Commercial Revolution

Aim/Goals: Why did geography influence the development of major trading centers?

Do Now: NYC is a major trading center. Using the world map, discuss in a few sentences what advantages does NYC have for trading?

Homework: You are a merchant between the years 500-1650 AD traveling along the trade routes. In a paragraph, describe the difficulties and dangers you face.

Document #1“A Growing Food Supply”

Read “Why did the food supply increase?” Answer the following question:

1. Give three reasons why the food supply increased.

The three reasons why the food supply increased was __________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

Agricultural Revolution

New farming technologies

iron plow harness windmill three-field system

Increase in food production

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Population explosion

Between 1000 and 1300, the population of Europe doubled.

Document #2“The Guilds”

Read “What were the guilds?” Answer the following question:

2. What were two kinds of guilds?

The two kinds of guilds are

_________________________________

_________________________________

Medieval GuildsMedieval Guilds

Guild Hall

Guild Hall

Commercial Monopoly:

Controlled membership apprentice journeyman master craftsman

Controlled quality of the product [masterpiece].

Controlled prices

Document #3“The Commercial Revolution”

Read “Why did trade and finance increase?” Answer the following question:

3. How did ways of doing business increase?

Ways of doing business increased because

__________________________________

__________________________________.

A Commercial Revolution

The revival of trade led to a revolution in commerce.

As trade revived, merchants needed money to buy goods. The reintroduction of money led European merchants to develop new business practices, such as- setting up banks

- joining together to set up partnerships

- developing insurance

- adopting the bill of exchange

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Document #4“Why did towns grow larger?”

Read “Why did towns grow larger?” Answer the following question:

3. Why did peasants move into towns?

Peasants moved into towns because ___________________________

Trade in Medieval Europe, 1000–1300

Europe’s growing population needed goods that were not available to them.

As foreign invasions and feudal warfare declined, trade increased.

Key Cities:

Genoa, Italy

Venice, Italy

Canton, China

Cairo, Egypt

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