We have seen that business in the Middle Ages was chiefly
of a retail character and was conducted in markets and fairs. The artisan who
manufactured the goods he sold and the peddler who carried his goods about from
place to place were the leading types of medieval traders. Little wholesale
business existed, and the merchant prince who owned warehouses and large stocks
of goods was an exceptional figure.
LACK OF MONEY
One reason for the small scale of business enterprise is
found in the inadequate supply of money. From the beginning of the Christian
era to the twelfth century there seems to have been a steady decrease in the
amount of specie in circulation, partly because so much moved to the Orient in
payment for luxuries, and partly because the few mines in western Europe went
out of use during the period of the invasions. The scarcity of money, as has
been shown, helped directly to build up the feudal system, since salaries,
wages, and rents could be paid only in personal services or in produce. The
money supply increased during the latter part of the Middle Ages, but it did
not become sufficient for the needs of business till the discovery of the New
World enabled the Spaniards to tap the wealth of the silver mines in Mexico and
Peru.
