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THE EARLY MODERN AGE - Coggle Diagram
THE EARLY MODERN AGE
ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
European societies began to recover
from the mid-fifteenth century onwards after the
economic crisis
Catastrophes
Increased agricultural production
Increasement in the amount of land under cultivation
no technological advances
three-field system
Divide the area of cultivation into 3 sections
Rotate the crops each year
One section was left fallow (uncultivated)
for the land to
rest
recover its nutrients
Main crops were cereals
Intensified commercial activity
Due to surplus in production
Excess of food produced
They were sold in city markets
Trade routes
because
merchants or traders travelled seeking for new markets
over
sea
land
The expansion of craftsmanship
Domestic system
Due to growing demand
Merchants provided the families with
tools
raw materials
Products were made in workshops
Workshops were controlled by guilds
associations of craftsmen
New products were brought to Europe
Due to the voyages of exploration to new lands
Examples
precious metals
foods
species
The development of mercantile capitalism
Economic system
Capital (money, raw materials, tools, workshops...) belonged to private owners
members of the bourgeoisie
Middle class
Created trading companies to
generate new profits
Main source of economic activity
Livestock farming
Agriculture
Societies were very vulnerable
Bad crops
Hunger
Disease
SOCIAL CHANGE
Economic prosperity
increment in the population
reduction in the number of big epidemics
Cities grew
especially those on trade routes or with important ports
Venice
Paris
London
Cologne
Lisbon
Antwerp
urban society developed
one of the defining characteristics of the Early Modern Age.
Society CONTINUED divided in classes as in the Middle Ages
Priviledged class
Nobility
Clergy
They were a minority
They owned most of the land
only ones who had access to high political positions
Numerous priviledges
they didn´t pay taxes
they were judged by special tribunals
They lived in
palaces in the city.
their castles in the countryside
Unpriviledged class
Commoners
Majority of the population
They had to pay taxes
No access to high political positions
Peasants
Largest group
serfs of the feudal lord or noble
They had to pay them
Rent
or part of their harvest
Many of them went to cities
More freedom
bourgeoisie
city inhabitants
NOT ruled by a feudal lord
They increased in number
became wealthier
gained more political influence
upper bourgeoisie
important
merchants
bankers
officials
They lived in
richly decorated urban palaces
Ruling class
Nobles
Upper bourgeoisie
the most powerful and influential group
Some of them became wealthier than the nobles themselves
nobility began marrying into the richest families of the bourgeoisie
They demanded an end to the privileges enjoyed by
The nobility
The clergy
petite bourgeoisie
Small merchants
Less important officials
all types of
artisans
artists
servants
labourers
Largest group in the cities
They lived in
humble houses in buildings with several floors
Beggar and vagabonds
marginalised social group
lived on charity
Some social groups protested for their rights
The most violent protests were carried by
PEASANTS
revolts were severely suppressed .
Monarchs supported either
the bourgeoisie
gradually gained more rights
did not reach the same level as the nobility until
the end of the Early Modern Age
The nobility
depending on their own interests
BEFORE this period
People ate with their hands
In the 16th century
Catherine de Medici started
the fashion of eating with a fork in the French court
It took a long time to spread
Not in Spain until
after the Early Modern Age
Not bathing or washing because
it was believed that water spread disease
it was considered impure from a religious perspective
In order to get clean
People rubbed themselves with a piece of cloth
They only washed their clothes
Bad smells were neutralised by
perfumes
Women were considered less important than men
Main function
to have a lots of children
High infant mortality rate
Few of the children survived
Breast feeding was not acceptable
Women from the upper bourgeoisie and nobility
rented wet nurses to breastfeed their children
When did it take place?
Beginning
1453 with the fall of Constantinople
End
French Revolution in 1789
By the end of the previous era
many changes were taking place
social
economic
political
cultural
THE EARLY MODERN AGE
Economic growth resulted in
the development of banking
bankers
changed money
look after the money and precious metals of their clients
increment in the services offered
due to
the large funds available
Banking services
Provide loans
Lend money to merchants
so they can begin new commercial activities
In exchange
The same amount of money lent before
An interest
Traders made large profits
in order to pay loans back
Bankers became rich
Monarchs also asked for loans
in order to cover the costs of running their states
Create new forms of payment
Bill of exchange
A document that guaranteed that the banker would pay a
merchant
authorised person
quantity of money
specified date
specified place
No necessity to travel with cash, which was unsafe
Most important banking families
The Medici in Florence
Fugger family in Germany
vital role in the new system
Mercantile capitalism
by financing the trading companies
