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Chapter 14.3 The Growth of Towns
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The Rights of Townspeople Trade and cities generally grow together As towns grew, townspeople realized they did not fit in the manorial system They played a little part in the farming economy of villages Instead they made a living by making and trading goods Manor lords continued to control the towns
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The Rights of Townspeople Some towns won self-government while others resorted to violence Some lords granted charters of liberties A charter was a written statement of the town’s rights In time the townspeople throughout Europe gained FOUR basic rights
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The Rights of Townspeople 1. Freedom If you lived in a town for a year you were considered free (This included serfs) 2. Exemption Exempt from having to work on the manor 3. Town justice Towns had their own courts 4. Commercial privileges Sell goods freely in town markets
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Guilds As trade increased, towns grew larger and richer Merchants and workers began to unite in associations called guilds In each town, a merchant guild had the sole right to trade there If you were an outside merchant you had to pay a fee These guilds were a union of people who would help out other members
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Workers In time, skilled workers came together in craft guilds Members included shoemakers and weavers They set rules for wages, hours, and working conditions They controlled the training of skilled workers First a boy served as an apprentice His parents paid the master worker to house, feed, clothe, and train the boy Training took five to nine years
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Workers Next, the young man became a journeyman A skilled worker who was paid wages by a master Journeyman could become a master by making a masterpiece If the guild approved of the masterpiece the journeyman could open his own shop and become a member of the guild
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The rise of the middle class In time, towns’ guild members, merchants, and master workers, became the middle class Between the class of nobles and that of peasants and unskilled workers The middle class favored kings over nobles Could provide a stable government that would protect trade, business, and property The middle class gave the kings advice and some were given government positions Middle class started to gain power
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Medieval Towns In the Middle Ages, most northern and western European cities had fewer than 2,000 people By the 1200s, Paris had 150,000 people London had about 40,000 people Population of Sandy Utah: 90,231 Population of Draper Utah: 45,285
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Town Life Towns offered serfs a chance to improve their lives Some would escape from manors and live in towns for freedom Manor serfs sold crops and had to pay the lord money rather than crops Cities often stood on hilltops or lay along river bends for added protection Cities had little land, so houses were built several stories high Cities also had large public buildings, including churches or cathedrals, town halls, and guild halls
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The Black Death Many cities were an exciting place, however, many were dark, unsafe, dirty, and unhealthy Cities had NO street lights or police People didn’t go out at night for fear of robbers Waste was dumped into open gutters Diseases spread quickly through the crowded cities
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The Black Death Beginning in 1347, one such disease, a terrible plague called the Black Death, swept through Europe This plague began in Asia and spread along busy trade routes Black rats on the ships carried the disease The plague was spread to people by bites from fleas on the rats
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The Black Death Some entire villages and towns were wiped out! Some estimate about 25 million people died in Europe in 1347 to 1351, about 1/3 of the population The Black Death caused many changes in Europe People’s faith in God was shaken Church lost some of its power and importance Relations between the upper classes and lower classes changed Workers demanded higher wages, peasants staged uprisings *********************************
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