HIST-209 Lecture 1: Serfdom and the Economy
9 Jan 2019
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Document Summary
Example: new horse harness which allows the horse to pull a heavier load. The old style called "two field" where one half of the field had to be fallow must remain so for a year in order for it to regain nutrients. 1/3 is fallow and the other fields growing different things. Slow developments but simple and very important to feed a growing population until the beginning of the 14th century: towns become true economic centers. Go to town and buy other products and trade. Creation of new towns reached an historic high. Craftsmen want to move to town so they can offer their products and services. A new source of power, the water/wind mill, where as before relying on oxen, water power is efficiently used and improved. A sort of a small medieval "industrial revolution". They were also very profitable and owned by joint-stock companies. Textile industries and centers with thousands of workers are flourishing.
