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The economy in the 17th century, imagen, imagen, imagen, imagen, imagen,…
The economy in the 17th century
The European economy
In the 17th century
Was an agricultural crisis
Agriculture was the main economic activity
Agriculture was seriously affected by the following factors
Farmers migrated to the cities to avoid paying taxes
In periods of crisis, many of them fled because they were unable to pay them.
Agricultural techniques were outdated, resulting in low productivity
Plagues and other epidemics
Caused an increase in mortality, resulting in a reduction in the agricultural workforce.
There were years of bad harvests
Wars
Which resulted in areas being plundered and a reduction in the workforce in the countryside.
When agricultural production decreased, prices rose and the majority of the population did not have enough food.
This situation is called a subsistence crisis
Occurred frequently in the 17th century
Consequently, hunger spread, resulting in a decrease in the population or demographic decline throughout Europe
In the second half of the century, situation improve slightly
This resulted in an increase in the population, compensating for the previous decline
By the end of this century, the population had increased to the same level that it was at the beginning
The following factors enabled this recovery to occur:
There was a growth in colonial trade, with the incorporation of English, French and Dutch traders.
Colonial empires expanded
The French expanding to North America
Dutch founding trading posts in South Africa and Indonesia.
English reaching India
The textile industry grew in some countries
England
Holland
Fewer wars
The monarchs intervened in the economy, implementing the mercantile system.
Governors had to do the following to help the economy prosper:
Increase the amount of precious metals entering their kingdoms and prevent them from entering other countries.
Protect national industries by taxing imported products.
The economic crisis in Spain
The Spanish monarchy became involved in more wars than the other European powers.
Other factors also contributed to the worsening of the agricultural crisis, resulting in a greater demographic decline in Spain than in the rest of Europe.
The agricultural crisis and the decline in the population
The expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609 meant that more than 300 000 people left the Peninsula, the majority of whom were farmers
Had a very negative effect on agriculture
Especially in
Aragòn
Valencia
Many farmers left the countryside due to the hard way of life.
They migrated to the cities where they survived by begging.
Pícaros became more predominant
These are people from a low social class who manage to survive by deceiving and cheating others.
Others migrated to America in order to escape poverty.
The trade and craft industry crisis
While other kingdoms were creating and expanding their colonial empires, the Spanish monarchy ran out of resources from the Americas
The mines were almost empty, and consequently the Spanish monarchs' main source of income decreased
Their sea route to the Americas was constantly under threat from pirates and smugglers.
There was a crisis in the craft industry
Spanish manufactured products were not competitively priced in comparison to other countries.
Trade with the Americas also decreased
Craft industries were established locally to meet the demand.
The rest of the colonial empires established trading posts in the Americas in order to sell their products there.
