Economic Systems of the Medieval World

ECONOMIC SYSTEMS OF THE MEDIEVAL WORLD ● Economy: The production, consumption, and exchange of goods and services ○ Goods: Objects ○ Services: Actions done for you ○ Consumer: A person who is consuming (buying or using) ○ Exchange: Payment for goods and services ● Factors of Production: Aspects of a society that determine what goods/services are produced and how they are produced ○ Land: the natural resources in an area that can be used to produce or create ○ Labor: the effort that the people put into the production of goods and services ○ Capital: the machines, tools, technology, etc. used by humans to produce or create ○ Entrepreneurship: when a person comes up with a new idea or process, using the other factors of production ● EUROPE ○ Manorialism in Europe ■ After the Roman Empire collapsed, Kingdoms were formed as parts of Europe were invaded by outside tribes ● As a result, Europe developed two systems: Feudalism and Manorialism ○ Economy Within Feudal Manors ■ Feudal manors had self-sufficient economies; they relied on themselves and their land ○ Social Classes in Medieval Europe: ■ CHURCH: Largest landholder across all of Europe ■ MONARCH: Owns the land in an individual kingdom ■ NOBLES: Rents the land (fief) from the monarch ■ KNIGHTS: Protects the land ■ MERCHANTS, CRAFTSPEOPLE, TRADESMEN: made/traded basic goods to be used ■ PEASANTS, SERFS: Farmed the land; serfs also farmed the land but could not leave the manor Feudal structure in Europe. Image via Brewminate. ○ Rise of Guilds in Europe ■ As towns and trade grew, guilds were created by the merchants, craftspeople, and tradesmen ● Guild: An organization of people in the same craft or trade ○ Helped to oversee some of the common issues faced by the merchants, craftspeople, and tradesmen ○ Trade and Commerce in Europe ■ Markets: food and local goods available for purchase; available to the townspeople on a regular basis ■ Merchant Fairs: hosted occasionally, attracted merchants all over the world; much larger variety of goods available from these places ● BYZANTINE EMPIRE ○ Constantinople welcomes merchants ■ Merchants from all over the world traveled to Constantinople to conduct trade ● Merchants from areas such as China, India, modern-day Ethiopia, and many other European Kingdoms traveled using the old Roman road system or came via ship to access the safe harbors near the city ● Brought various items like fabrics, food items, spices, silk, ivory, precious metals and minerals ○ Markets in Constantinople ■ One of the busiest in the world; available to ordinary citizens, had many different options of goods from all over the world, had covered walkways and lights ○ Government Regulations ■ Trading economy in Byzantine Empire very successful; government put regulations into place ● This made trade more efficient, and protected the empire ■ Regulations included customs checkpoints at the ports and borders ● Monitored trade and prevented smuggling ● Essential items were forbidden, like Greek fire, iron, lumber, and more ■ These regulations helped the Byzantine empire become very wealthy, they began to collect taxes on the traded items that were bought and sold in their marketplaces ○ Coinage ■ Byzantine government began to use coinage as a way to help facilitate trade and make it easier for trade to be conducted in Constantinople ● Most prominent Byzantine coin was the nomisma ● ISLAMIC EMPIRE ○ Trade Routes in the Islamic Empire ■ Because of its need for resources and its central location, the Islamic Empire developed one of the largest trading economies in the medieval time period. ● Routes were safe to travel, were shared, and were used by people from all over the world ○ Unique Travel Methods ■ Islamic Empire largely covered by desert; challenging for trade to be conducted easily along the large, dangerous deserts ● People in the Islamic Empire learned to adapt and began using a caravan system when traveling large distances across the desert ○ Caravan: a group of people (usually merchants) and animals that travel across deserts together ○ Trade Tied to Religion ■ Qur’an, holy book of Islam - encouraged trade and commerce ■ As Islam spread, trade became much more profitable ○ Currency in Islamic Empire ■ Islamic coin: Dinar - made it easy to exchange goods and services ■ Checks and bills of exchange were a lot easier and safer to move across trade routes than heavy coins ● WEST AFRICA ○ Trade: With Each Other and With Other Areas ■ Settlements within each vegetation zone traded with each other ○ Value of Gold and Salt in West Africa ■ Gold was highly desired around the world during the medieval time period, and is still highly desired today. ■ Salt was found abundantly in the northern part of Africa ● Halite: natural form of salt that was available in Africa ● Sodium: essential nutrient, found in salt/halite, that the human body needs as part of its diet ■ These resources were abundant in parts of Africa. ○ Gold/Salt Trade in Ghana ■ Ghana was one of the kingdoms that rose to power in West Africa during the Medieval times, lasted about 500-1203 CE. ● Located west of the Niger River, east of Senegal River Sahel/Savanna region ● Ideal, because it was on major trade routes - this brought them great wealth and power ■ Ghana located between two areas that wanted to trade with each other: Northern Africa and West Africa ● Taghaza and Wangara ○ Forests of Wangara had plenty of gold ○ Salt mines of Taghaza had plenty of salt ● Ghana’s control of this location allowed them to control the trade and tax it for more money ○ Mansa Musa and Trans-Saharan Trade ■ Mansa Musa: Ruler of Mali in 1312 ● Took a famous pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca in 1324 ● Considered to be the wealthiest person to have ever lived ■ Trans-Saharan Trade: trade occurring across the Sahara Desert ■ Two factors allowed trans-Saharan trade to grow and flourish ● Spread of Islam - Share a common language to communicate; share a common belief system so there’s less conflict ● Camels - Trade was faster, easier, and more efficient with camels carrying the goods and people across the desert ● CHINA ○ Agriculture in China ■ Early economy was rooted in agriculture; they needed to make sure they had food to survive. ● They had large areas of fertile land that were used for agriculture, particularly along the Huang He and Chang Jiang rivers. ■ During the medieval time period, the center of Chinese civilization moved from the north to the fertile basins of the south, starting a series of changes that led to major growth in Chinese agriculture ● Move the South changed what farmers grew; the warm, wet climate of the South was ideal for rice cultivation ○ Changes in Agriculture ■ Rice/Tools ● New variety of rice - A new variety of rice was brought to China; it resisted drought and grew faster, allowing farmers to plant at least two crops each year - Rice production increased ● New farming techniques/tools ○ Improved plow and harrow - made it easier to prepare fields for planting ○ Fertilizer - produced larger groups ○ Chain pump - helped to irrigate land at the edges of rivers ○ Terraces - leveled hills for farming ■ Growth in Agriculture, positive results ● Growing rice led to increased food production = larger population ● With enough food, peasants could take time away from farming to do other things like make goods for trade like silk or cotton ● With surpluses, rice farmers could sell their excess crops ● Landowners became rich enough from growing rice to buy luxury goods ○ Trade and Urbanization in China ■ Trade and Commerce ● China had already developed and large trading network - Silk Road ○ Rivers and canals helped commerce within China ○ Improvements in navigation helped with overseas trade ○ Increase in currency and the use of money helped business to grow in China ■ Urbanization in China ● Chinese cities became some of the largest cities in the world people wanted to be near the centers of activity and have easy access to purchase the foreign goods coming in through trade ● China had the “highest standard of living” ● JAPAN ○ Japan: A Feudal Society ● Japan was a very isolated society, so they developed a structured economy, similar to manorialism in Europe ● Was able to control both their agriculture and trade through this system ○ Social Classes in Japan ■ EMPEROR: At the top of society but had little real power in Japan; was more like a figurehead ■ SHOGUN and DAIMYO: The shogun was the military leader and was the most powerful person in society. The daimyo were the lords (nobles) who owned the land in feudal Japan. ■ SAMURAI WARRIORS: The samurai warriors were the military class in Japan. They protected society. ■ PEASANTS and ARTISANS: The peasants prepared and farmed the land. The artisans created items to be sold and traded. Together, they were the largest class in Japan. ■ MERCHANTS: The merchants conducted trade. They were at the bottom of society because they didn’t produce their own goods. ○ Exchange of Goods and Services in Japan ■ LIKE Europe, goods and taxes were paid up through the social classes. Merchants, peasants, and artisans had to pay taxes (in the form of rice) to the samurai. ■ UNLIKE Europe, the samurai received one flat rate. It didn’t depend on how many people were working underneath him. ● The samurai then paid taxes to the daimyo (again, in rice) and provided military protection to all classes. ■ Then, the daimyo paid taxes to the shogun. They also provided land to the samurai, peasants, and merchants. ■ The shogun paid taxes to the emperor and provided military protection. Feudal structure in Japan. Image via Caleb Salagaras, “2.Year 8 History: The Feudal System in Japan” - Youtube.com