Growth of Cities and Trade

Toward the end of the Middle Ages, the development of large-scale commerce contributed to the growth of cities and the merchant bourgeoisie. Urban and trade growth are approached through the study of a European city in expansion. The focus is on the context and conditions leading to the rise of the merchant bourgeoisie and the role of the latter in the growth of cities.

Middle Ages
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/middleages/

What was it really like to live in the Middle Ages? Learn about everyday life on this Annenberg/CPB site inspired by the Western Tradition video series.

Regia Anglorum - Experience the Past
http://www.regia.org/listings.htm

A living history and reenactment site with detailed information about life in the Middle Ages in Europe, particularly Anglo-Saxon and Viking Britain.

Cultural References

Aspects of the European Commercial Town

• Charter of Saint-Quentin.  "From the ninth century, Saint-Quentin is the capital of Vermandois County. From the tenth century, the counts of Vermandois (issued of the Carolingian, then Capetian families) are very powerful. The city is growing rapidly: the "bourgeois" organize themselves and obtain, in the second half of the eleventh century (a very early date), a municipal charter which guarantees their commune")  Source:  Wikipedia on  Saint-Quentin, Aisne)
• A painting illustrating the port of Hamburg  (source page here)
• A bill of exchange.  "The bill of exchange or lettre de change (later known as the 'acceptance bill' and the draft) was simply an informal letter by which one merchant ordered his agent-banker in some other city to make payment on his behalf to another merchant in that distant city." (Source: Medieval Bill of Exchange) See also Google Book search finding from Medieval Economic Thought by Diana Wood.
• On Commerce and the Perfect Merchant (Benedetto Cotrugli)
• City of Carcassonne
• Bruges
• Venice

Elsewhere

It is important for students to realize that urban growth and the expansion of trade also characterized some non-European cities in the same period: Baghdad or Constantinople or Timbuktu.

Baghdad

Baghdad: Madinat Al-Salam (The City of Peace)
Contains diagrams, information on religion, environment and economics, politics and culture, etc.

A Thousand and One Arabian Nights available texts on "everything.com,  including the Story of the Merchant and Genie
See also Arabiantales.org's version of the Story of the Merchant and the Genie here

Baghdad Wikipedia entry and the entry for the Islamic Golden Age

About.com's entry on Baghdad in Islamic History also contains relevant descriptions of the importance of this city during the same time period.

Geographical works of Ya’Kubi

The Tigris River Wikipedia entry.  See also

Constantinople
Wikipedia entry includes modern maps and Map of Constantinople as depicted by Buondelmonti

Istanbul view from the Matrakci Nasuh manuscript Others from same artist available at Minatures of Matrakci Nasuh
"Matrakci Nasuh was a famous miniature painter during the reigns of Yavuz Sultan Selim and Suleyman the Magnificent. He created a new painting genre called topographic painting. He painted cities, ports and castles without any human figures and combined sceneries observed from different viewpoints in one picture." (Source:  Wikipedia) See also the Matrakçı Nasuh entry on Wikipedia!  Google image search using the Matrakçı Nasuh spelling comes up with several choices!

• Coin minted by Manuel I Comnenus
• Yoros Castle
• The Bosphorus

Timbuktu

History.com's Timbuktu Mali site
Includes early history, maps and links, a timeline, and a study guide.

Timbuktu Educational Foundation
History of Timbuktu, links to info about cultural groups, images.

Ancient Manuscripts from Desert Libraries of Timbuktu
"Timbuktu, Mali, is the legendary city founded as a commercial center in West Africa nine hundred years ago. Dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries, the ancient manuscripts presented in this exhibition cover every aspect of human endeavor and are indicative of the high level of civilization attained by West Africans during the Middle Ages."

The Road to Timbuktu
PBS support site to television episodes.  Various images and summaries on the ancient city and its rulers, slaves and traditions.

Timbuktu Wikipedia main entry

Other relevant Wikipedia entries: 

• The Fula People and the Fulani Empire. 
  Leo the African and more on his book Description of Africa.
  The Sankore Madrasah.  "The three mosques of Sankoré, Djinguereber Mosque and Sidi Yahya compose the famous University of Timbuktu. Madrasah means "school" in Arabic and also in other languages associated with Muslim people."