The Renaissance
The European Renaissance signified a monumental shift in the traditional European way of life. It’s
what transitioned Europe, and by extension the rest of the world, from a primarily agrarian lifestyle to
one in the bustling, inner city. It’s known as the “rebirth” of a culture, as people shifted from highly
religious ways of thinking to science and observation. But one of the biggest changes during the
Renaissance was the European economy.
In the Middle Ages, Feudalism was widespread around Europe. Feudalism was an economic
hierarchical system where the “higher-ups” or the noblemen were the landowners who pledged their
support to the monarchy, and the peasants were the working class who worked for the noblemen.
During the Renaissance, there was a great revival of art, science, literature, and above all, freedom.
This helped the trade system in Europe become much more expansive, which meant demand for all
sorts of goods grew. This pointed out an efficiency flaw in the feudal system, which due to its rigidity
and instability (because of peasant rebellions) failed to meet the demands of the new markets.
Therefore, new production methods arose which increased the division of labor to ensure maximum
efficiency. The feudal system began to give way to a more capitalistic society. With newer
technology, peasants were no longer needed for manual labor and so many of them moved to cities
and those who stayed behind became paid laborers.
Even with Capitalism coming about, the social hierarchy remained with one addition: the merchant
class. The new merchant class began handling trade for the monarchies, which meant monarchs could
now profit off merchants and no longer had to rely on the commoners for wealth. They were also able
to build better armies who were loyal only to the king instead of having to rely on mercenaries who
would just follow the money.
As in our modern capitalist society, money became the symbol of power. The traditional agrarian
supported economy was transitioning into the high efficiency, money powered economy of today. The
Renaissance was a time of revival and rebirth for Europe after the devastating effects of the famines
and black plague, and it quite literally launched Europe into the future, or as we call it today, our
modern era. And while it really was a golden age for art and literature, it also magnified human greed
and made our society more materialistic. The Renaissance is where it all started.
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Nice post! It was really cool to learning not only about how money effected the economy and lifestyles of the people during the European Renaissance but also how you connected it to how our own economy and way of living has evolved from it. it Good read!
ReplyDeleteReally great input! It is really interesting to see what a prosperous economy can influence the culture of a society. The shift of an economy can really impact how people feel and determine what they feel is needed in their everyday life
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