Why did trade decline in the medieval time period?

Answer 1

During the Age of Migrations and the Viking Age, travelling declined because of the unrest inherent to these times. Travelling declined locally in other times because of wars. But the general trend of the Middle Ages after the Age of Migrations was an continuing increase in travel, due partly to pilgrimage, and partly to increased trade.

Answer 2

The decline of trade in the early Middle Ages resulted from the breakdown of medieval governments, the Great (papal) Schism, and a drastic population collapse brought on by famine and disease.

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The decline in trade associated with the Early Middle Ages began as Roman civilization deteriorated. This started in the 3rd century with a series of civil wars, so many that we have probably lost all record of some. Though things were patched up temporarily by Diocletian and Constantine, they did not prevent the decline from continuing, especially asr Germanic tribes invaded the West Roman Empire in the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries, setting up their own kingdoms. During this time, things in the West were pretty chaotic.

Because of the wars, both civil wars and invasions, trade was pretty slow during the 5th and 6th centuries. After that, it began to increase in the 7th and 8th centuries. The 8th century monetary reforms of Charlemagne improved the economy of most of western Europe greatly. So though the first quarter of the Early Middle Ages saw little trade, the overall trend of the time as a whole was probably toward an increase, rather than a decline.

Answer 3

Travelling in the Medieval era was very uncomfortable and dangerous as most of the terrain that they travelled were little more that tracks and they ran the risk of getting robbed. Horses were very popular transport in the medieval times as they were used to draw wooden wagons and carts, or just riding horseback.

The Lower and the middle class people would walk on foot. These people would run the risk of being robbed and bed bugs while they share a bed with the other servants in the dirty inns.

Answer 4

The major cause in the decline of trade was social and economic chaos resulting from wars and military invasions. These were associated with the decline of the Roman Empire, beginning with the Crisis of the Third Century, and with the fall of the West Roman Empire under the weight of invasions of Germanic peoples. This decline was at about its height at the time the West Roman Empire fell, but the situation did not improve for a couple centuries after that. It was clearly being reversed by the middle of the 8th century, three hundred years after the fall of the West Roman Empire, and continued to improve, with some reverses, after that.

Answer 5

because of the plague

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I suppose there actually were a couple times when trade declined because of plague, but the cause of the marked decline in trade at the beginning of the Middle Ages was political chaos, as huge tribes of peoples migrated into Western Europe form the North and East.

The situation of trade in the Middle Ages is widely misunderstood. Much of the decline happened during the last two centuries of the Roman Empire, and trade was already on the increase within two centuries of the time the Roman Empire fell and the Middle Ages started. The period of major medieval decline in trade was only about the first quarter of the thousand year history of the Middle Ages.

The people who reestablished trade are a bit surprising. For all of the destruction we attribute to the Vikings, they were important traders of their time. Much of the important trade in the South and East of Europe was with the Muslims of the Middle East. And it was the Mongols who established the Silk Road.

Answer 6

People traveled in medieval times for the same reason they travel today, because they needed to be someplace other than where they were. This might have been for trade or business, for education, for military or diplomatic reasons, or because they were displaced by war, famine, or disease, among other reasons.

Answer 7

Medieval times were very turbulent and new technologies were being invented and life improved as the medieval era passed.

Answer 8

The crusades