Western Europe After The Dark Ages Essay

Since the dark ages the European economy had been experiencing “a period of economic growth that greatly increased levels of prosperity and security” (Martin, 2008). Trade routes were expanding with the buying and selling of goods such as silks, spices and luxury items. “The wool and cloth industry were expanding so much that Edward III had to start taxing exports in 1347” (Martin, 2008). Land value also increased, this in turn allowed cities to grow and bring more people in to them.
“Cities became more urbanized and industrialized and with the overpopulation that cities started to experience, the land could not produce enough crop to sustain that amount of people”, in addition to their animals (Martin, 2008). The land eventually went fallow.
Prices began to increase on the food that people depended on to feed their families and animals, until the poor were no longer able to feed their families at all. If that weren’t enough the weather started to turn cold and rainy further reducing the ability to grow crops. This put the land into a great famine. The famine took its toll on the population and many people perished from the lack of food. Those that didn’t perish, …show more content…
Some people turned to drinking, eating and being merry. They thought they were being punished for their sins, and that God was showing his wrath. They thought they were going to die soon so they were going to have fun before that happened. Others also believed that they were being punished for their sins but chose to turn to God. They started praying and asking God for forgiveness, trusting that he would not bring death upon them. They donated to the church and tried to live better lives. In addition, others started pointing fingers at the Jews stating that they brought this upon them. This resulted in wars and revolts over many of the economic issues and the successors to the throne and the