Roman Empire Feudalism

Finally, I made it to the Roman Empire. The lifestyle here is very different than the lifestyles in India and China. Let me explain... Feudalism started in Europe as a way to offer protection. It is based on land and loyalty. Land owning lords offer area (called a fief) to knights in return for their loyalty and guarantee to protect the lord’s land. Lords constructed castles to shield their territory from outside intrusions. The manorial system is the way in which individuals survive. The lord’s land is called a manor. The lord provides peasants with lodging, farmland, and security. In return, peasants reimburse the lord by working his property and giving a portion of food they produce. Manors are self sufficient groups; everything that was needed is created by the

Two of the fields were planted and the other lay resting for a year. Under this new three-field system, agriculturists could grow two-thirds (66%) of their property every year, not just half of it. Because of this, nourishment production is expanding. Villagers are getting more to eat. Well-fed individuals, particularly children, can better resist disease and live for a longer period of time. As a result, the European population is growing dramatically. Another change in the European economy is the development of the guild. A guild is an organization of individuals in the same business or occupation working to improve the economic and social conditions of its members. The first guilds were merchant guilds. Merchants band together to control the quantity of merchandise being exchanged and to keep costs up. Skilled artisans, such as wheelwrights, glassmakers, winemakers, tailors, and druggists, began craft guilds. In most crafts, both husband and wife work at a family trade. The guilds set standards for quality of work, wages, and working conditions. Guilds are turning out to be intense powers in the medieval