Dbq Trade

Without a consistent form of communication, trade, during the Middle Ages, was the biggest catalyst for the spread of religious reform, political organization, and societal development across Europe. How was the spread of these elements through trade important in the development of a more advanced, and modern society during this time period? The advancement of the Frankish Kingdom combined with the progress of the Mongols through Asia provided the proper situation to cultivate advancement in the Eastern World. Charlemagne came to power, and immediately it was clear that he was determined to make religious changes in Europe. He defeated the Pagan Saxons after a long brutal conflict with them, annexing all of Germany into his kingdom. Einhard

The nomadic style of the Mongols would prevent them from deeming anything they plundered in Asia useful to them, so they send it west via the Silk Road to trade in Europe. Development resumed and alternate routes were found across the Indian Ocean, which allowed for large amounts of goods to be shipped much more safely, directly to Europe. This would be the slingshot that gets Europe out of the Middle Ages a few hundred years later with the development of gunpowder, and the printing press. Gunpowder would give central government much more power and remove power from nobles, and the printing press would facilitate the spread of information much faster to many more people. Nobles knew they were getting pinched out of power, mentioned in the Bohemund at Antioch, “At last, all the noble leaders who were at Constantinople were assembled. Fearing lest they should be deprived of their country, they decided in their counsels and ingenious calculations that our dukes, counts, or all the leaders, ought to make an oath of fealty to the Emperor”. They renounced their power and submitted to the rapidly growing central government. Central government would become a prominent force again in Europe due to trade, and the help of Roman law. There was a resurgence of The Corpos Iuris Civilis, an old set of Eastern Empire books about law, which also caused the scholasticism of law, meaning it became a disciplined field of study. It emphasized the idea of a central leader, and from here the development of a centralized government came about again, bringing with it more efficient trade, large cities, and a powerful military through tax