The Growth of Towns

The Growth of Towns Chapter 14.3

The Rights of Townspeople • Trade and cities generally grow together • As towns grew, townspeople realized they did not fit in the manorial system • They played a little part in the farming economy of villages • Instead they made a living by making and trading goods • Manor lords continued to control the towns

The Rights of Townspeople • Some towns won self-government while others resorted to violence • Some lords granted charters of liberties • A charter was a written statement of the town’s rights • In time the townspeople throughout Europe gained FOUR basic rights

The Rights of Townspeople • 1. Freedom • If you lived in a town for a year you were considered free (This included serfs) • 2. Exemption • Exempt from having to work on the manor • 3. Town justice • Towns had their own courts • 4. Commercial privileges • Sell goods freely in town markets

Guilds • As trade increased, towns grew larger and richer • Merchants and workers began to unite in associations called guilds • In each town, a merchant guild had the sole right to trade there • If you were an outside merchant you had to pay a fee • These guilds were a union of people who would help out other members

Workers • In time, skilled workers came together in craft guilds • Members included shoemakers and weavers • They set rules for wages, hours, and working conditions • They controlled the training of skilled workers • First a boy served as an apprentice • His parents paid the master worker to house, feed, clothe, and train the boy • Training took five to nine years

Workers • Next, the young man became a journeyman • A skilled worker who was paid wages by a master • Journeyman could become a master by making a masterpiece • If the guild approved of the masterpiece the journeyman could open his own shop and become a member of the guild

The rise of the middle class • In time, towns’ guild members, merchants, and master workers, became the middle class • Between the class of nobles and that of peasants and unskilled workers • The middle class favored kings over nobles • Could provide a stable government that would protect trade, business, and property • The middle class gave the kings advice and some were given government positions • Middle class started to gain power

Medieval Towns • In the Middle Ages, most northern and western European cities had fewer than 2,000 people • By the 1200s, Paris had 150,000 people • London had about 40,000 people • Population of Sandy Utah: 90,231 • Population of Draper Utah: 45,285

Town Life • Towns offered serfsa chance to improve their lives • Some would escape from manors and live in towns for freedom • Manor serfs sold crops and had to pay the lord money rather than crops • Cities often stood on hilltops or lay along river bends for added protection • Cities had little land, so houses were built several stories high • Cities also had large public buildings, including churches or cathedrals, town halls, and guild halls

The Black Death • Many cities were an exciting place, however, many were dark, unsafe, dirty, and unhealthy • Cities had NO street lights or police • People didn’t go out at night for fear of robbers • Waste was dumped into open gutters • Diseases spread quickly through the crowded cities

The Black Death • Beginning in 1347, one such disease, a terrible plague called the Black Death, swept through Europe • This plague began in Asia and spread along busy trade routes • Black rats on the ships carried the disease • The plague was spread to people by bites from fleas on the rats

The Black Death • Some entire villages and towns were wiped out! • Some estimate about 25 million people died in Europe in 1347 to 1351, about 1/3of the population • The Black Death caused many changes in Europe • People’s faith in God was shaken • Church lost some of its power and importance • Relations between the upperclasses and lower classes changed • Workers demanded higher wages, peasants staged uprisings *********************************

The Growth of Towns