Economy & TradeThe 13th century

Economy & Trade in the 13th century

Every event in the Terralore archive tagged economy and trade — trade, currency, industry and resources, narrowed to the 13th century — 6 of them, drawn from 6 nations, running from 1200 to 1285. Each entry keeps the sources it was verified against and links back to the chronicle it came from.

Events
6
Nations
6
Earliest
1200
Latest
1285
Europe
3
Africa
2
Asia
1

Every entry below is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.

  1. Europe

    Belgium

    The Flemish cloth boom

    Importing English wool, Bruges, Ghent and Ypres became among the richest cloth-producing cities in Europe, with Bruges the leading port and financial centre of the north.

    Era: The Medieval Low Countries: Flanders, Brabant and the Cloth Towns

    Sources: Rise and Fall of the Medieval Flemish Cloth Industry · Discovering Belgium, Belgium: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  2. Asia

    Brunei

    Boni described as a wealthy maritime kingdom

    A Chinese account portrays Boni as a prosperous state with a fleet to protect its trade in camphor, spices, and forest products drawn from the Bornean interior.

    Era: Early Borneo: Trade, Tribute, and the Rise of Po-ni

    Sources: History of Brunei · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  3. Africa

    Tunisia

    Hafsid dynasty rules from Tunis

    The Hafsids make Tunis a prosperous capital of trade and learning until the Ottoman conquest.

    Era: Islam, Kairouan & the Medieval Dynasties

    Sources: History of Tunisia · Wikipedia, The Great Mosque of Kairouan · Smarthistory

  4. Africa

    Zimbabwe

    Apex of the gold trade

    At its height the city held perhaps 10,000–18,000 people and controlled a gold and ivory trade reaching the Swahili coast at Sofala and Kilwa; Chinese porcelain, Persian glass and a Kilwa coin have been excavated there.

    Era: Great Zimbabwe and the gold trade

    Sources: Great Zimbabwe National Monument · UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Great Zimbabwe · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Great Zimbabwe · Wikipedia

  5. Europe

    Latvia

    Riga joins the Hanseatic League

    Riga entered the Hanseatic League, the powerful association of northern European merchant towns, cementing its prosperity as the chief trading city between Russia and western Europe.

    Era: Baltic Tribes, the Northern Crusades and Terra Mariana

    Sources: Historic Centre of Riga · UNESCO World Heritage Centre, History of Latvia · Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia

  6. Europe

    Estonia

    Reval joins the Hanseatic League

    Tallinn, known as Reval, entered the Hanseatic League and grew into a wealthy port linking Russian trade to the markets of the Baltic and the North Sea.

    Era: Hanseatic Reval, Danish and Swedish Estonia

    Sources: Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn · UNESCO World Heritage Centre