Text|A Talk
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Preface:
At present, the academic community generally believes that the "Middle Ages" is the period between the 5th and 15th centuries, that is, after the fall of Western Rome, that is, before the opening of new shipping routes. The idea of "city" is a collection of population, means of production, capital, pleasures and needs.
The countryside is the opposite: isolated and scattered. The existence of cities and rural areas is based on the progress of production modes and the complexity of social relations, especially with the development of social economy. To put it bluntly, the countryside is responsible for the supply of daily necessities such as agriculture and food, while the city uses commerce to provide the countryside with some commodities that the countryside cannot provide.
A theoretical doctrine on the origin of cities in the Middle Ages
Mr. Liu Jinghua's "Various Theories on the Origin of Medieval Cities in Western Europe and Their Commentaries" contains a variety of discussions on the "Roman origin theory", "Kilt theory", "Marc theory" and "privilege theory". Although several other theories are valid, the "Roman origin theory", "privilege theory", and "commercial origin theory" are sufficient explanations for the question of the origin of the city in the Middle Ages.
For example, the origin of Rome says that with the fall of the Roman Empire, some of the cities of Rome almost disappeared, but still remained. That is, most of the ruins of this Roman city-state were located here between the 5th and 8th centuries.
In the eighth and ninth centuries, feudalism began to emerge in Western Europe, where no territory belonged to feudal rulers, so major cities were established. According to records about medieval cities, there are cities with names similar to those of ancient Rome, and some Roman period names (e.g., Cullia and Senate) were also produced in these cities, they are products of the Roman period (for example, quarrying and farming systems in Western Europe), therefore, we can conclude that these cities developed from the Roman period, they were born from the Roman period.
"Privilege theory" refers to a new kind of city-state, in which a monarch or nobleman creates a new city-state to absorb more commoners and grant them certain powers. This was due to the political factors of ancient Chinese cities, but the feudal landlords of Western Europe, in addition to expanding their territory, were more important because they were favorable to the construction of new cities.
One of the most representative is the Belgian historian Tingley. Pirang, who believed that long-distance trade due to economic development led to the re-emergence of medieval cities, and the connection between the three regions of the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea gave rise to many new cities on the European continent, and England was naturally among them.
The development and functioning of cities in medieval England
The commercial energy of the city
In general, handicrafts were industries in cities and towns, but before the Industrial Revolution, many places were rural industries, such as quarrying, mining, milling, textiles, and so on. This production required both sufficient electricity and sufficient manpower, and, in the early Middle Ages, the rural economy was a manor economy, where everything necessary was made on the estate, and had nothing to do with other modes of production, even though there were some other handicrafts at that time.
In this city, the materials needed by the people were also supplied in large quantities in the city, and food was obtained from nearby villages, and more and more caravans were sold in the form of long-distance trading to those who wanted to buy food. Some of the workers who made the daily necessities were intended for the city's nobles, such as goldsmiths, tanners, blacksmiths, and so on. In his book "Economic History of Europe", Bostein divided the towns of the European Middle Ages into:
(1) Towns with long-distance transactions.
(2) a city that is both a center of consumption and a center of production, where the inhabitants are mainly small craftsmen, producing for the local market and exchanging with the inhabitants of nearby villages;
(3) It is a city dominated by consumption, it is a political, military and religious center, it is a university, it is an educational center,
(4) The inhabitants of the city, although mostly peasants, were given a legal identity if the landowners wanted to turn the city into a fortress or to give the city a kind of freedom.
At the same time, Norman Pounds, a prominent American historian, agreed, arguing that the important functions of cities and towns were handicrafts and commerce.
In the Middle Ages, cities had other functions, such as preserving their currency in war, such as pacifying most people in war, such as cultivating the land around them, but craftsmen and trade always existed, and without them, there would be no city.
As the city became increasingly important, it became a political and religious center, where courts, prefects of parliament, and bishops gathered. They were the center of economic life, where their agricultural commodities were traded, their raw materials had to be sourced in the cities, their products had to be processed and then sold locally, although rural industries were becoming increasingly important.
It is also a social and cultural centre of the country, where doctors and lawyers live, schools, universities, theatres and shops. Land rents and other income are consumed in cities. Therefore, we can see that the city is not just a place to live, its functions include economic, political and religious functions.
The relationship between the political and economic functions of English cities
The political function of a city is mainly manifested in: how to create an administrative or administrative body of a city, how to develop a government, how to develop a close relationship between it and the aristocracy of these cities. Their wealth comes from commerce, not small shops or small businesses between craftsmen, but more on a large scale.
These activities are mainly used to exchange goods imported from distant or foreign countries, such as goods obtained on international markets, such as wool, flannel or spices. They control the way the guild operates, control the guild with which they have interests, and take on risks that ordinary people cannot bear, but they can be richly rewarded.
In 1696, Gregory King listed the size of Britain's major cities, with one hundred and fifty to two hundred houses, or towns where more than six hundred people lived. Clark, Pat and others thought the same. However, not every area with a population of more than 600 people is called a city.
It depends on whether it has a special economic role in the vicinity, or a market center, or a service center, or an industrial center, and can bring part of the countryside under its influence, forcing the people of Sixiang to go to Hua City, to his shops, to measure it in his way.
At the same time, the city's ability to become a market and a distribution center is based on the increased specialization of agriculture and the increase in consumer demand in its hinterland.
In other words, the establishment and development of cities is to meet the social and economic needs of the vast rural hinterland, reflecting the prosperity and development of agricultural production. However, in the process of development, towns will inevitably have conflicts with the countryside, such as the "impact of urban economy on the countryside", but the development of cities and towns needs the support and market of surrounding villages.
It must keep a certain distance from the countryside of the Zhou Kingdom and maintain close ties with the surrounding villages so that it can obtain a lasting base for development and prosperity. It can also use its economic superiority to destroy and destroy the original rural social structure.
It is characterized by the fact that it can obtain food from surrounding villages, such as the city of Bulford in England, it can obtain food from surrounding villages, but it can also obtain food from other villages. There are also cities that are dominated by food trade, such as Italy, Germany, the Hanseatics, the Netherlands and many more.
The cities of England during the period of social transformation and the rise of modern Britain
The city of England in the Middle Ages
The "transition period" is the transition from traditional agricultural production to modern industrial production, or from the feudal economic system to the capitalist economic system. "True modernity is the establishment of a modern society. The reason why Britain was able to rise in modern society, whether it was mercantilism or the industrial revolution, has been widely discussed.
The development of the United Kingdom depends on the city, London is the most prominent city in the United Kingdom, and the connection between religion and economic development is reflected in its trade network. In 1671, Britain's internal trading network began to be established around London. London's goods imported from abroad were not only supplied to its own country, but also reached the ports of state capitals through the trade routes of the coastline and inland rivers, and then transported to the cities.
Between 1585 and 1586, goods from London to the provinces were mainly food, drinks and raw materials, and as for food, goods brought from abroad and from the coast from the provinces were then redistributed in London.
In addition to London, the UK has many other seaports, according to customs records, the 15 main seaports are: Boston, Bristol Bridge, Waterchester Exeter, Hull, Ipsway, Lynn, London, Plymouth, Poole Newcastle, Sandwich, Southampton, Yarmouth, each seaport is a tax unit that brings great wealth to the government.
By the late Middle Ages, some places had land use rights recovered, some places had changed, some places had changed, some places had been wars, and some places had changed, such as Nottingham, Lincoln, York in England, all of which experienced a disaster.
York began to decline in the mid-fifteenth century, and in 1395 York produced more than 3,200 pieces of wool, but by the fifteenth seventy or eighties there were only 922 pieces of wool per year. In addition, the city's population fell from more than 12,000 in the early fifteenth century to more than 8,000 in the mid-sixteenth century.
The urban crisis is essentially a feudal crisis, which indicates that the feudal relations of production are once again on the verge of disintegration. In the 15th and 16th centuries, towns in many parts of England underwent similar changes, with some towns beginning to be commercialized, opened and professionalized, such as St Neots in Huntington and Tewksbury in Gloucestershire, where commercial activity was further developed.
At the same time, business exchanges between London and regional cities as well as small and medium-sized cities have been further developed, as mentioned earlier, and London has in a sense played a role in promoting other cities. For example, the manufacture of Norrij's "new nepun" and Bristol's harbour trade gave these sinking towns their own character by repositioning and downsizing commerce. At the same time, emerging cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds United City are also constantly developing, relying on the development of science and technology and the mining of minerals to develop rapidly.
The rise of modern Britain
The biggest reason why Britain has been able to develop to this point today is commerce, the development of commerce has promoted its development, the largest part of which is merchants, they live in the cities, although at some stage their funds have been transferred to the countryside, but they still occupy a pivotal position, their goods and long-distance transactions have brought huge profits to the country, and some kings can rule the world by their loans.
In Western European countries, due to the continuous growth of social productivity, various industry associations have undergone corresponding changes in their development.
The overall development trend of the British Chamber of Commerce is:
From the second half of the 12th century to the first half of the 13th century, the Chamber of Commerce was fully developed. From the second half of the 13th century to the 14th century, the trade was mainly handmade. Trade unions were already involved in urban economic activity in the 15th century.
And some trading companies of large chambers of commerce, such as the Moscow Company, the East Land Company, the East India Company, etc., also brought a lot of profits to the government. Most of the companies are made up of wealthy businessmen in London, so London's influence in England is unquestionable.
Undoubtedly, at the beginning of its rise, countries would vigorously support such enterprises, provide them with franchises (exclusivity), and assist them in expanding their commerce through diplomatic means, and during the reign of Elizabeth I, she would also limit the economic development of their competitors Spain and the Netherlands through robbers. Such a marriage not only made considerable profits for personal business activities, but also laid a good foundation for the rise of British politics.
Epilogue:
England began a profound change in the 16th century. The consequence of this change is that Britain's strength has grown by leaps and bounds, driven by the Industrial Revolution, it has become a "global factory" and has become a hegemon, of course, behind this historical event, there is another thing that cannot be ignored, that is, the medieval city, it can be said that modern Britain is built on the city of this era, and its development is closely related to the city of England.
[References]:
[1] Mark poison. Research on the Feudal Economic Form of Western Europe[M].Beijing:People's Publishing House,1985.
[2] Liu Jinghua's various theories on the origin of medieval cities in Western Europe and their comments[J]Journal of Social Sciences, Chang Hydropower Institute, 1994(2).
[3] Henri Piran's Economic and Social History of Medieval Europe [M] Shanghai: Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2001.
[4] Bostan Cambridge European Economic History[M].Beijing: Economic Science Press, 1963,