Guilds and frairies
Guilds had their own privileges and jurisdictions codified according to an officially recognized status. These included price-fixing, weights and measures and market monopoly. Some guilds were granted the right to mint their own currency, but these cases were rare and of short duration. In the context of the time, the guild was considered to be an authentic association of merchants and transporters on the same waterway, customers attracted from the same shopping center. The Guild of Merchants of Tiel, in Gelderland, for example, was in contact with England, it is the oldest. The spawning ground was that of the Halle basse in Valenciennes, France, whose archives date back to 1050. Then appeared the Merchant Guild of Saint-Omer. But it was Flanders and the Rhine regions that were the spearheads of the economic guilds that, much later, around the 18th century, extended to England, the whole of the Netherlands, the Scandinavian countries...
Hanses of Europe
The guilds had vigorously contributed to the development of the communal movement by fostering a spirit of solidarity and resistance to the feudal regime. But these corporations will soon disappear to give way to a more ambitious policy, first regional and then European: the creation of Hanses (from the former German Hansa, troop, band). First of all, the guilds were grouped together, the Hanses did not escape the movement and became leagues of merchant cities:
The Teutonic Hanseatic League, undoubtedly the most famous and important of all. In the 14th century, it reached its peak. Against the domination of this oligarchic and exclusive patrician, the little ones joined forces. Its power was such that states treated its representatives as ambassadors for a great country.
The Hanseatic trade was based, on the one hand, on the trade-in furs and wax from Russia and Prussia and, on the other hand, on the trade-in Flemish and English sheets and rock salt. In addition to these basic products, there were copper and iron from Sweden, wines from France or the Rhine, etc. In the 15th century, the decline of guilds and Hanses became evident, with the exception of the Teutonic Hanseatic League. Many of them returned to the concept of a religious brotherhood, whose rites would continue until a late period (in the middle of the 19th century in England).
The major fairs
While most international trade came from northern or Mediterranean ports, they then irrigated the entire continent. Traders were now real businessmen, while their predecessors traveled on mules or wobbly carts, they now bought entire loads of ships and lots of goods. At the fairs, where these great merchants met, they settled huge deals. Fairs were the soul of medieval commerce. They were held throughout Europe: London, Reims, Troyes, Cologne, Leipzig, Geneva... The fairs each lasted six or seven weeks according to a fixed schedule so that the fairs could be linked to each other. As a result, the market was active all year round. The business concluded during these meetings encouraged industrial and artisanal production, they stimulated technological progress. In order to avoid large merchants carrying a large quantity of money, the bill of exchange was invented: this means of paying a debt remotely, through the intermediary of two bankers who correspond with each other. The bill of exchange introduced the credit, but in a camouflaged way because the Church prohibited loans with interest. During this period, it was the wealthy Italian families who were at the forefront of banking. The world was changing, feudal castles were losing their importance while commercial cities were growing. The wealth of the lords was shrinking in favor of the rich bourgeois who held the reins of the economy. This contributed to the birth of modern states.
The galéasse
To sail, Italian, French or Catalan sailors used galéasse. The length of the ship was three times its width, and this one twice its height, it is the Catalan rule (tres dos y a, "three, two, one"). In the Baltic Sea, the hull was made of superimposed, unattached planks.
Technical progress in navigation
The medieval great trade benefited from the progress made in the construction of ships and the appearance of new navigational instruments. The most important innovation was the diffusion of the compass. Its origin remains uncertain: if the Chinese had known it for a long time, it is perhaps the Arabs who introduced it to Europe, unless it was rediscovered by Western sailors or astronomers. The magnetic needle that was simply floating on the water or oil at first was then fixed on a pivot to turn the compass in all directions. Sailors could now face the high seas without fear of making a wrong course. In addition to the compass, two Arabic instruments, the astrolabe, and sextant were used to measure the height of the stars above the horizon. By accurately calculating the time spent sailing, it was possible to accurately determine the distance the vessel had traveled north or south (latitude), east or west (longitude). Taking advantage of these improvements, the Genoese were the first at the end of the 13th century to link Italy by sea to Flanders and England. At that time the typical ship was the galéasse. This galley moved mainly under sail. The appearance of the triangular Latin sail, which could be oriented in all directions, allowed the ship to sail in crosswinds and even against the wind. The stern rudder, fixed by hinges in the middle of the ship's after deck (stern rudder), replaced the long and heavy lateral oars, improving maneuvering. The rotating yoke (cross-support of the sail) allowed the square sails to be oriented to the side in the wind. On some sailboats, a second mast at the front was beginning to appear.
Commercial navigation
As we have already seen, the fall of the Roman Empire caused the collapse of communications roads. Sea trade during the Germanic Roman Empire was considerable. The provinces of the Empire were constantly exchanging their goods, the Mediterranean was then swept away by the great quinqueremes and triremes. Thus the wheat from Egypt was used to supply the port of Ostia, which allowed Rome to survive. Around the year 250, the manufacture of large triremes ceased, and navigation no longer took place. Barbarian pirates, Sicilian and Maltese privateers then occupied the Mediterranean. As a result, when the Vikings appeared on the European coasts, no power could compete at sea. Later, Genoese and Venetians fought hard to dominate the Mediterranean. The Portuguese, on the other hand, after the invention of the caravel were more prey to the search for new lands and distant markets. The spice trade was a Portuguese monopoly for a long time. This small coastal country on the Iberian Peninsula had become the richest kingdom in Europe. This then gives an idea of the importance of commercial navigation. We are then in the middle of the 15th century and the Middle Ages are coming to an end.
End