The Revival of Trade
It took awhile for trade and commerce to come back to life. Because the Early Middle Ages were filled with much strife and hardship, most large trades ceased. Once the 11th century rolled around, however, trade began to pick up again.
It was mostly Italian cities that started to trade more frequently.Venice was one of the key cities in this revival. It was close with cities in the Byzantine Empire in terms of trade, and the people of Venice decided to start trading on a large scale. Most of the goods that Venice traded with Constantinople included wine, grain, and wood. In return, they received silk fabric. Venice then distributed this silk to other cities in Italy. Other Italian cities began to trade as well. Once the Crusades had been going on for a while, merchants began to trade by setting up trading posts in eastern ports. Some things that they received included silks, sugar, and spices.
Once the High Middle Ages came around, Italian merchants were spread out very far across the trading landscape. Some of these trading centers were located in Cairo, Black Sea ports, and Cairo. They traded with people from India and China. Some of the very daring merchants ventured all the way to India and China.
Flanders, a region in northern France and Belgium, was also bustling with the life of trade. One main export of Flanders was woolen cloth. Many people from England, Scandinavia, France, and Germany came there so that they could trade their own goods in exchange for this wool. This made the towns of Ghent and Bruges very successful because they were the main manufacturers of this cloth.
Once Italy and Flanders had established trade, there were regular periods of trading between them. Many of the counts of Champagne decided to create 6 fairs to host each year so that this trade could be encouraged. They made sure that the merchants who traveled to the fairs were safe and had fun, but they also collected a sales tax so that they could make money off of every trade. These fairs became the largest trading grounds for western Europe. The things that the northerners brought to the table included furs, tin, hemp, honey, and woolen cloth, while the southern and easterners brought cloth, swords, spices, sugar, and silks. These fairs inspired many people to start having their own trading fairs.
As a result of this trade, gold and silver became very valuable and money became of worth again. To manage this, banks and trading companies were set up. This began commercial capitalism in Europe where the people could invest in the very successful trading business.
It was mostly Italian cities that started to trade more frequently.Venice was one of the key cities in this revival. It was close with cities in the Byzantine Empire in terms of trade, and the people of Venice decided to start trading on a large scale. Most of the goods that Venice traded with Constantinople included wine, grain, and wood. In return, they received silk fabric. Venice then distributed this silk to other cities in Italy. Other Italian cities began to trade as well. Once the Crusades had been going on for a while, merchants began to trade by setting up trading posts in eastern ports. Some things that they received included silks, sugar, and spices.
Once the High Middle Ages came around, Italian merchants were spread out very far across the trading landscape. Some of these trading centers were located in Cairo, Black Sea ports, and Cairo. They traded with people from India and China. Some of the very daring merchants ventured all the way to India and China.
Flanders, a region in northern France and Belgium, was also bustling with the life of trade. One main export of Flanders was woolen cloth. Many people from England, Scandinavia, France, and Germany came there so that they could trade their own goods in exchange for this wool. This made the towns of Ghent and Bruges very successful because they were the main manufacturers of this cloth.
Once Italy and Flanders had established trade, there were regular periods of trading between them. Many of the counts of Champagne decided to create 6 fairs to host each year so that this trade could be encouraged. They made sure that the merchants who traveled to the fairs were safe and had fun, but they also collected a sales tax so that they could make money off of every trade. These fairs became the largest trading grounds for western Europe. The things that the northerners brought to the table included furs, tin, hemp, honey, and woolen cloth, while the southern and easterners brought cloth, swords, spices, sugar, and silks. These fairs inspired many people to start having their own trading fairs.
As a result of this trade, gold and silver became very valuable and money became of worth again. To manage this, banks and trading companies were set up. This began commercial capitalism in Europe where the people could invest in the very successful trading business.