Describe how agriculture contributed to the economy and development of cities and towns.
By: Rachel Kass
Expansion of Arable Land
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Improved Agricultural Techniques
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The video above shows how cities start and what results from this. Notice how this pattern applies to almost every empire.
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New Things
New Tools and Technology
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New Crops
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Population Growth
Revival of Towns and Trade
- Supported Urban Residents-artisans, craftsmen, merchants, and professionals
- Serfs and peasants cames to cities
- Ex-Paris, London, Toledo, Venice
- For the first time since the fall of the western Roman empire, cities played a MAJOR role in European economic and social development
- Increased specialization of labor=expansion of manufacturing and trade
- Especially, production of wool (mainly in the cities of Italy and Flanders)
- In northern France, there were fairs that served as market places where merchants could exchange goods
- Revival of urban society was most evident in Italy, which is located to participate in Mediterranean trade
- Amalfi and Venice were the main ports to trade with Byzantine and Muslim partners
- Italian merchants exchanged salt, olive oil, wine, wool fabrics, leather, and glass for luxury goods
- As trade expanded, Italian merchants established colonies in major ports
- By 13th century, Venetian and Genoese merchants maintained large communities in Constaninople, Alexandria, Cairo, Damascus, and Black Sea ports
- Trading ports enabled interactions with Muslim merchants
- The Baltic Sea and the North Sea became sites of a trade network known as the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
- The Hanseatic League was an association of trading cities
- The Hansa dominated trade in grain, fish, furs, timbers, and pitch
- The trading fairs linked the Hansa network with the Mediterranean
Banks
- An increase in trade encouraged development of credit, banking, and new forms of business organization
- Banks issued letters of credit
- This credit allowed merchants to trade on a large scale
- Merchants entered into partnerships, further stimulating the economy
College Board Themes
1. Creation, Expansion & Interaction of Economic Systems
Why: We are looking at how cities developed through the establishment of banks and trading, two economic aspects of urbanization.
Why: We are looking at how cities developed through the establishment of banks and trading, two economic aspects of urbanization.