REVIVAL OF TRADE & TOWNS By: Dannah Mena Tharsha Thasan Period 7

 What role did agriculture play in Medieval Life?

An Agricultural Revolution  It began in the countryside, were peasants produced new farming technologies that made their field more productive  This resulted in an agricultural revolution that transformed Europe

Agricultural Advances  By the 800’s, peasants were using advanced tools and techniques to work the fields  Peasants had gone from using wooden plows to more advanced plows  In order to have land plowed faster, horses were used instead of oxen

Production and Population Grow  Lords who wanted to boost the incomes of their land had peasants clear forests, drain swamps, and reclaim wasteland  With all this land available, peasants introduced a new way of agriculture

New Way of Agriculture  Peasants introduced three-field system for rotating crops  One field with grain  Second field with legumes, such as peas and beans  Third field left unplanted

The Revival of Trade and Travel  In the 1100’s, foreign invasions and feudal warfare declined  Crusaders bought luxury goods back from Europe from the Middle East

Trade Routes Expand  Enterprising traders formed merchant companies that traveled in armed caravans  Along these routes, merchants exchanged local goods for those from remote markets in the Middle East and farther east into Asia

Trade Routes Expand Cont.  In Constantinople, merchants bought:  Chinese silks  Byzantine gold jewelry  Asian spices  These goods were later shipped over sea to Venice where other traders bought the goods and sent them to England and lands along the Baltic Sea

Trade Routes Expand Cont.  In the 1200’s, German towns along the Baltic Sea formed the Hanseatic League  Hanseatic League: an association to protect their trading interests, which dominated trade in Northern Europe for more than 150 years  The league took action against robbers and pirates, built townhouses, and trained ships’ pilots

The Growth of Towns and Cities  Slowly, centers of trade and handicraft became the first medieval cities  Europe had not seen big towns since the Roman times  Richest cities emerged in northern Italy and Flanders

The Growth of Towns and Cities Cont.  To protect their interests, merchants asked the local lord, or the king himself for a charter  Charter: written document set out the rights and privileges of the town  In return, merchants paid the lords large sums of money  As Europe’s population grew, manors became overcrowded

A Commercial Revolution  As trade revived, the use of money increased  In time, the need for capitals, or money for investment, provoked the growth of banking houses  Merchants also extended credit to one another

The Beginnings of Modern Business  Groups of merchants joined together in partnerships (merchants who joined together to finance a large scale venture that would have been to costly for any individual trader)  This practice made capital more easily available  Later merchants developed a system of insurance to help reduce business risks For a small fee, an underwriter insured the merchant’s shipment

The Beginnings of Modern Business Cont.  Europeans followed some practices from the Muslim with whom they traded  These traders had established methods of using credit rather then cash in their business  European versions included letters of credit and bills of exchange

Society Begins to Change  These business practices were part of a commercial revolution that changed the medieval economy  By the 1300’s, most peasants in Western Europe were either tenant farmers or hired laborers

Society Begins to Change Cont.  During the Middle Ages, the Church excluded Christians to lend money at interest  Because of this, many Jews who were barred became moneylenders  Although moneylenders played a huge role in the growing medieval economy, their success led to the resentment and a rise in anti-Jewish prejudice

DBQ Questions  It helped make the High Middle Ages possible and had long been in preparation; 4 factors prepared ground for it: the end of the wave of raids that swept Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries; the clearing and cultivation of new land and the spread of the three- field rotation system; technological innovations like the heavy plow and the horse collar.  ( Heures_March1410.jpg) Heures_March1410.jpg  How did agriculture help in the revival of trade & towns?

DBQ Questions  What did the Hanseatic League protect?  league.com/forum/styles/prosilver/imag eset/site_logo.gif)

Works Cited  Ellis, Elisabth Gaynor. World History. Boston Massachusetts: Pearson Education Inc.,, Print.  Hanseatic League. Pearson Education, Web. 22 Feb < history/A html>.  "Medieval Towns and Cities." The Revival of Trade and Towns. Scholastic Inc., Web. 22 Feb