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History of the world economy - Polyak GB

9.3. The period of developed feudalism (XI-XV centuries).

Basic Processes

The period is characterized by the completion of the process of the formation of feudal relations and the flourishing of feudalism. The peasants were placed in land and personal dependence, and representatives of the ruling class were in hierarchical subordination. This situation combined with the natural nature of the economy contributed to the collapse of early feudal state formations and the transition to feudal disunity.

There is an increase in the productive forces. Thanks to gradual improvement of tools and increased productivity, specialization of workers in different fields of production takes place - the craft is separated from agriculture. The emergence and growth of cities, mainly as settlements of artisans, develops handicraft production. Growing specialization leads to an increase in exchange, expansion of trade ties. Appear guild merchants. The market economy is developing.

The development of the economy, the rise of cities and the growth of commodity-money relations took place against the background of the intensification of the struggle of the popular masses against feudal orders (peasant and urban uprisings). Eventually, this led to a change in the forms of feudal exploitation, the weakening of the peasants' personal dependence, and the emergence of a free urban population. These processes radically changed the face of feudal society, contributed to the elimination of feudal disunity and centralization of state power. At this stage, large centralized states are formed - France, England, Poland, Russia, etc.

Features of feudal relations in the village

The main form of ownership and organization of production in agriculture in this period was the feudal estate . In the XI-XIII centuries. It represented a closed subsistence economy that fully provided for its needs from its own resources: its characteristic feature was the close relationship of the masters 'farm to the peasants' economy, which were to cultivate the land of the feudal lord with their tools of labor and their livestock.

However, in the XIV-XV centuries. The disintegration of feudal relations begins, the commutation of duties takes place (the replacement of labor and in-kind money rent), the emancipation of the peasantry, which led to the concentration of land and the development of lease relations. Many nobles begin to employ hired labor. Development of short-term rent is getting (with the change of tenants there is the possibility to increase the rent).

At the heart of these processes is the deepening of the social division of labor, the development of commodity-money relations. Commodity production, developed at this stage in the cities, actively influenced the feudal estate, undermining the dominance of subsistence economy. This created conditions for the development of the domestic market on the basis of specialization of the economy.

In the market relations, feudal estates were drawn in too. In particular, the English feudal estates (manors) in the XIII-XIV centuries. They carried out extensive trade in wool, bread and livestock, sending their produce to London and to the continent.

Gradually there were changes in peasant land use. The change in the form of feudal rent led to the weakening, and then the elimination of personal feudal dependence.

From the end of XIII to XV centuries. In England, due to the development of sheep breeding, there is a replacement of the corvée with a quitrent, which was paid with sheep's wool. This process takes place in England more intensively than in France and Germany due to a more developed trade and insurrection led by Wat Tyler (1381).

The transition to the quitrent system expanded the possibilities for the development of agriculture, increased the mobility of the peasants, reduced their dependence on the feudal lord, led to an increase in labor productivity, and increased the marketability of the agrarian sector. Gradually, the natural obrok is replaced with a monetary one.

The switching process in some countries was very fast. So, in England in the XV century. There remained a small number of personally dependent peasants. The same process was observed in Italy, the Netherlands and France.

Germany lagged behind. In the XIV-XVII centuries. Germany is going through a "second edition" of serfdom *. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. Serfdom in East Germany took particularly severe forms: a fixed corvée was five to six days a week, the peasant could be lost in cards, sold, mortgaged, rented.

* Soviet encyclopedic dictionary. - Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1983. - P.255.

The development of commodity-money relations in the countryside and the commutation of peasant duties led to property stratification among the peasantry. There were prosperous peasants who rented land from the landowner and processed it with the help of the hired labor of their own neighbors. On the other hand, there were isolated landless and landless families, who, as farm laborers, were exploited by landowners and rich peasants.

Development of cities

After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the cities declined. Economically, they differed little from the villages and were mainly administrative and religious centers. Since the end of XI century. In Western Europe there is a revival of cities. They acquire great economic importance, becoming centers of craft and trade.

The main factor in the revival of the ancient and the emergence of medieval towns was the separation of craft from agriculture. Opportunities for the development of handicrafts in the village were limited due to inadequate demand. Rural artisans sought to go to places with the largest concentration of people, where you could find the best opportunities for marketing products. Most often they settled around monasteries, where worshipers and pilgrims gathered, near bridges, river crossings, near castles and fortresses, where the walls could serve as a defense. Settlements of artisans, gradually expanding, became cities. In the XV century. The distance between Western European cities did not exceed an average of 20-30 km.

The process of city formation in different countries was extremely uneven, which reflected the level of development of the productive forces. Previously, cities as craft and trade centers rose in Italy (Venice, Genoa, Florence, Naples), then in the south of France ( Marseille , Arles, Toulouse). This was facilitated by the trade relations between Italy and Southern France with Byzantium and the East, as well as the continuity of urban development since antiquity. Since the XI century. Cities arise on the territory of England, Germany and the Netherlands; Especially quickly they grow in Flanders (Bruges, Ghent, Lille, Arras). In the XII-XIII centuries. There were cities in the north: in the Scandinavian countries, Ireland, and also in Hungary.

The growth of cities was also connected with the inflow of peasant population in them, which fled from estates, fleeing from feudal exploitation. After living in the city for one year and one day, the peasant became free. Crusades also played some role (1096-1270).

The population in the medieval cities of Western Europe was small. In the XIV-XV centuries. Cities with a population of 20 thousand people were already considered large. The average cities numbered 4-6 thousand people, small - 1-2 thousand. The population of cities such as Paris, Milan, Venice, Florence, Seville, exceeded 80-100 thousand people.

In cities that are administrative centers, lived feudal lords, clergy. Since the XIII century. With the opening of universities (Paris, Oxford, Cambridge) part of the population are masters and students.

Residents of medieval cities often engaged in agriculture in addition to basic occupations - craft and trade.

In cities, epidemics often erupted, from which sometimes 1/3 to 1/2 of the population died. Thus, during the plague epidemic of 1347-1353, which was called "black death," 24 million people died in Western Europe. The complication of the demographic situation led to the restoration of the corvee by the feudal lords, which was called the seignorial reaction. In addition, working legislation was adopted that obliges adult people to wage labor and provides severe penalties for refusing to hire.