PENGUIN STUDY GUIDE CH. 16

CHAPTER 16
Economic and Social Developments
In the Later Middle Ages (1330-1460)
Ryan Schwingler

The age of expansionism had drawn a close; new period of stabilization and even recession.

Example, the decline of crusader states and rise of national communities (England and France)

Invasion of government into social and economic relations

People began to realize the importance of organizing and uniting, as opposed to individual effort.

Conquests weren’t won by individuals but by bands of soldiers, this carried into economic and social structure.

14th century saw countless alliances form from leagues of nobleman, to peasant revolts.

Three factors to the invasion of government
1.) European commercial expansion reached its limits
2.) War and Black Plague (War as a way of life, natural)
3.) Advance in production and commercial exchange techniques

Europe = Cloth export and Spices/Silks imports

Caused major metropolis development in the 12th century

Need for an internal government arose, fulfilled by governors in 12th century

Bar was raised for commercial expansion by stabilizing trade. Led to major competition between rival cities. War was inevitable (Venice and Genoa), By the time conflict had been won by Venice, flow of trade had been disrupted by a bigger war Tartar and Ottoman Empires.

German cities faced the same rivalries during this time, but found a peaceful means of resolving them.

A powerful league built up controlling the Baltic Sea, and North Sea and the Rhine River.

In 1360 over 80 cities in the league (not a sovereign state) pooled together recourses in order to fend off Scandinavian and English merchants from entering their markets.

Other Germanic leagues were formed under the same principals, mostly to protect their merchants from being plundered on the rivers, and to avoid paying tolls imposed by local dukes and princes.
After seeing the success of the town leagues the same approach was taken inside of each city, and thus guilds were formed.

With a hierarchy structure of officials ruling over decisions to be made regarding the terms of sale of their products, the prices of their products and wages to be given out, guilds were in essence a Corporation

Separation of Classes- Master controls several Laborers

Masters united under a guild shared a pool of monetary resources, as well as a common scheme to train in new apprentices.
Without unity between different masters of said trade, the monopolistic structure of society would have never happened.

Guild members wanted to make sure their posterity would be successful so they only allowed family members the right of entry into the Guild, outsiders would have to be lucky and find a master who would apprentice them, this was very rare. Any type of relative always had the advantage

All of this made it almost impossible for a person to climb the social class ladder. From Laborer to Master

Prices of goods were often high (Effect of a plague or a famine) so laboring class was perpetually being oppressed.

Laboring class takes after their masters, they form alliances of their own (Labor Unions)

Feeling threatened by these unions, Masters, using their political power outlawed these groups, but when the going got tough the tough got going. The Unions reappeared every time conditions worsened, sometimes disguising themselves as religious groups.

Every time the groups of craftsmen were put down, they became more and more aggravated eventually leading to outright revolts.

This pattern happened in both Flanders, and Florence
In Florence they guilds proved strong enough to silence their craftsmen, but in Flanders it wasn’t until the Valios Dukes (parental government) took control that the fighting stopped. There were riots and revolts by the proletarian class for Nearly 100 years before peace. Sometimes-outright civil war taking place.

Of course these weren’t the only cities which the pattern took place,
In France King Louis XI took the markets of Bordeaux and Rouen under his protection after seeing they were in the same circumstance Florence and Flanders were in. Under the Monarchy there was even more money to be shared, and also greater protection.

The plague had similar, but more extreme, effects than the inherent wars had on Italy

When the plague hit in the Middle of the 14th century the idea of the Monarchs was to pin wages, and price of goods, which had skyrocketed, to their pre-plague levels. Thus preventing men from leaving their jobs is search of higher pay.

Both France and England, not long after the Black Plague took its toll, saw their first peasant class revolts.

Surely these revolts weren’t entirely caused by the economically limiting legislation or the Black Plague itself. However they were the proverbial last straw(s).

Hindsight has us wondering if these revolts would have taken place had either of these to occurrences not taken place.

Gap between social classes caused by no longer exchanging work for shelter, landlords now wanted rent money, also caused by landlords because of increased commercial abilities being able to afford nicer shit.

Because they had a steady source of income the landowners became the Noble or Gentry class in France and England respectively.

The Peasant class had faired inversely to the higher (Land Owning) class, they were forced into slavery by the Noble class.

Intervention of the government to save the socially and economically helpless

Again the monarch saves the day, the Valois, in Italy, King in France, and the courts of England (not until 15th century) freed their peasant class from serfdom (slavery)

Bank System was beginning to develop in Tuscany, carrying cash proved to be dangerous

Deposit money in London, carry a letter of credit to Rome, instead of cash, and withdraw local currency. The company whom you deposit/withdrew money to/from charges you a fee.

This allows the agent in London to make purchases, which may lead to profit.

Banks began to appoint agents in towns that didn’t already have one, making it much easier to trade in many new cities.

People started depositing money long term, so banks rewarded them with a small sum of money for letting the bank use their money. The same concept applied to the private party; he was able to loan money from the bank but had to pay a sum of money based on the risk of the loan. (Interest)

It became such a large scale that banks were able to loan money to noblemen and princes to finance governments in need.

Government often borrowed more than they could pay back, causing the banks to go Bankrupt.

Some bankers only did it as a supplement to another occupation such as being a merchant.

Lords mostly borrowed money so that they could go to war, which was becoming increasingly expensive. Due to the development of new technologies such as plate armor, shipbuilding, and later gunpowder.

The increased borrowing by the Royal class led to an increase in taxation, specifically the development of taxation of purchased goods.

After some time the Kings and Monarchs realized that it was in their best interests to protect their subjects. Because it was from their subject they got all of their money.

Full circle-
European commercial expansion reached its limits; Parental Government finds a common good and stops war.
War and Black Plague (War as a way of life, natural)- Parental Government saves Peasants from serfdom
Advance in production and commercial exchange techniques, Parental Government protects its Subjects.