Urbanization
Before the Crusades, life in Europe was centered on estates
and feudalism, when the holy war began it shifted to prioritize trade and
commerce in order to fund the war. This led to inflation of prices but overall
increased the quality of life.
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Guilds
Towns were formed as trade and commerce became a feasible
form of livelihood. As the holy war went on, it became apparent that there was
much to gain as people had more access to other societies. This in turn led to
the forming of Guilds that standardized and regulated the trade practice
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The Middle Class
Lending and borrowing in order to
finance the trades and commerce stimulated the financial system which led to
the formation of the first credit institutions. A new ‘middle class’ emerged as
the result of this growth of the European economy.
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Division of labor
Not so much as a ‘division’ but the formulation of new ones-
the nobility had to sell their lands and personal belongings which benefitted lower
and middle class. Peasants now experienced a higher demand for their products and
the new middle class became tradesmen, financers and transportation providers.
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Money/weights/measure systems
With the rise of new classes, there
was a shift in the redistribution of wealth- the economic power of the Church
shifted to the tradesmen and merchants. The emerging importance of trade and commerce
resulted in the standardization of money, weights and the measuring system.
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Usury
People began to sell their lands and belongings as a way to
finance the cost of joining the Crusade, and most of the time, this wasn’t
enough. They turned to Churches which were obligated to provide loans without
interest due to Usury policies. This significantly decreased their wealth of
which they had to share with other Crusaders.
