The well-known metropolises, such as London, Paris and Milan, have always been high on our minds. Not only do these places have huge populations and towering buildings, but they also play a vital role in many areas.
What's more, most of Western Europe's metropolises have a rich history, with London and Paris emerging in the early Middle Ages, attracting residents from the surrounding areas.
With the advent of the Age of Discovery, their fame spread around the world along with the sails of the sea. In the Middle Ages, Western Europe developed slowly, natural disasters and man-made disasters were frequent, and shortages of materials and goods were the norm.
However, historians have found that it was this state of "material shortage" that partly drove the urbanization process in Western Europe.
Urban development and transformation in Western Europe should be familiar with the concept of the city. Cities were formed and developed through different periods, including the Greek city-state period, the classical city period, and the modern city period.
Modern cities are significantly different from ancient Greece. The latter's so-called city-state was more like a country, with both Athens and Sparta being highly autonomous, unlike later cities such as London, Paris, and Milan.
With the rise of the Roman Empire, cities began to appear in Western Europe, such as Rome, Milan, and Florence, among others, which were known as classical cities. Classical cities are similar to ancient cities in China, and they first play the role of military defense, and are usually surrounded by defensive facilities such as city walls or moats.
Although there was also commercial development within them, the city was not built primarily for commerce.
In Europe, the classical cities of the Roman Empire gradually disappeared after entering the Middle Ages. This was due to the fact that the Roman Empire was wiped out by the Germanic peoples, who were predominantly nomadic and had a very low need for cities.
Thus, in the course of the war, the Germans destroyed the cities of Rome, leaving only a few scattered. The remaining cities, such as the city of Rome, have become very dilapidated, with a drastic decline in population and the near extinction of crafts and commerce.
However, in the late Middle Ages, the three-nursery system gradually emerged in various parts of Europe, and the evolution of farming methods led to breakthroughs in grain production in many places. Despite the fact that there was still a problem of underproduction, the wealth of the Territory gradually increased, as did the handicrafts.
Against this backdrop, commerce began to flourish in some areas, and the business population gradually increased. In addition, the large amount of booty brought by the Crusades made the trade of goods in Western Europe more active.
Under these circumstances, many towns began to develop and gradually became the economic centers of the region. By the 12th century, a number of commercial cities in Western Europe had begun to emerge, with London in England, Paris in France, and Venice in Italy.
These cities continue to attract a steady stream of people from the surrounding areas, and urban development is changing rapidly. In the process, some large cities were freed from the control of their lords by peaceful or military means, gaining some degree of autonomy.
Since then, urban residents have had a certain degree of freedom and personal freedom, and the overall development has begun to enter a rapid track.
The emergence and development of urbanization in Western Europe in the Middle Ages was not due to a single cause, but was the result of a combination of factors. "Insufficient production"Being seen by scholars as an important factor in driving this process is different from popular belief.
To understand this point of view, it is necessary to delve into medieval Europe"Insufficient production"The cause of the phenomenon. In fact, Europe has always existed"Insufficient production"problems, but in the Middle Ages it was more serious.
The reason is that Western Europe is flat and seems to have a large amount of arable land, but due to the influence of the Mediterranean climate, the summer is hot and dry, and the winter is mild and rainy, resulting in the stunted growth of crops and a shortage of food.
Most of the crops grown by urban humans need a combination of rain and heat, especially in the hot summer, where sufficient rain is essential for the growth of crops. However, the staggered peaks of rain and heat in the Mediterranean climate are extremely detrimental to the growth of crops.
The fall of the Roman Empire symbolized the replacement of advanced civilizations by barbaric nomadic civilizations, which led to the interruption of the development of Western European society and the disappearance of many excellent agricultural technologies.
The Germanic peoples had a very little knowledge of agriculture, and when they took over the fertile land that the Romans had worked so hard to cultivate, they destroyed it, resulting in a significant decline in production. At the same time, the prevalence of serfdom seriously hindered the development of the productive forces.
Many of the lords of the manors treated the serfs harshly, leaving them in a poor state for a long time, and the cultivation efficiency was naturally unsatisfactory.
Medieval Europe was a chaotic period of history, with constant wars between nations, severe restrictions on the wisdom of the people by religion, and repeated plagues that consumed the vitality of mankind.
In this multifaceted negative situation, the lack of production in Western Europe can be said to be an inevitable consequence. Nevertheless, why is "underproduction" a key force in the urbanization of Western Europe?
In medieval Europe, many families faced food shortages due to low productivity. In this case, there may be a labor spillover for the average household.
Some family members may be forced to become serfs to cultivate the land for the lord of the estate. And for those families who have become serfs, they may choose to abandon the redundant members if food ** is still scarce.
This labor spillover provides an important resource for urban development – population. In feudal society, most people would only choose to cultivate the land at home, and would not consider living in an unfamiliar place.
However, due to low productivity, labor spillover has become an important driver of urban development.
In the Middle Ages, many families opted for the manor system in order to survive, although this would seem cruel today. These homeless people have no choice but to rely on labor to make ends meet.
Fortunately, Europe at that time was vast and sparsely populated, and there was a lot of uncultivated wasteland to exploit. However, these wastelands are often located in sparsely populated areas and are surrounded by forests, where they are likely to be attacked by predators.
Therefore, not everyone is willing to go to the land, and some people choose to go to the city to pursue the future. Although the competition in the city is fierce, it is at least much safer than in the wilderness.
Urbanization continued, and the autonomy of cities such as Florence, Milan and Venice attracted large numbers of oppressed serfs who flocked to the cities in search of freedom, leaving the shackles of the lords.
When these people entered the city, they either became mercantile members or joined the handicraft guilds. Their efforts led to the rapid development of commerce and handicrafts in small and medium-sized towns, allowing cities to have richer social functions and rapidly improve their status, and successfully transition to modernization.
In the Middle Ages, the agricultural population of Western Europe turned to cities due to "underproduction", which led to the rapid development and expansion of cities such as London, Paris, and Venice.
The emergence of cities in Western Europe in the Middle Ages led to the development of commerce and handicrafts. However, there is a limit to this growth, which ultimately leads to the stagnation of urban expansion. However, with the opening of the first channel between Europe and the Eastern world, the precious items of the Eastern world gradually flowed in, filling the shortcomings of Western Europe.
However, at this time, the problem of "insufficient production" in Western Europe reappeared, and they could not meet the needs of the Eastern world, so they could only trade with **, resulting in a large number of **loss and ** deficit.
In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to promote the development of European handicrafts, so that more goods can be offered. In order to develop the handicraft industry, it is necessary to continue to expand the size of the city and attract more people to join.
In the Middle Ages, rulers of Western Europe intensified the construction of cities in order to obtain oriental treasures such as porcelain, silk, and tea. Over the decades, cities such as Venice, London, Paris and Florence have emerged as world-famous megacities.
These medieval cities laid a solid foundation for the rise of the Renaissance movement and the beginning of the Age of Discovery, and even promoted the global industrial revolution.
Although "underproduction" brought many difficulties to ordinary people in Western Europe, it also broke certain shackles, promoted the process of urbanization, and wrote a new chapter in European history.
Medieval Europe due to the limitations of natural conditions and social environment"Insufficient production"The problems have always plagued Western Europe. However, this problem has also contributed to the transition from an agricultural to an urban population, providing important support for the urbanization process in Western Europe.
Driven by the East and the West, Europeans continued to seek change, promoted the rise of large cities, and at the same time cultivated the spirit of continuous improvement of Europeans, laying the foundation for the advent of the Age of Discovery.
These are described in the History of the Middle Ages in Europe and the Economic and Social History of Late Medieval Europe.