The Growth of Cities During the Renaissance Era

Posted on Dec 15, 2025 in Geography

2. HIRIEN Renaissance: From the XII century, cities began to grow: some of the old cities gained power while new cities emerged next to monasteries or castles, forming small towns during the era of the Middle Ages. The intersections or trade routes led to a larger population of 50,000. The causes for the growth of the city include:

  1. Agriculture due to new techniques, which led to farmers emigrating to the cities to work for less.
  2. The recovery of trade, with traders moving to the cities. The fairs (the definition). Some of the city’s commercial districts became major shopping centers internationally.

The inhabitants of the cities had better living conditions compared to those under feudal control, thus enjoying more freedom. The city government consisted of a council, with the mayor in command. Many farmers emigrated to the cities in search of more freedom and to escape poverty.

City Population: The bourgeoisie existed, but there were considerable differences among them:

  1. Some were wealthy merchants and the main owners of the largest factories, who controlled the city government.
  2. The majority were manual laborers and shopkeepers, a population of wealthy individuals who performed domestic work at home.
  3. The lower social level consisted mostly of the poor and marginalized. Theft was common as they struggled to live in freedom.

The majority of the population in medieval European cities were Christians, but there were also some Jewish groups living in their neighborhoods: aljama or judutegietan. In the Iberian Peninsula, there were Islamic kingdoms alongside the Christian population, with some living in the neighborhoods.

2. HIRIEN Renaissance: From the XII century, cities began to grow: some of the old cities gained power while new cities emerged next to monasteries or castles, forming small towns during the era of the Middle Ages. The intersections or trade routes led to a larger population of 50,000. The causes for the growth of the city include:

  1. Agriculture effects from new techniques, leading to more farmers emigrating to the cities in search of work.
  2. The recovery of trade, with traders moving to the cities. The fairs (the definition). Some of the city’s commercial districts became major shopping centers internationally.

The inhabitants of the cities had better living conditions compared to those under feudal control, thus enjoying more freedom. The city government consisted of a council, with the mayor in command. Many farmers emigrated to the cities in search of more freedom and to escape poverty.

City population: The bourgeoisie existed, but there were significant differences among them:

  1. The largest owners of workshops were wealthy merchants who controlled the city government.
  2. The majority were manual laborers and shopkeepers, a population of wealthy individuals who performed domestic work in homes.
  3. The lower social level consisted mostly of the poor and marginalized. Theft was common as they struggled to live in freedom.

In medieval European cities, most of the population were Christians, but some Jewish groups lived in their districts: aljama or judutegietan. In the Iberian Peninsula, there were Islamic kingdoms alongside the Christian population, with some living in the neighborhoods.