Feudalism and the birth of Capitalism Feudalism prevailing social and economic relations prior to capitalism stable system that lasted 5 century to 15th century Ashford Castle Ireland has a bend in the river can use for trade protection Nobility gave protection to the serfs in their land serfs paid them in crops Serfs were bound to the land aristocracy ruled by land ownership Fairy tales are about serfs being able to become noble Precapitalist world of the 14th century no trade because of lack of mobility Came crashing down for several reasons but the main one was the Bubonic Plague 14th century if the castle has its power through the labor of serfs then all the serfs die the system comes down you want more serfs to replace the ones that died Workers become a commodity Emergence of Capitalism City states in northern Italy Venice Florence Genoa families own these city states send out merchants to Asia and they come back with cool stuff trade route is established Cannot trade or barter for luxury resources beginning of monetary value based on gold and silver Markets commodity buyers demand sellers supply Hanseatic League League of merchants based upon Northern Italy concept influence of Marco Polo was the first to document his travels when he was imprisoned cellmate recorded his stories driven by a chance to change your stars Profit rose because competition rose Didn t begin with capitalism but only under capitalism are markets the major way in which resources are allocated Serfs could make money and became the first middle class as merchants and burghers gained more wealth they also gained political power Aristocracy resisted capitalists seen as money grubbers with no regard to God or honor Labor becomes a commodity gave some power to workers If you want you can move to find a better paying job Characteristics of Capitalism Territorial and Geographic Changes Capitalism creates uneven spatial development because different places have different resources and labor You have a competitive advantage if you can do things better or faster Capitalism and colonialism are closely linked Europe became very wealthy Capitalism spread if unevenly Long Distance Trade Only based on luxury resources from Asia at first but then it became common because you didn t have to barter Led to development of comparative advantage competition drives innovation they need to produce good faster and cheaper for more profit Spread to Printing press Gave rise to nation states The more people working together on things the better you can do them Nation group of people who share a common culture language history territory identity State political sovereignty with political borders Nation state where political and national borders collide The Scottish didn t combine with England because they were different people with different languages Industrial Revolution We want to make things faster and better than everyone else British start the IR with water power Inanimate sources of energy Running water to wood coal petroleum and natural gas Each had spatial outcomes so wherever it was located had a competitive advantage People move from Rust Belt upper midwest to Sun Belt Texas Productivity Increases with IR cost to produce goods decline middle class improves diets improved life expectancy goes up Developed unevenly UK Western Europe United States Gives us distinct advantage over rest of world Kondratiev Wave Waves of Innovation and Economic Activity 1 1770 water driven textiles 2 1820 Application of steam power and trains 3 1880 Heavy industry fordism Great Depression 4 1990 petrochemicals and space People want to go where they can make more money leads to Urbanization Population effects Drastic changes in rate of growth and the health of the population Growth of global markets and international trade Industrialized transportation need for sources of raw materials and new markets