TTO1 - History (Bricks) - Late Middle Ages

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• Middelbare school
• mavo, havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

Chapter 6: Late Middle Ages

6.3 Development of new cities

If you think about cities in the Middle Ages, what did they look like?

Try to think of a reason why it was possible to move back to the cities at the start of the Late Middle Ages (1000 AD)

Why could more food lead to the growth of cities / urbanisation?

Heavy iron plow

Craftsmen and guilds

• In the cities, people started to trade all kinds of products. 
• Other people started to learn a craft. They specialised in different areas. For instance, blacksmithing, leatherworking, shoemaking, baker, carpenter.
• To make things easier for new craftsmen, they often gathered in guilds. Guilds were associations of people who had the same job. 

Trade networks

Hanseatic League = Alliance of 

trading cities along the North Sea 

and Baltic Sea.

• Used cogs (ships)
• Hering, wood, hides and grain 

from Baltic areas

• Wool en linen from Engeland
• Important Dutch Hanseatic cities: Deventer, 

Kampen, Harderwijk, Zutphen and Zwolle.

Trade networks

Advantages of the Hanseatic League

• When cogs sailed in groups they were better protected against pirates
• Lower tolls
• Firm agreements with suppliers (monopoly). No trading with merchants that weren't members of the Hanseatic League.
  

City Rights

Most cities were under the rule of a lord, who, in return, was under the rule of the king. 

--> Cities grew to large proportions. Rulers wanted more influence and power

City Rights

Burghers (free people) wanted something in return for paying high taxes. 
--> Lords and burghers came to an agreement 
--> Cities received city rights 

Examples of city rights

• Right to organise markets
• Right to build city walls
• Right to collect money from merchants
• Right to punish criminals
• Right to produce their own currency/coins
• Right to store goods and sell them without permission of the lord.

Low countries lords still hold control by:

• Appointing a schout (representative of the lord) 
  --> He kept everything in check and was announced leader of the schepenen. 
• Appointing Schepenen
  --> Group of people that controlled the city. 
  --> Tasks like solving crimes / judging criminals / collecting taxes etc.