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The history of the world economy - Polyak GB

The struggle against the feudal lords cities

As cities were located on the lands of feudal lords, the urban population was subject to non-economic coercion and perform feudal obligations. The feudal lord was the owner of the city, ruled them, minted its own coins, took with trade duties. All this hampered the development of handicrafts and trade. In the XI-XII centuries. townspeople begin an active struggle for the liberation from the power of the lord, as a result of urban residents received the release from serfdom, and the city achieved a complete or partial self-government. In some cases, civic freedoms and privileges of feudal lords redeemed for cash. This movement, led by guild craftsmen, was named municipal revolutions. As a result of these revolutions in Italy arose the city-state (city-republic) - Venice, Genoa, Florence, Milan; in Germany - Free Imperial City: Lübeck, Hamburg, Bremen; in France and Spain - the city-commune (free cities). In England there was no communal revolution, the city bought off by the feudal lords and supported the king.

City craft shops

The leading branch of the feudal economy continued to be agriculture, but advanced development gets craftwork.

Craft separated from agriculture, transformed into an independent branch. This became possible as a result of increasing agricultural productivity, growth in demand for handicrafts and development of the craft itself.

To improve the technique and technology of artisan labor, grew its performance. Notable progress was observed in metallurgy, metal processing, forging and arms business. The greatest development gets suknodelie. This is due to the high demand for the products of the industry, as well as improving the technology of spinning and weaving.

Complication handicraft production made it impossible to combine it with agriculture. Craft became the main occupation of part of the population, stands out in a special form of employment. Craftsmen as small producers, are highly qualified, produce products for trade exchange, which leads to the development of trade in order to ensure the most favorable conditions for production and marketing of products, to protect themselves from competition from artisans from other areas, to ensure the monopoly position in the production and sale of goods in the local market. The artisans one specialty, usually united in special corporations - workshops.

Logo shop brewers XVI century.

Legal registration workshop took place after the receipt of the king or lord respective charters. The first craft guilds appeared in Italy in the X century, in France, Britain and Germany -. In the XI-XII centuries. In large cities, the number of shops reached several hundred. In the XIV century. Paris had 350 shops in London - 60, in Cologne - 50.

Each shop has its own charter and the election administration - petty. A full member of the shop is a master - small commodity producer, who was the owner of the workshop and production of equipment. As an assistant he worked one or two journeymen and one or more students. In the XI-XII centuries. each student could, passing the exam receive the title of master and to open his own workshop.

An important feature of guild craft was the lack of division of labor. Artisan manufacture products completely from start to finish. At the same time there was a fairly well-developed specialization. For example, in the textile industry there were shops spinners, weavers, dyers, and others.

Guild regulation provides high quality products and let competition among artists. To this end, we determine the number of apprentices and journeymen, necessary tools, raw materials inventory, set prices for products, the duration of the working day. Satisfying the demand of the local market, some production received European recognition. Metal processing and production of weapons of famous Milan and Solingen, Venice - glass production, etc...

Originating with the formation of towns, guilds started the socio-economic basis for their development. In addition to manufacturing, they perform important social functions: the struggle against the feudal lords and the urban patricians *, protection and defense of the city. The workshop was also a religious organization, fraternity: each shop had its "holy" day, which he celebrated, a chapel or church and its celebrations.

* Patriciate is a group of hereditary landed aristocracy and wealthy merchants and money lenders. They are usually led by municipality (city council, the court disposed of the finances). Patricia often took advantage of the court and taxation to the detriment of urban artisans. In the XIII century. in a number of countries in Western Europe, the struggle against the patricians shops. She was wearing at that time a progressive character as to create more favorable conditions for the development of handicrafts and trade.

In the first century of its existence, the guilds had a progressive significance, but from the middle of the XIV century. Craft guild organization, with its strict regulation, prohibition of advertising, nondisclosure of trade secrets, becomes an obstacle to economic development.

The development of trade

The growth of cities in the XI-XV centuries. promoted the development of domestic and foreign trade. In the cities there were markets where urban artisans supplied the farmers with their products and buy their agricultural products and raw materials. Thus, the village was drawn into the trade turnover, which contributed to the development of commodity-money relations.

Foreign trade was concentrated in the two main regions of Europe: the Mediterranean basin and the Baltic and North Seas. Mediterranean trade united Spain, France and Italy, who traded with each other, as well as with Byzantium and the East. The greatest influence in this trade were the merchants of Genoa and Venice, Marseille and Barcelona. From the East to Europe carried luxury goods, wine, spices, fruit.

In trading on the North and Baltic Seas attended North German city, the Netherlands, Scandinavian countries, northern France, England, the western lands of the Russian state (Novgorod, Polotsk, Pskov).

Trading in Europe in the XII-XV centuries. was a matter of difficult and dangerous. The merchants were attacked. On the seas is the pirates on land - knights and feudal lords. Therefore, individual cities merchants united in unions, guilds for security and the establishment of the wholesale monopoly. In the middle of the XIV century. It was formed by an alliance of northern cities - Hansa, which unites more than 70 European cities. Hanseatic merchants brought from Northern and Eastern Europe, bread, fish, honey, hemp, timber, resin, tar, furs in exchange for the cloth of England and Flanders, the German metal products, French wines and products of the Levant.

Transportation of goods in Venice XVI.

Venice and Genoa had been trading with the East through the harbor of Syria and Egypt, which were imported products from China and India. They established a trading post in Feodosiya and the Azov, which became centers of trade with Russia and Poland. The Venetians and the Genoese brought cloth and other products, buy Russian, oriental goods and slaves.

Goods northern and southern streams met at fairs in the World Trade Center. Fairs were the most common form of medieval international trade. In XIII-XIV centuries. busiest trading place was county Champagne (France), where the fairs were held throughout the year. In the second half of the XIV century. Fair Centre moved to Lyon and Geneva. In Germany, the fair is held in Frankfurt and Leipzig. In the XV century. center of trade fairs in Europe, became the city of Bruges in Flanders.

The appearance of banks in Western Europe

In the feudal period there was no unified monetary system. Money minted not only kings, but also the feudal lords, bishops, major cities. This situation is a serious obstacle in the development of domestic and especially international trade. Merchants were forced to use the services of money changers, who in fact carried out banking transactions. They are well guided in cash and share some money on others were taken to preserve the free capital of merchants and at the right time gave them credit. Exchange offices called banks * and their owners - the bankers. First appeared banking offices in the cities of Lombardy and Central Italy. In the XV century. Italy were first pawn shops, which issued loans secured by things, charging for a small percentage. The bankers and moneylenders had large sums of money. But often kings and lords refused to pay on loans, which led to the ruin of many banking houses.

* From Italian. "Bank" - literally bench or money-changing table moneylender.

The Christian church forbade their parishioners to engage in usury. Therefore, as a rule, bankers, moneylenders were Jews.