Economics in the Late Middle Ages (1300- 1450)
Severe weather changes during the Late Middle Ages had a considerable effect on economics in Europe. Due to the weather getter colder and wetter, it leads to fewer crops for harvesting and hunger for the Europeans. Most of all of Northern Europe suffered the loss of harvesting wheat, oat, and hay which the people and animals relied on. This was called the Great Famine. The death rate was so high that burial procedures were so hard to keep up with, leaving dead bodies all over the streets or in paths.
In the non-famine years, disease got to the farm animals, which caused the rise in cost for the grains. The increasing prices made it extremely difficult for the poor to afford food leading them to be prone to disease. This resulted in lower productivity and output on the workers because they were much too weak to work. This caused inflation in the grains.
People were abandoning their homes in England or trying to sell them to richer people in order to purchase food. Young men and women sought out work in towns and postponed marriage. Over the years the population dropped. Because the sheep were dying, this had an enormous effect on international trade for wool, causing Flemish workers to get laid off.
The Black Death first struck Europe in 1937 and killed about one-third of the population. Its effect on the economy in the fifteenth century gave landlords high revenue because of England and other regions of Europe experienced a population
Increase of its people. The losses from the Black Death and famine lead to multiplying production, which brought back an even balance among employment, property, and money.
High mortality from the Black Death created a decl...
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...rease taxes and competing for the new colonies in the new and old worlds.
Mercantilism policy changed the regulation for economic activity by the principle founded by French Finance minister under King Louis XIV, Jean-Baptise Colbert. His principle simply states the wealth and economy of France should serve the state. His theory was to export as much as possible and import less. He put high tariffs on imports and took away the tariffs on exports. He creates weights and measures by doing this and the products are of good quality, creates infrastructures like canals and he creates authority for the king on a local level which he never had. But this great economic idea changed after Colbert’s death. The King was under extreme pressure for war and he couldn’t take the pressure anymore and France went to war and all of Colbert’s achievements went down the drain.