medieval trade
Being totally ignorant about medieval trade, I wanted to learn more. I spent some time on the web, hoping to find a handy list of trade resources, which could be checked against vanilla MTW2, but this proved difficult. I did find a few web articles, though, and have pasted some basic info below.
Also, it seems that salt was a big deal. There was - and still is - a huge salt mine near Krakow in Poland, which was very lucrative in its heyday. I also heard that Hungary had some silver mines (?). And I think ceramics (pottery) were exported across Europe from Germany.
MEDIEVAL TRADE
EXTRACT FROM WEB ARTICLE:
After a decline following the breakup of the Roman Empire, European commerce expanded gradually during the Middle Ages, especially during the 12th and 13th centuries. Long-distance trade became safer once merchants began to form associations for the protection of travelers who journeyed abroad. The main long-distance trade routes were from the Baltic and the eastern Mediterranean to central and northern Europe. From the forests of the Baltic came raw materials: timber, tar, furs, and skins. From the East came luxury goods: spices, jewelry, and textiles. In exchange for these goods, western Europe exported raw materials and processed goods. The English sold woollen garments, the Dutch offered salted herring, Spain produced wool, and France exported salt; southern Europe was also rich in wine, fruit, and oil. The Italian and German cities straddling these routes promoted and financed the trade. Nonetheless, throughout the Middle Ages, commerce between Europe and Asia was limited, because overland transport was expensive and because Europe possessed little of value for export to the East.
LIST OF RESOURCES (incomplete):
ENGLAND: wool, tin, coal
SCOTLAND: fish
IRELAND: wool, foodstuffs, wine
SCANDANAVIA: fish, timber, amber, furs
RUSSIA: timber, furs
POLAND: salt, coal, amber (Baltic coast), timber, furs
NORTHERN FRANCE & LOW COUNTRIES: textiles, dyes, grain, fish
CENTRAL FRANCE: wine, grain, salt,
SOUTHERN FRANCE: wine
SPAIN & PORTUGAL: wine, wool
NORTH AFRICA: slaves, ivory, gold, silver
ASIA MINOR: silk, spices, gold, silver, jewellery
MID-EAST: silk, textiles, cotton, spices, gold, silver, jewellery
HUNGARY: silver
GERMANY: coal, wool, ceramics, iron
ITALY: wine, fruit, oil, marble, fish
If anyone knows of any other specific trade resources, perhaps they could add them in? It would be good to build up a clearer picture of medieval trade.
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