1000 to 1100—towns began to grow at a rapid pace Towns developed along trade routes Most towns were protected by a high wall Towns usually had very narrow streets The only traffic was foot traffic

Every town had a Church The Church was the largest building in the town Illustrated the power of the Catholic Church in the peoples’ lives Merchants’ shops lined the streets The town buildings were constructed of wood—fire was always a major problem

The towns had NO sanitation facilities The smell was awful Garbage and human waste littered the streets Disease spread very easily in most towns —a major disease struck Europe—The Black Plague The Plague killed 1/3 of Europe’s population in a 2-year period

In the fourteenth century, the Black Death (Bubonic plague) decimated the population of much of Asia and then the population of much of Europe.

Decline in population Scarcity of labor Towns freed from feudal obligations Decline of Church influence Disruption of trade

A new class of people arose in the towns—the Middle Class Bankers Merchants artisans The middle class did not fit into the feudal system— they did not need to farm; therefore they did not need land

The middle class helped create government in the towns The middle class also became very wealthy Many kings and priests came to the middle class to borrow $