Book contents
- Frontmatter
- PART I GOVERNMENT
- PART II ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS
- 4 The European Nobility
- 5 Rural Europe
- 6 Urban Europe
- 7 Commerce and Trade
- 8 War
- 9 Exploration and Discovery
- PART III SPIRITUAL, CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC LIFE
- PART IV THE DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN STATES
- Appendix Genealogical Tables
- Primary Sources and Secondary Works Arranged by Chapter
- Index
- Frontispiece
- Plate section
- Map 1 European towns in the late Middle Ages
- Map 2 European commerce and trade
- Map 4 Winds and currents facilitating the discoveries
- Map 5 The universities o f Europe in 1400 and 1500
- Map 6 Germany and the Empire
- Map 20 The Roman Orthodox and Ottoman worlds in the fifteenth century
- References
7 - Commerce and Trade
from PART II - ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2008
- Frontmatter
- PART I GOVERNMENT
- PART II ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS
- 4 The European Nobility
- 5 Rural Europe
- 6 Urban Europe
- 7 Commerce and Trade
- 8 War
- 9 Exploration and Discovery
- PART III SPIRITUAL, CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC LIFE
- PART IV THE DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN STATES
- Appendix Genealogical Tables
- Primary Sources and Secondary Works Arranged by Chapter
- Index
- Frontispiece
- Plate section
- Map 1 European towns in the late Middle Ages
- Map 2 European commerce and trade
- Map 4 Winds and currents facilitating the discoveries
- Map 5 The universities o f Europe in 1400 and 1500
- Map 6 Germany and the Empire
- Map 20 The Roman Orthodox and Ottoman worlds in the fifteenth century
- References
Summary
the fifteenth century is generally seen as one of economic contraction until the late 1460s and then of expansion, although within it many short-term fluctuations took place. The commercial structure was flexible under these pressures: the trade network, tightly integrated, allowed specialisation; and the sophisticated level of organisation allowed adaptation to the increased need for cost-effectiveness in the early period, and to increased opportunities at the end of the century.
routes and commodities
Trade took place at local, regional and international levels. Major international sea routes ran through the Baltic to the North Sea, with an offshoot to Iceland. The Hansard Kontors at Novgorod, Bergen, Bruges and London epitomise this great trading area, although the Hansards were not the only ones to sail it. Important routes ran along the Channel and Atlantic coasts, linking Bruges to Iberia. The north was also directly linked to the Mediterranean by regular fleets of Italian, Catalan and Basque vessels, and, later, by ships from England and the Low Countries. Equally important routes ran the length of the Mediterranean and into the Black Sea.
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- The New Cambridge Medieval History , pp. 145 - 160Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1998
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