Historical Context of Capitalism Feudal Age 1 Learning

Historical Context of Capitalism Feudal Age 1

Learning Objective Ø To explore what Feudalism was and how it worked. Ø To understand that Feudalism in the Western heritage (and to a lesser degree elsewhere like Japan) was the forerunner to capitalism. l l How our economy and culture is structured owes much to Feudalism How the Global Economy is structured also relates back Feudal Age 2

Timeline 8, 000 BC – Agricultural Revolution, beginning of “civilization” Western World 2000 BC– 400 AD – Early Civilizations Rome as greatest in the Western World Slave Based 400 AD – 1400 AD – Middle Ages Follows collapse of “slave empires” Based on Feudalism and Land Feudal Age 3

Explore Characteristics of Feudalism Ø Stability Ø Transportation and Ø Order/Organization Trade Ø Demographics Ø Social Relations Ø Impact on Environment Ø Method of Control Ø Economy Ø Sources of Energy Feudal Age 4

Stability Ø Tradition was basis for knowledge l l What your parents did so would you Church was the other way to pass knowledge Ø Fixed social order Ø Geo-Centric Universe Ø The Second Coming of Jesus was just around the corner “As if the actors changed but the scenery on the stage and the scene acted never chantged” Feudal Age 5

Order/Organization Ø Hierarchy l l l Church – All things beyond this world Aristocracy – Maintain order here Serfs – Should gladly serve those above them Ø Implies harmony and rigid divisions, not always the case http: //media. allrefer. com/s 4/l/p 0013046 -feudalism. gif Feudal Age 6

Method of Control Ø Land was the most basic resource l Whoever controlled the land controlled the lives of others Ø Land-lords established the rules Ø Denial of Land meant denial of livelihood Ø Wealth and Power was based on Land http: //capweb. capital. k 12. de. us/pub/dhs/dbeck/feudalpyramid. gif Feudal Age 7

Economy Ø Dominantly Agricultural l Food (land) based, Subsistence Difficult to move long distances (poor trans) Highly localized economic units (geographic isolation) Crafts generally related to furthering Agricultural production Ø Castle Towns created islands with special activities and special needs Ø http: //www. historiasiglo 20. org/ME C-BC/images/feudalism 1. jpg l Provide security, order Feudal Age 8

The Story of Hikone Castle Town Ø Feudal Age Hikone castle is one of only twelve in Japan with its original keep still intact. It is perhaps better known, however, as the home of the Ii - one of the most famous samurai families in Japan. Ii Naomasa, the founder of the line, was a native of present-day Shizuoka prefecture and a close ally of Tokugawa Ieyasu since 1578. In recognition of his loyalty and aggressive fighting spirit, Tokugawa granted the Ii warriors the privilege of dressing in blood-red armor. Thereafter, the Ii 'Red Devils' invariably occupied a prominent front line position in Tokugawa's military campaigns. These campaigns increased in scale and intensity as the power and influence of Tokugawa grew, culminating in the decisive battle of Sekigahara in 1600. 9

The Red Devils Ø Castle Towns provided for special needs of the aristocracy, especially fancy armaments Feudal Age 10

Energy Ø Animate Sources -- Agricultural l Draft animals and Peasants Ø Inanimate – Consumption & Industry l Wood and Field Wastes • • • Cooking Smelting, Cloth Dyeing… First Energy Crisis occurs as forests cleared http: //www 1. istockphoto. com/file_thumbview_ approve/1620789/2/istockphoto_1620789_jap anese_temple. jpg Feudal Age 11

Example: Glass Production & Energy Demand Source Dr. H. L. Martinez Ø http: //buga. csudh. edu/index. php What is glass? l Not a crystalline solid, not a liquid. It is a “frozen” liquid. (super cooled liquid) Tiny Glass industry before the 16 th century. Ø 1580 glass production increased -- New Efficient furnaces invented and lots of wood available Ø l Two main types of glass: broad glass (for larger frames, poured in cylinder and rolled open); crown glass (smaller pieces, used blowpipe) PROBLEM: contributed to wood depletion in England during 16 th century. Ø SOLUTION: Coal fueled Glass furnaces. Ø Feudal Age Illustration of a possible early wood-fired furnace from The Volcano Dream, GAS journal 1995 by Dudley Giberson 12

Transportation & Trade Ø Transport: Difficult and limited to local area l Greatly limits commodity trade Ø Most trade in high value, light weight luxury goods l Passed along trade routes http: //www. thebritishmuseum. net/thesilkroad/image. Files/Silk. Road. Map. gif Feudal Age 13

Demographics Ø Near ZPG (zero population growth) Ø High Child/Infant mortality rates Ø Life expectancy short Ø Need for large families for survival of society Ø Cities are “black holes” l Require continual in-migration to maintain population base Feudal Age End of Feudal Age 14

Demographics Population and Urban Population – Only slight growth until the industrial age Feudal Age 15

Social Relations Ø How the system worked l l l Ø Serfs produce small surplus from Manor’s Lands Lord captures surplus Shares of surplus go to State and Church Markets l Small & Temporary • Periodic Farmers Markets locally • Seasonal Markets Regionally Ø State Controls and Distributes captured surplus Feudal Age 16

Feudal Heritage Factors that affect certain modern relationships 1. Land belongs to the Crown 2. Stability is favored, Uncertainty avoided 3. Progress is unknown or even feared 4. Religion and afterlife exert great influence 5. Social Roles are unequal but accepted Feudal Age 17

THE WESTERN TRADITION http: //www. learner. org/resources/series 58. html? pop=yes&vodid=120661&pid=848# Feudal Age 18

END OF FEUDALISM Feudal Age 19

Feudalism’s End Factors Ø Little Ice Age Ø Black Death (Plague) Ø Progress and Efficiency Ø Rise of Urban Centers and Merchant Class Feudal Age 20

BLACK PLAGUE & LITTLE ICE AGE A Distant Mirror - The 14 th Century Source: Steve Dutch Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay This Home Page: http: //www. uwgb. edu/dutchs Period was a time of turmoil, diminished expectation, feeling of helplessness at forces beyond human control. Feudal Age 21

Two Great Natural Disasters Ø Little Ice Age Ø Bubonic Plague http: //www. uwgb. edu/dutchs/index. html Feudal Age 22

Little Ice Age Ø Late 1200's to early 1800’s with break 1500 -1600 Ø Baltic Sea froze over 1303, 1306 -7. Ø Alpine glaciers advanced. Ø Norse settlements in Greenland cut off. Ø Grain cultivation ceased in Iceland. Ø Crops failed after heavy rains, 1315; famine, reports of cannibalism, epidemics. http: //www. uwgb. edu/dutchs/index. html Feudal Age 23

Bubonic Plague Ø First wave 1347 -1350. Ø Killed 1/3 of population of Eurasia Ø Six more waves 1350 -1400. Ø Population of Europe cut by 50% by 1400. Ø Probably closest approach to the effects of a thermonuclear war in history. http: //www. uwgb. edu/dutchs/index. html Feudal Age 24

Social Upheavals Ø Closure of route to China, 1368. Ø Hundred Years War 1337 -1450 Ø Chaos in the Church l Great Western Schism 1378. • John Wycliff, first of the reformers • Bogomil in the Balkans Ø Advance of Turks in Balkans. Feudal Age 25

Effects of Disorder Apathy. Ø Self-Indulgence. Ø Rise of graphic, often gruesome, realism in art. Ø Hysteria, religious fanaticism. Ø Search for scapegoat. Ø l l Jews (linked to resentment over money-lending, desire to erase debts) Witches (linked to suppression of Knights Templar via sensational witchcraft and sorcery trials which fanned popular hysteria) Feudal Age 26

Impacts of Black Death & Little Ice Age Ø System goes from labor rich and land short to opposite l Labor is freer to find best deal Ø Europe’s labor declines by up to 1/2 Ø Least productive land abandoned Ø State seeing smaller surplus, cuts back on adventures Ø Increased Rags meant cheaper paper l Knowledge spreads rapidly with printing press Feudal Age 27

Progress and Efficiency Ø New forms of Agriculture and Industry l l Heavy Plow Wind and Water Powered Mills Three field crop rotation Other new technologies spread • • • Compass – travel over seas more possible Paper & Printing – education spreads New Materials – steel instead of iron l needles Feudal Age 28

Progress and Efficiency Impacts Ø Surplus Rises in Agriculture Ø Urban Centers sprout across the landscape l l Castle towns gradually replaced by commercial centers Growth of New Towns Feudal Age 29

Urban Centers & Merchant Class Ø Rise of independent Merchant Class Brings New non-Land based means of Wealth development Ø Power base shifts away from Land Lords Ø Cities are centers for new knowledge and change Ø Superior Knowledge/Technology from abroad now has a market in the West Feudal Age 30

Environmental Crisis and Progress Ends Feudalism Feudal Age 31

Prof. Douglas North Nobel Laureate in Economics 1993, Former Chair UW Econ. Dept. and formerly my teacher Ø Periodically Humans face crises of major impact that threaten their very existence l “Malthusian Crisis” Ø The only successful response is CHANGE New Book by D. North Jan. 2005 Feudal Age 32

An On-line video explaining the Feudal Order Feudal Age 33

Some suggestions http: //www. learner. org/resources/series 58. html? pop=yes&vodid=120661&pid=838# Scroll down to the following: 19. The Middle Ages Amid invasion and civil disorder, a military aristocracy dominated the kingdoms of Europe. 20. The Feudal Order Bishop, knight, and peasant exemplified some of the social divisions of the year 1000 A. D. 21. Common Life in the Middle Ages Famine, disease, and short life expectancies were the conditions that shaped medieval beliefs. 22. Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages The great churches embodied the material and spiritual ambitions of the age. 23. The Late Middle Ages Two hundred years of war and plague debilitated Europe. Feudal Age 34