The Impact Of Geography On The Economic Growth Of The West

"The Black Death" alone was not the only factor that was responsible for the social and economic change although it was the most important (Ziegler 234). Even without "The Black Death" continued deterioration in Europe would have been likely. The social and economic change had already set in well before 1346. For at least twenty-five years before "The Black Death," exports, agricultural production, and the area of cultivated land had all been shrinking. "The Black Death" contributed a large part to all of this destruction and led to important changes in the social and economic structure of the country (Ziegler 234-235). The plague touched every aspect of social life (Herlihy 19). There was hardly a generation that was not affected by the plague (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). Families were set against each other - the well rejecting the sick (www.byu.edu). Families left each other in fear. Many people died without anyone looking after them. When the plague appeared in a house, frightened people abandoned the house and fled to another (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). Due to this, the plague spread more rapidly because people were not aware that being in the same house with the infected person had already exposed them to it. Physicians could not be found because they had also died. Physicians who could be found wanted large sums of money before they entered the house (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). When the

millions of deaths from infection . The bubonic plague was so devastating to Europe because the disease was very contagious and no known medicine or medical advice given by doctors would help relieve the sick which caused Europe to decline in many aspects. The Bubonic plague was said to bypass some and affect others, some victims of the plague were children and many of them died the few that managed to survive weren't able to take care of themselves. Europes economy also began to decline as a result of the immense population decline , fewer people meant fewer workers producing food and other products, ports, and trade routes began close. The few

Before the Black Death, Europe was already facing difficulties with the growing population. Due to the

Another reason the Black Plague affected the economy was how so many people died. The continent had enjoyed some 200 years of prosperity, and then 70 of cold. Result: too little food for too many people. By 1350 one-third of them, especially in the swollen cities, would be dead. In Europe in three or four years, 50 million people died. The population was reduced from some 80 million to

A major impact for this period of time was the “Black Plague” or also called Black Death. This Phenomena was a bubonic plague that wiped out 1/3 of Europe’s population. The plague was considered one of the deadliest pandemics in the history of humankind. 75 million people around the world lost their lives to this plague noting the biggest number of people being located in Europe. The “Black Plague” played a major role in the economic history of the Western Civilization due to so many people dying, Europe was declining rapidly. There were shortages of labor providing a fertile ground for economic diversification and innovation in technology. There was famine and pestilence, which would eventually lead to the capital accumulation intensification in the urban areas, stimulating the growth of trade and industry.

The price revolution in Europe was another contributing factor giving Europeans cause for concern. Europe’s population grew after the Black Plague, yet the growth of food remained constant, which led to higher food prices for the large demand. While the price of food increased, the rate of wages did not match the increase. Additional factors was the surplus of bullions

Edward, I highly agree with your opinion. The epidemic Black Death that struck Europe in the fourteenth century eradicated almost half of the population but also had a major impact on the further development of the European society. The sudden depopulation caused by the increase of the disease, brought about important economic changes. The peasants were forced to stay on their land and became tenant farmers due to the shortage of cheap labor. Moreover, the big cities had shortages of food and other products as workers died in the fields and crops were abandoned. All that time of death and misfortune also brought something positive. The labor shortage that left behind the Black Death provided an incentive for innovation, breaking the existing

In this essay studies have shown that commerce and foreign trade during 1789-1815 has a high trade level. Sailors would dock ships in United States Harbors from foreign places for trade. During this time period people didn’t have transportation such as cars, train, etc. Congress during this time had to vote for approval of laws. They had wanted to align themselves with France to defeat Britain. They signed two treaties one with Europe and another with France.

The late middle ages appears to be when the most devastating effects on population occurred, therefore resulting in what is known as one of “the deepest ever recession in history…and consequently the reason the Middle Ages come to an end” (Galan, 2013). Agricultural supply became problematic because the fields on which it grew were not farmed and what was growing there began to rot. This in turn led to an increase in the price of the products and only those with sufficient money could afford them, while the others had to suffer. Another impact the plague had back in the early years was the reduction in amount of people who worked. Everyday so many people were dying, which led to the workforce having a shortage of

On the whole, the population of Western Europe grew quite a lot during the middle ages. Agriculture advancements sparked a population growth recovery from the fall of the Roman Empire and spurred growth of trade and travel. One of the most notorious events of the Middle Ages was the Black Plague of fourteenth century and its devastation of the European population. However, the growth of the entirety of the Middle Ages cannot be defined by that one event. By the time the Black Plague hit, a new medieval agriculture technique had already taken root and affected Western Europe. In the beginning of the Middle Ages, farmers were still using the agriculture techniques of the Romans, leaving “one-half fallow, or uncultivated, for a year, and planted their crops in the other half” (Kinder et al, 292-293). Leaving half of lands uncultivated, food supply was severely restricted. Simple new division of lands into three parts, specifically in Northern Europe, allowed for farmers

The introduction broke down the agenda of the paper very smoothly. The authors agenda is to present findings and connections from studies conducted of shipping, distribution, and overseas trade, with an emphasis upon the the future later years of colonial America. This paper is laid out in three detailed sections. Part 1 explores patterns and magnitudes in colonial overseas trade. Part 2 talks about the the model underlying our analysis of improvements in distribution. It then talks about evidence pertaining to the magnitudes of the costs of distribution followed by our explanation of the decline of these costs over time. Part 3 talks about the significance of the the authors findings for interpretation of early American growth and development. The thinking style of this paper is modern regardless of it being published more than 40 years ago. This article discusses oversea trade which is very common today. Improved transportation methods have made shipping voyages much quicker

This essay deals with the three shortages of masts and timber in the 1770s, 1803, and 1808, and considers how the navy dealt with these shortages. In the War of American Independence and the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy often faced the risk of the shortages of these goods. In the second half of the eighteenth century, Britain gained the maritime supremacy in the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, and constructed many ships both for the navy and for the merchants. However, as Britain could not produce the sufficient quantity of naval stores in her own country, Britain depended on the import of naval stores from several areas. Masts from Norway, Russia, and New England, pitch and tar from Carolina, iron from Sweden, and hemp from Russia greatly contributed to British naval power in the long eighteenth century. The dependant position

On the other hand Thousands of British smugglers took advantage of the Napoleonic Wars for profit. They smuggled goods such as French silk, alcohol, and tobacco through the Channel between the two nations Actions of the English smugglers during this era were integral “players” in cross-Channel contraband networks. Their impact was seen as for they were key in economic growth, production, and distribution that led to English prosperity. Albeit done covertly, the goods smuggled back and forth between Britain and other European nations were vital in meeting the high-end demands of the British elite. Thus, the illicit trade and distribution of smuggled contraband directly aided in Britain’s consumer revolution.

The expansion of trade with fleets and galleys allowed for commerce to flourish in the fourteenth century

The early western world benefitted from revenues from trading European products to the Eastern countries (Pomeranz, 2000). High earnings obtained from trading with eastern countries and sales of slave established seven percent profit per annum, which is a “relatively high rate of return considering the high rate of depreciation on pre-industrial capital stocks, which limited the amount of savings and capital accumulation”, stated Pomeranz (2000). Many theories suggest that the Great Divergence occurred as a result of trade development from Europe to Asia, which later on became the main factor of the New World. As, Pomeranz (2000) stated, “the greatest significant advantage for Europe was the vast amount of fertile, uncultivated land in the North America which could be used to grow large quantities of farm products required to sustain European economic growth and allowed labour and land to be freed up in Europe for industrialization.” A great example of this is how England saved approximately 23-25 million acres of agricultural space by importing goods such