I can successfully answer the following: • What advancements were made? • How did those advancements affect life for people in the later Middle Ages?
The Beginning • In the Middle Ages, most people lived on manors or on small farms, not in towns. • As a result, most towns were small. • After about 1000, however, this situation began to change. Some towns became big cities. • At the same time, new towns appeared.
New Technology Helped Farmers • For one thing, Europe’s population increased, partly because more food was available. • New technology helped farmers produce larger harvests than ever before. Among these improvements was a heavier plow.
New Plow • With the heavier plow farmers could dig deeper into the soil, helping their plants grow better.
Horse Collar • Another new device, the horse collar, allowed farmers to plow fields with horses. • In times past, farmers had used oxen, which were strong but slow. With horses, farmers could tend larger fields, grow more food, and feed more people.
What Else is New? • Towns also grew because trade increased. • As Europe’s population grew, so did trade. • Trade routes spread all across Europe. • Merchants also brought goods from Asia and Africa to sell in markets in Europe. • The chance to make money in trade led many people to leave their farms and move to cities, causing cities to grow even larger.
Death to the King? • In time, the growth of trade led to the decline of feudalism. • Knights began to demand money for their services instead of land. • At the same time, serfs and peasants left their manors for towns, slowly weakening the manor system.
Increase in Trade • A trade fair was a group of traveling merchants who would move from town to town selling their goods. These started small but quickly grew in size and importance. Many new things were being brought in from other places by ship and caravan. Sometimes it was the merchant himself who brought the goods from far away. Later the merchants would buy their goods in one place and sell to other merchants who would travel about. Along with their wares, these merchants brought their own money.
Interesting Fact • A family surname, or last name, is the part of a person’s name that indicates to what family a person belongs. In the Middle Ages, surnames often were derived from a person’s occupation. Examples include Miller, Smith, Cooper, Fletcher, Driver, Skinner, Tanner, Hunter, etc..
Traders That Have the Same Name Today, but Different Meanings
Creation of Banks • These merchants needed someone who could exchange their money for the local money. This lead to the creation of moneychangers. This was the start of the banking system since these moneychangers charged for the exchange of currency.
Creation of Money • Barter or the exchange of one thing for another, was becoming less popular. Traders wanted something small and light that they could carry easily. A trader didn't want to trade his silk for bushels of wheat. So the Nobles started trading silver and gold for what they wanted. Nobles had to find a way to get the gold and silver to trade.
What In The World Is A Guild? • What is the meaning of the word 'Guild'? The word “guild” is from the Saxon “gilden” meaning "to pay" and refers to the subscription paid to the Guilds by their members. Other words associated with the term guild include association, society, brotherhood, company, fellowship, fraternity and livery. The guilds of the Middle Ages were licensed from 1170 and were similar to modern labor unions where the guilds set standards for their professions and protected the interests of their members.
The Reasons why Guilds in the Middle Ages Were Established • The system of Feudalism during the Middle Ages allowed the lords and owners of the land to tax the towns people and their trades. As trade increased during the Middle Ages the taxes became excessive. In Medieval England which was run to the feudal system it was impossible for just one man to make objections to the rate and amount of tax that the lord demanded. The idea of forming a Guild was born.
