4.1: Cities and trade return -T-

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

AGE 4: The Time of cities and states

4.1 Cities and trade return

texts

What you can explain /  do after this lesson

• why food production increased in the Late Middle Ages
• why trade improved in the Late Middle Ages
• why urbanisation took place in the Late Middle Ages
• why craftspeople were organised in guilds
• why the Hanseatic League was successful
• causes and effects of the Black Death

Important dates in this lesson:

1346: the Black Death

Word Duty

Three-field system: two out of every three pieces of land was used to grow crops

Urbanisation: when people from the countryside move into cities

Guild: cooperation between traders or people of the same craft

Hanseatic league: a powerful network of trading cities in Northern Europe

Black Death: a sickness, also called ‘the plague’ that swept through Europe and killed millions of people

KEY WORDS

In this lesson:

• After the year 1000, the Three-Field system and new inventions improved farming.
• Consequense: urbanisation and population growth.
• In the cities specialised crafts were organised in guilds.
• Bruges became an important city

• Cities became richer and gained more rights (city charter).
• Cities became more powerful.

• City people (burghers) were mostly merchants and craftsmen.
• In cities there was more difference between rich and poor

• In Northern Europe, several cities joined the Hanseatic League

• In 1346 the Black Death spread across Europe

Today, half the people in the world live in cities. In Europe this number is even higher: about 70%.

This was very different at the beginning of the Early Middle Ages. Many Roman cities had been destroyed. Europe had turned into an agricultural society. 

After the year 1000 this changed. During the Late Middle Ages, Europe recovered. International trade returned and people began to live in cities again.

How and why did this happen? 

4.1.1

Busy life in the town hall surroundings of a fictional city, as depicted on the school plaat "A city in the middle ages" by J.H. Isings, 1962

The Late Middle Ages: 

the recovery of Europe

Increased food production

• People live in cities if their is enough food > After the year 1000, food production really increased.
• Three-field system was introduced: To keep the land fertile, two out of every three pieces of land were used to grow crops. One piece of land lay fallow.  
• Farmers were able to produce more and a greater variety of food.
• The invention of the heavy plough in combination with the use of horses made it possible to tear up fertile soil > It allowed farmers to plough deeper and faster. 
• Landlords and monasteries cut down forests and turned rough terrain and swamps into new land that could be used for farming as well.

4.1.2

The three-field system.

4.1.3

Horses are used for ploughing. Image from the early 14th century.

www.google.com

Urbanisation

• Improvements in farming caused a surplus >  was sold or exchanged at markets. 
• Because of growth in trade, small towns were transformed into cities and existing cities became even larger

• Farming improvements meant that more work could be done by fewer people > People from the countryside moved to towns and cities. 
• This is called urbanisation. 
• Western Europe developed from a mostly agrarian society into an agrarian society with an urban character. 
• The food surplus caused people in the countryside to live healthier and longer. The population could grow.

4.1.4

urbanisation

By 1200, large Northern European towns such as London and Ghent had more than 30,000 or 40,000 residents. At the same time, cities such as Venice had twice that number of residents.

4.1.5

The Italian city of Genoa. 15th century drawing.

In Latin, the word for ‘city’ was urbs. This is where the word ‘urbanisation’ comes from. The word ‘city’ originated from Latin as well. In Latin civitatem or civitas was used for ‘community of citizens’.

Specialisation: Crafts and guilds

• In towns, people started to trade products or specialised in a craft: they became blacksmiths, shoemakers, bakers or carpenters. 
• Usually in places where they could find most work.

From the 12th century onwards, traders and northern craftsmen joined together in guilds. Guilds had already existed earlier in cities in Southern Europe.

Guilds controlled who could become members and practice a craft in a town: organised the training of new craftsmen and regulated working hours, prices and the quality of products. 

4.1.6

A craftsman. What does he do? This image was made in 1524.

1. Which cause do you consider most important for
urbanisation to take place?

2. The growth in population caused people to move to the cities. Why did they not stay in the countryside?

3. Most cities were established near a river. There are several reasons for this. Together with a partner, try to identify as many as possible.

4. In cities, most people specialised in a craft.
Did they also have to keep their own land and cattle?
Explain your answer.

The importance of cities

• Increase of trade > richer cities > more taxes!
• Taxes are used for: special events, upholding laws and to pay for the defence of the country. 

Cities did not like paying taxes, they wanted something in return: privileges

• These were special rights, such as the permission to organise markets, store goods, build or expand city walls or receive exemption from military service. 
• It was even better if they received a city charter. This was a special contract with city rights. 
• City rights gave cities some degree of self-government. They were allowed to uphold and create their own laws.

4.1......

By the Town charter of (December 29) 1284 Flensburg received the Town privilege.

The importance of cities

Cities get city rights and landlords get financial and military support.

• Cities were often able to pay their own armies, making them very powerful > If kings and landlords were in a conflict, both parties desired the support of the cities. Cities chose the side that offered them the most, because of this they became very powerful

4.1.7

From a chronicle about the abbey in Bruges, written by J. Lelong in the 13th century.

4.1.9

Cloth is dyed to give it some colour. Image from a Flemish manuscript, made in 1482.

City People

• People who lived in cities were free. They were called burghers > serfs tried to flee to the cities, but they could only become burghers if they stayed in the city for one year.
• In the cities, there were huge differences between rich and poor people. 
• The burghers can be divided in three groups:

1. Merchants and masters of a guild were among the richest people. 
2. The middle class, made up out of craftsmen and shopkeepers. 
3. Finally there were the common workers and beggars.

4.1.7

From a chronicle about the abbey in Bruges, written by J. Lelong in the 13th century.

The Hanseatic League

• Merchants started to work together to improve trade over long distance > they joined in the Hanseatic League (German and Baltic)
• The league became a powerful network of trading cities. 
• An example of a very powerful city in the league was Bruges
• This city became a meeting ground for merchants and the league established a head quarters here.

4.1.10

Main trading routes of the Hanseatic League.

4.1.11

A merchant ship is about to leave the city of Riga on its way to Bruges.

20th century illustration.

congratulations