The Crises of Western Europe

In thefirsthalf of the XIV. century, thecenturies-longdevelopment of Western Europe cameto

a halt, then a temporarydeclineoccured. Year afteryear, theyweredevastatedbyfamines. Masses of
peopleweakenedbystarvationwereplaguedby an epidemic of unprecedentedmagnitude and intensity.

The populationgrewfasterthanagriculturalproduction,
sothelandcouldnotsupportthegrowingpopulation. Therefore, the XIV. century, an
economiccrisisdeveloped.In thewake of theepidemic and economicrisis, it is primarilythreatening
Southern and Western Europe, ehich has causedmanylosses in Central and Eastern Europe. The
population of Europe in the XIV. centuryfellfrom 75-80 millionto 55-60 million. The period of
thecrisiswasexacerbatedbythegreatwars of theera.

The economy of Western Europe in the XV. century, it developedrapidly again. Flanders has
become a center of prosperityatthecrossroads of long-distance trade routes. (Flemishclothingwasone
of the most important rawmaterialsforlong-distance trade).The pricescissors is an
economiceffectwhenfor a certaingroupor sector of productivepopulation, the overall
valuationfromtheirproductionforsaleoutsidethisgroupdropsbelowthevaluation of thedemand of
thisgroupforgoodsproducedoutsidethegroupafter a period of
reasonablebalance.Examplewhenchangingworldpricelevelscause a country’sexportstoplummet in
value, whilethevaluation of itsimportsis leftrelativelybarn.

The economy in Western Europe was also affected by wars and rebellions.In this period, one of the
biggest and most importan conflict was the Hundred (1337-1453) Year’s War between England and
France. The main cause of the war was that the French ruling dynasty’s male line died out when
Philip IV of France died.The side who wanted to get France was the House of Valois who inherited
the throne and England who claimed the throne by the female line.Both sides goal was to get France.