Middle Ages Agriculture and Trade PDF

## Landbouw, handel en nijverheid ### In the Middle Ages * **People were no longer self-sufficient** * People bought their food at markets and shops, or had it delivered to their homes. * **How did people obtain food in the Middle Ages?** ### Changing Landscape * **Early Middle Ages (500...

## Landbouw, handel en nijverheid ### In the Middle Ages * **People were no longer self-sufficient** * People bought their food at markets and shops, or had it delivered to their homes. * **How did people obtain food in the Middle Ages?** ### Changing Landscape * **Early Middle Ages (500-900 AD)** * West Europe was heavily forested. * People lived in open areas that they used as farmland. * In the South, the Roman model of agriculture was dominant, with vineyards and olive groves. * In the North, animal husbandry was more common. * Food was supplemented by hunting, fishing, and gathering wild berries. * Monasteries spread the Roman model of agriculture across Europe. * **Between the 10th and 13th Centuries** * Population increased rapidly. * People needed to expand farmland to feed the population. * New land was cleared around open areas in forests. * Hunters resisted the clearing of hunting grounds. * To clear more land: * Marshes were drained * Dykes were built * Heath was brought under cultivation * This was especially true in Flanders, where sheep farming was the dominant agricultural activity. * Woolen cloth was created and exported. * **East of the Elbe** * German lords and knights conquered Slavic lands between the 12th and 13th Centuries. * They drained bogs and marshes. * Flemish and Dutch colonists assisted with this process. * They were successful, leading to grain surpluses and grain exports. * This increased demand for flax in Flanders. * **New Technologies** * Most work was done by hand or with primitive tools, as metal was scarce. * Examples include sickles and pickaxes. * New technologies came into use: * Three-field system of agriculture * The wheeled plow * The horse shoe * The flail for threshing * Monasteries promoted new advancements in agriculture. * Food production was low (3-4 times what was planted) * Lack of food was therefore a major problem. * Diets were poor and people were susceptible to diseases. ### Development of Trade * **Early Middle Ages** * Trade was limited due to localized subsistence farming. * The only trade was carried on the sea, in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean. * Luxurious goods were imported into Italy from Asia. * **8th Century** * The Carolingian Empire experienced a trade revival. * It was disrupted by Viking raids and Magyar invasions. * **10th Century** * Conditions improved. * There was a surplus of crops. * Small markets developed in towns. * Merchants began traveling between cities. * The North Sea and the Mediterranean both developed into trade routes. * The largest trading network was based in Northern Italy. * Italians traded between Eastern and Western Europe, introducing goods from Asia into Europe. * The Champagne fairs were held in France. * They connected Northern and Southern Europe. * **Disadvantages of the system** * Poor roads * Difficulty of transporting goods * Bandits * Taxes * **13th Century** * Ships were improved. * New sea routes were explored. * Northern European cities, including Bruges, London, and Lübeck, rose to become powerful trading hubs. * Champagne's dominance in trade receded.