"population was little more than 15,000. By 1300 it had grown to roughly 80,000. Trade in London was organised into various guilds, which effectively controlled the city, and elected the Lord Mayor of London. Medieval London was made up of narrow and twisting streets, and most of the buildings were made from combustible materials such as wood and straw, which made fire a constant threat. Sanitation in London was poor. London lost at least half of its population during the Black Death in the mid-14th century. Between 1348 and the Great Plague of 1666 there were sixteen outbreaks of plague"
"medieval institutions which governed the growing trade. Jewish financiers played a significant role in funding the growing economy, along with the new Cistercian and Augustinian religious orders that emerged as major players in the wool trade of the north. Mining increased in England, with a silver boom in the 12th century helping to fuel the expansion of the money supply. Economic growth began to falter at the end of the 13th century, owing to a combination of overpopulation, land shortages and depleted soils. The Great Famine shook the English economy severely and population growth ceased; the first outbreak of the"
"to govern the events and settle disputes; this would include establishing local law and order, imposing systems of weights and measures; monitoring legal contracts and other features of medieval trade. Towards the end of the medieval period, the position of fairs began to decline. One important shift was that the major merchants, particularly in London, began to establish commercial primacy by the 14th century over the larger magnate customers; rather than the magnate buying from a chartered fair, they would buy from the merchant. As an example of this shift, the household accounts of Henry III show that the monarch"
"Economics of English towns and trade in the Middle Ages The economics of English towns and trade in the Middle Ages is the economic history of English towns and trade from the Norman invasion in 1066, to the death of Henry VII in 1509. Although England's economy was fundamentally agricultural throughout the period, even before the invasion the market economy was important to producers. Norman institutions, including serfdom, were superimposed on a mature network of well established towns involved in international trade. Over the next five centuries the English economy would at first grow and then suffer an acute crisis,"
"part of labor was employed in agriculture, artisans contributed to economic output and formed guilds. The guild system, operating mainly between 1100 and 1500, consisted of two types: merchant guilds, who bought and sold goods, and craft guilds, which made goods. Although guilds were regulated as to the quality of work performed, the resulting system was rather rigid, shoemakers, for example, were prohibited from tanning hides. Services were also performed in the Middle Ages by servants. They provided service to the nobility for cooking, cleaning and entertainment. Court jesters were service providers. The medieval army could also be considered a"
"also for plunder in the Imperial palaces. Later in the 11th Century the Varangian Guard became dominated by Anglo-Saxons who preferred this way of life to subjugation by the new Norman kings of England. The ""Book of the Eparch"", which dates to the 10th century, gives a detailed picture of the city's commercial life and its organization at that time. The corporations in which the tradesmen of Constantinople were organised were supervised by the Eparch, who regulated such matters as production, prices, import, and export. Each guild had its own monopoly, and tradesmen might not belong to more than one."
"Medieval English wool trade The medieval English wool trade was one of the most important factors in the medieval English economy. 'No form of manufacturing had a greater impact upon the economy and society of medieval Britain than did those industries producing cloths from various kinds of wool'. The trade's liveliest period, 1250–1350, was 'an era when trade in wool had been ""the"" backbone and driving force in the English medieval economy'. The wool trade was a major driver of enclosure (the privatisation of common land) in English agriculture, which in turn had major social consequences, as part of the"
"Economy of England in the Middle Ages The economy of England in the Middle Ages, from the Norman invasion in 1066, to the death of Henry VII in 1509, was fundamentally agricultural, though even before the invasion the local market economy was important to producers. Norman institutions, including serfdom, were superimposed on an existing system of open fields and mature, well-established towns involved in international trade. Over the next five centuries the economy would at first grow and then suffer an acute crisis, resulting in significant political and economic change. Despite economic dislocation in urban and extraction economies, including shifts"
"regular trade fairs behind castle walls, a tentative return of economic life to western Europe. In the culture of Europe, several features surfaced soon after 1000 that mark the end of the Early Middle Ages: the rise of the medieval communes, the reawakening of city life, and the appearance of the burgher class, the founding of the first universities, the rediscovery of Roman law, and the beginnings of vernacular literature. In 1000, the papacy was firmly under the control of German Emperor Otto III, or ""emperor of the world"" as he styled himself. But later church reforms enhanced its independence"
"During the Middle Ages, commerce developed in Europe through the trading of luxury goods at trade fairs. Some wealth became converted into movable wealth or capital. Banking systems developed where money on account was transferred across national boundaries. Hand-to-hand markets became a feature of town life, and were regulated by town authorities. Commerce Commerce relates to ""the exchange of goods and services, especially on a large scale."" It includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural and technological systems that operate in a country or in international trade. The English-language word ""commerce"" derives from the Latin ""commercium"", from ""cum"" (""together"") and ""merx"""
"Ester Boserup showed many flaws with Postan's key assumptions about demography and land use. The current academic preference is to see the English medieval economy as an ""overlapping network of diverse communities"", in which active local choices and decisions are the result of independent agency, rather than a result of historically deterministic processes. Economy of England in the Middle Ages The economy of England in the Middle Ages, from the Norman invasion in 1066, to the death of Henry VII in 1509, was fundamentally agricultural, though even before the invasion the local market economy was important to producers. Norman institutions,"
"the Church. Similarly, the politics in the Middle Ages often consisted of political leaders doing as the Church instructed. In both economic guilds and agriculture the Church supervised. In the family sphere, the Church regulated sexual activity and procreation. In the educational sphere, several universities were founded by religious orders. During the Renaissance, the rise of a secularist worldview accompanied the emergence of a wealthy merchant class. Some merchants became patrons of the arts, independent of the Church. Protestantism later made civil government, the arts, family, education, and economics officially free from ecclesiastical control. While Protestantism maintained a full-orbed or"
"Economics of English agriculture in the Middle Ages The economics of English agriculture in the Middle Ages is the economic history of English agriculture from the Norman invasion in 1066, to the death of Henry VII in 1509. England's economy was fundamentally agricultural throughout the period, though even before the invasion the market economy was important to producers. Norman institutions, including serfdom, were superimposed on an existing system of open fields. Over the next five centuries the English agricultural economy grew but struggled to support the growing population, and then suffered an acute crisis, resulting in significant political and economic"
"of it at the expense of the royal forests, was brought into production to feed the growing population and to produce wool for export to Europe. Many hundreds of new towns, some of them planned communities, were built across England, supporting the creation of guilds, charter fairs and other medieval institutions which governed the growing trade. Jewish financiers played a significant role in funding the growing economy, along with the new Cistercian and Augustinian religious orders that emerged as major players in the wool trade of the north. Mining increased in England, with a silver boom in the twelfth century"
"depended. The crown's control over trade in the towns, especially the emerging newer towns towards the end of the 15th century that lacked central civic government, was increasingly weaker, making chartered status less relevant as more trade occurred from private properties and took place all year around. Nonetheless, the great fairs remained of importance well into the 15th century, as illustrated by their role in exchanging money, regional commerce and in providing choice for individual consumers. Economics of English towns and trade in the Middle Ages The economics of English towns and trade in the Middle Ages is the economic"
"liberalised under Napoleon. Under mercantilism, European merchants, backed by state controls, subsidies, and monopolies, made most of their profits from the buying and selling of goods. In the words of Francis Bacon, the purpose of mercantilism was ""the opening and well-balancing of trade; the cherishing of manufacturers; the banishing of idleness; the repressing of waste and excess by sumptuary laws; the improvement and husbanding of the soil; the regulation of prices..."" Similar practices of economic regimentation had begun earlier in the medieval towns. However, under mercantilism, given the contemporaneous rise of absolutism, the state superseded the local guilds as the"
"economy before and at the beginning of the Roman period was based on agriculture, pastoralism, trade, and serving as a rest station for the caravans which sporadically crossed the desert. By the end of the first century BC, the city had a mixed economy based on agriculture, pastoralism, taxation, and, most importantly, the caravan trade. Taxation was an important source of revenue for the Palmyrene government. Caravaneers paid taxes in the building known as the Tariff Court, where a tax law dating to AD 137 was exhibited. The law regulated the tariffs paid by the merchants for goods sold at"
"low status, and low profit. Comparatively, brewing and tippling were predominantly female trades that women could operate independently or in equal conjunction with their husband. Following the Black Plague of 1347–50, the brewing trade underwent significant changes that made it a commercialized and specialized trade. Medieval society underwent many changes following the Plague. Changes that had significant effects on the ale trade include the consolidation of urban markets, rising standards of living, greater access to capital, cheaper access to grain, greater demand for ale as a staple of medieval diet, and the centralization and rising popularity of alehouses, all of"
"men (""hetaireiai"") to private religious or professional associations. In preindustrial societies, governmental administrative duties were often handled by voluntary associations such as guilds. In medieval Europe, guilds often controlled towns. Merchant guilds enforced contracts through embargoes and sanctions on their members, and also adjudicated disputes. However, by the 1800s, merchant guilds had largely disappeared. Economic historians have debated the precise role that merchant guilds played in premodern society and economic growth. In the United Kingdom, craft guilds were more successful than merchant guilds and formed livery companies which exerted significant influence on society. A standard definition of an unincorporated association"
"through markets or fairs. Markets were held daily in the more populous towns and cities or weekly in the more sparsely populated rural districts. Markets sold fresh produce; fruit, vegetables, baked goods, meat, poultry, fish and some ready to eat foodstuffs; while fairs operated on a periodic cycle and were almost always associated with a religious festival. Fairs sold non-perishables such as farm tools, homewares, furniture, rugs and ceramics. Market towns dotted the medieval European landscape while itinerant vendors supplied less populated areas or hard-to-reach districts. Peddlers and other itinerant vendors operated alongside other types of retail for centuries. The"
"the city council. Early Burghs were granted the power to trade, which allowed them to control trade until the 19th century. The population of burgesses could be roughly divided between merchants and craftsmen, and the tensions between the interests of the two classes was often a feature of the cities. Craftsmen were usually organised into guilds. Merchants also had a guild, but many merchants did not belong to it, and it would be run by a small group of the most powerful merchants. The class of merchants included all traders, from stall-holders and pack-men to shop-holders and traders of considerable"
"goods was defined by government administrations. Other cultures in Asia Minor later materialised their currencies in the form of gold and silver coins. In the medieval and the early modern period a network of professional banks was established in Southern and Central Europe. The institutes built a new tier in the financial economy. The monetary system was still controlled by government institutions, mainly through the coinage prerogative. Banks, however, could use book money to create deposits for their customers. Thus, they had the possibility to issue, lend and transfer money autonomously without direct governmental control. In order to consolidate the"
"their European trade partners. Genoa and Venice had influence beyond their trade channels. Both were instrumental in the Crusades through their provisions of troops, transport vessels, and naval ships. Genoa also assisted the Byzantine Empire when it helped recapture the capital, Constantinople, in the late thirteenth century. The Byzantine Empire took advantage of its strategic position along various trade routes and the decline of Western Europe to rise to core status until its fall in 1453. During this time period, Genoa and Venice developed forms of laissez-faire government and institutions that are viewed as precursors to modern capitalism. Despite these"
"trade dwindled in most of the former Roman lands in Europe, trade survived to some degree in Visigothic Spain, and flourished under the Moors through the integration of Al-Andalus (Moorish Spain) with the Mediterranean trade of the Islamic world. After 800 years of intermittent warring, the Catholic kingdoms had gradually become more powerful and sophisticated and eventually expelled all the Moors from the Peninsula. The Kingdom of Castile, united with the Kingdom of Aragon, had merchant navies that rivaled that of the Hanseatic League and Venice. Like the rest of late medieval Europe, restrictive guilds closely regulated all aspects of"
"influence. By the 14th century, the Hanseatic League held a near-monopoly on trade in the Baltic, especially with Novgorod and Scandinavia. The collapse of the Roman Empire unlinked the French economy from Europe. Town life and trade declined and society became based on the self-sufficient manor. Some international trade existed for luxury goods such as silk, papyrus, and silver; it was handled by foreign merchants such as the Radanites. Agricultural output began to increase in the Carolingian age as a result of the arrival of new crops, improvements in agricultural production, and good weather conditions. However, this did not lead"
"11th century and London's ""Hanse"" was formed in the 12th century. These guilds controlled the way that trade was to be conducted and codified rules governing the conditions of trade. Rules established by merchant guilds were often incorporated into the charters granted to market towns. In the early 12th century, a confederation of merchant guilds, formed out the German cities of Lubeck and Hamburg, known as ""The Hanseatic League"" came to dominate trade around the Baltic Sea. By the 13th and 14th centuries, merchant guilds had sufficient resources to have erected guild halls in many major market towns. During the"
"established a complex and expansive trade network with cargo ships being the main workhorse for the movement of goods, Cogs and Hulks are two examples of such cargo ships. Many ports would develop their own extensive trade networks. The English port city of Bristol traded with peoples from what is modern day Iceland, all along the western coast of France, and down to what is now Spain. During the Middle Ages, Central Asia was the economic center of the world. The Sogdians dominated the East-West trade route known as the Silk Road after the 4th century CE up to the"
"the European economy was oriented towards the Atlantic to the detriment of the Mediterranean trade. Despite the dynastic union of Aragon with Castile, the conquest and exploitation of America was the exclusive domain of Castile. The Valencians, like the Catalans, Aragonese and Majorcans, were prohibited participation in the cross-Atlantic commerce. Faced with this loss of trade, Valencia suffered a severe economic crisis. This manifested early in 1519–1523 when the artisan guilds known as the Germanies revolted against the government of the Habsburg king Charles I in Valencia, now part of the Crown of Aragon, with most of the fighting done"
"other foreign craftsmen. Craftsmanship and commerce networks were organized in guilds. Guilds were an Ottoman model of the corporate economy organizations. They protected economic, social, political, military, religious, educational and other craftsmen interests. These guilds had a common voluntary fund, which was used to financially support poor and ill craftsmen, to educate young artisans, to establish schools and build some public buildings. On the other hand, they controlled the economic life, especially the tanners and bakers guilds, which controlled the prices. Besides trading, Bazaar of Pristina was also the main place for public encounters. Its shops were also used for"
"and 17th centuries, trade in the Baltic Sea and Central Europe (beyond Germany) became dominated by German trade through the Hanseatic League (). The league was a Low-German-speaking military alliance of trading guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly over the Baltic and to a certain extent the North Sea. Hanseatic towns and trade stations usually hosted relatively large German populations, with merchant dynasties being the wealthiest and political dominant fractions. From the second half of the 13th century to the 15th century, the crusading Teutonic Knights ruled Prussia through their monastic state. As a consequence, German settlement accelerated"
"expense of the older, shrinking economy of the eastern towns. These new trading systems brought about the end of many of the international fairs and the rise of the chartered company. Together with improvements in metalworking and shipbuilding, this represents the end of the medieval economy, and the beginnings of the early modern period in English economics. William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, defeating the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings and placing the country under Norman rule. This campaign was followed by fierce military operations known as the Harrying of the North in 1069–70, extending"
"with national output, and was often heavily regulated. In the Middle Ages, European trade was typically regulated at municipal level in the interests of security for local industry and for established merchants. From about the 16th century, mercantilism became the dominant economic theory influencing European rulers, which saw local regulation replaced by national rules aiming to harness the countries' economic output. Measures to promote a trade surplus such as tariffs were generally favoured. Power was associated with wealth, and with low levels of growth, nations were best able to accumulate funds either by running trade surpluses or by forcefully confiscating"
"life and trade. Markets were also important centres of social life. In early Western Europe, markets developed close to monasteries, castles or royal residences. Priories and aristocratic manorial households created considerable demand for goods and services - both luxuries and necessities and also afforded some protection to merchants and traders. These centres of trade attracted sellers which would stimulate the growth of the town. The ""Domesday Book"" of 1086 lists 50 markets in England, however, many historians believe this figure underestimates the actual number of markets in operation at the time. In England, some 2,000 new markets were established between"