Characteristics of Sixteenth-Century European Towns

Paragraph 1: Size, legal status, or presence of fortifications (walls or other defensive barriers) might seem
natural criteria in defining the distinction between town and village in sixteenth-century Europe. Ultimately,
however, it was none of these, but rather "urban" functions that distinguished even the smallest towns from
villages. Some villages could be relatively large. Some had their own walls. On the other hand, many towns
were unfortified and lacked legal status as a town.

1. In paragraph 1, why does the author mention that some villages in sixteenth-century Europe could be rela-
tively large?

O To help explain why some villages needed their own fortifications as much as towns did
O To show why towns cannot be distinguished from villages on the basis of size
O To suggest that the distinction between villages and towns is an artificial one
O To argue that legal status is a better criterion for distinguishing between towns and villages than size is

Paragraph 2: Early modern towns were multifunctional. Whether they were large or small this was what they
shared, and this in turn is what distinguished them most from rural settlements. Not all of these functions
were economic, but the economic functions were the foundations upon which all others were constructed.
Only newly established military towns, such as Palmanova in northeastern Italy or Neuf-Brisach on the
Franco-Imperial border, and the occasional ecclesiastical center were an exception to this pattern. Without
the money and demographic momentum generated by economic activity, towns were not selected as the lo-
cation for administrative centers, law courts, capital cities, colleges and universities, cathedrals, or the sites
for religious orders. They might be transformed in the process, as were Madrid, when it was chosen defini-
tively by Philip ll in 1561 as the capital of Spain, and Weilburg in Hesse, which was reconstructed for a simi-
lar purpose in the late seventeenth century by Count Johann Ernst of Nassau, but the preconditions for
growth were already there.

2. The word "momentum" in the passage is closest in meaning to

O foundation
O stability
O push
O diversity

3. According to paragraph 2, what made Palmanova and Neuf-Brisach exceptions to the usual pattern for es-
tablishing towns?

O They were both ecclesiastical centers rather than economic centers.

O Their foundations were military rather than economic.
O They could not be clearly distinguished from rural settlements.
O Neither was selected as the location for an administrative center.

4. According to paragraph 2, for a town to be chosen to fulfill an important function, such as being the site
for a cathedral, it had to

O be long-established
O be an administrative center
O have significant economic activity
O have a central location
Paragraph 3: Five economic functions distinguished towns from the countryside: their location as centers for
exchange; the presence of artisans; occupational diversity; regular links with other centers of exchange; and
influence over a hinterland, or rural area far from any town. These distinguishing characteristics were then
reinforced by social and cultural indicators, such as more complex forms of government, the presence of a
stratified society with an identifiable elite, the presence of professionals, such as lawyers or schoolteachers,
and of religious orders and educational establishments. As time passed, new cultural indicators were added,
such as discussion groups and charitable societies.

5. According to paragraph 3, each of the following is a social or cultural indicator of an early modern town
EXCEPT:

O a decrease in the power of local government

O professionals among the permanent population
O the presence of religious orders
O clear divisions in social class

Paragraph 4: By using these urban characteristics and indicators, it is possible to suggest that centers of all
sizes in western Europe shared common urban identity. Consider two Italian urban centers: Venice and the
Sicilian town of Gangi, which, while not quite at the opposite ends of the urban spectrum, are usually consid-
ered belong to totally different spheres. Gangi had a population of some 4,000 in the mid-sixteenth century.
Two-thirds of its inhabitants were engaged in agriculture. The others were artisans shopkeepers, merchants,
servants, rentiers (people whose earnings are derived from rent on properties), and members of religious or-
ders. At the height of its prosperity at the end of the sixteenth century, on the other hand, Venice had a popu-
lation of 190,000. It was a major international trading center, supported by a substantial industrial sector, and
was the capital of an extensive maritime and land-based empire. It had a significant number of merchants,
renters, and professionals among its permanent population. As a point of departure for pilgrims and a point
of arrival for tourists, it also functioned as a center of hospitality. Servants and others engaged in the busi-
ness of food, drink, and hotels swelled the already large numbers who worked in the households of the per-
manent residents. In spite of these substantial contrasts both Gangi and Venice shared the basic economic
functions and the social and cultural indicators that have already been discussed. Both functioned above all
as centers of exchange, which linked their rural hinterlands to long-distance trading networks. Gangi lay on
the old Roman road between Palermo and Messina and was an important center for the export of livestock
and wine. Venice's strategic location at the head of the Adriatic Sea enabled it to link the eastern and western
Mediterranean with the producers and consumers of central Europe. It was also a center of exchange for
goods emanating from northern Italy. Each town had its important public buildings and churches, a central
square, and large houses belonging to an elite. Each had its cultural identity. Comparisons of similar kind
could be made from any region of Europe.

6. The phrase “emanating from” in the passage is closest in meaning to

O going to
O originating in
O transported through
O sold in

7. Paragraph 4 suggests which of the following about Venice as an urban center?

O Its physical layout was very similar to that of Gangi.

O Its population was not primarily involved in agriculture.
O It originally became prosperous from providing hospitality to pilgrims and tourists.
O Its land-based empire developed as a direct result of its maritime empire.

8. According to paragraph 4, which of the following was factor that contributed to Gangi’s becoming an ur-
ban center?

O Its status as a base

O Its role as a destination
O Its links to central-Europe
O Its location as land-based connection for trading exchange

Paragraph 1: Size, legal status, or presence of fortifications (walls or other defensive barriers) might seem
natural criteria in defining the distinction between town and village in sixteenth-century- Europe. ■Ulti-
mately, however, it was none of these, but rather "urban" functions that distinguished even the smallest
towns from villages. ■Some villages could be relatively large. Some had their own walls. ■On the other
hand, many towns were unfortified and lacked legal status as a town.■

9. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
Where would the sentence best fit?

Stratford-upon-Avon, for example, was a fully-fledged town long before it was legally recognized as one.

Click on a square [■] to add the sentence to the passage. To select a different location, click on a different
square

10. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the
summary by selected THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some
sentences do not belong in the summary express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas
in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Towns and villages in sixteenth-century western Europe cannot be distinguished by seemingly obvious fac-
tors such as legal status.

O What primarily distinguished towns from villages was that towns were centers for exchange with links to
other such centers and that they had occupational diversity, artisans, and influence over a hinterland.
O Ecclesiastical centers, which had the social and cultural indicators characteristic of towns without being
centers of exchange, went against the rule that economic functions were the basis for all others.
O A consideration of Venice and Gangi suggests the important role played by the hospitality industry in a
town’s ability to function as a center of population and commerce.
O Because many towns were unfortified and thus had no legal status as towns, military towns that lacked
certain basic economic functions were often selected for administrative centers and law courts.
O Besides the defining economic functions, towns had other characteristics such as stratified societies, com-
plex forms of government, and religious and educational establishments.
O A comparison of Venice and Gangi supports the idea that centers of all sizes in sixteenth-century western
Europe shared a common urban identity of basic economic functions.

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