Growth of Trade and Banking Introduction Gains in

Growth of Trade and Banking

Introduction • Gains in agriculture produced bigger changes in medieval economic life • Banking was soon introduced to help facilitate this new long distance trade • The largest banking operations were in Italy • However, Germany, the low countries, France, and Britain were clearly capitalistic

Exchanges • Between western Europe and other parts of the world • Wealthy Europeans developed a taste for luxury goods • Mediterranean trade developed once again – mainly in the control of Italian merchants • Timber and grain came from northern Europe and cloth and metal came from the south

• Soon, commercial alliances emerged • First in Germany – The Hanseatic League – This was a mix of people in Germany and southern Scandinavia

Banks • Many Jewish people dominated the banking sector of the economy • They lended money to the monarchs and the papacy • This growth of banking and trade served Europe as the origin of capitalism

Capitalism • Investing for profit • Individual merchants could gain mass amounts of profit • Jacques Coeur - one of Europe’s most famous entrepreneurs • He founded a trading company that competed with Italians and Spaniards • He visited Damascus for spices, rugs, silk, and Indonesian spices • He also became a financial advisor to the King of France

• However, when it was discovered that he was selling weapons to Muslims, he was tortured and sent to die on a Greek island

Other Leagues and Groups • Many of the growing commercial cities were run by leagues • Royal governors did not interfere with commercial business • Thus, this rising merchant class was gaining power in Europe • Guilds formed – grouped people in similar businesses, they stressed security and mutual control; all members gained a share of profits

• Artisan guilds were made up of people who actually made cloth, bread, jewelry or furniture • Guilds guaranteed quality • They often had a voice in city government