Birth of World Economy

Who founded Venice?

• inhabitants of italian mainland fleeing from Attila and Huns

• hid on islands in Adriatic Sea

• Venice became strong bc it was protected by water

How can Europe be defined?

• not only continent but economic and cultural area

• became important in 11th and 13th century when trade connected Mediterranean, North Sea and Baltic regions

Which dates mark the beginning of the Middle Ages?

• 313 AD - Edict of Milan

• 330 AD - Constantinople founded

• 476 AD - Fall of Western Roman Empire

How did Venice defeat Genoa and Pisa?

• became stronger trough trade and naval power

• Pisa became weak after wars with Genoa

• Venice defeated Genoa in the War of Chioggia (1378-1381)

• became Mediterranean trading city

Who was Thomas Robert Malthus?

• economist + popular thinker

• population grows faster than food production

• → can cause famine, disease and war

What was the medieval agriculture revolution?

→ farming improvement

• heavy plough

• three-field system

• better farming methods

• use of watermills + windmills

→ increased food production and helped towns and trade grow

Where did plague come from?

• started in Central Asia and spread along trade routed

• reached Europe in 1347 through ships from the Black Sea

What forms did medieval trade take?

• local markets

• regional fairs (Champagne fairs)

• long-distance Mediterranean trade

• banking and bills of exchange

What was the military revolution?

16th -17th centuries included

• firearms and cannons

• large infantry armies

• stronger fortresses

• permanent armies

→ increased state spending and taxation

What were the consequences of the agricultural revolution?

• more food

• population growth

• growth of towns

• growth of trade

• development of market economy

How did Plague spread and what happened after?

• spread through trade routes after 1347

Consequences:

• millions died

• labour shortage

• higher wages

• weaker feudal system

• economic crisis

Why did the Dutch West India Company fail?

• WIC focused too much on war and piracy

• lost Brazil to Portugal

• didn’t make enough profit

• was weaker than VOC

Describe the Portuguese geographical discoveries

• 1415: Ceuta conquered

• Madeira and Azores colonized

• African coast explored

• 1488: Dias rounded Africa

• 1498: Vasco da Game reached India

→ this moved trade from Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean

How did Europe adapt after the 14th century crisis?

• reducing serfdom

• using more wage labour

• expanding trade

• growing cities

• strengthening banking and finance

How can historical time be interpreted?

• long-term structured

• medium-term economics cycles

• short-term events

What does the concept of space mean in history?

→ Braudel believed geography strongly influences history

World economy has:

• borders

• a central city

• richer and poorer regions

→ Wallenstein called these core, semi-periphery and periphery