The Long Term Causes Of The Hundred Years War

The Black Plague swept through Europe from 1346-1353 killing an estimated 25-60% of European population; making this one of the most devastating pandemics in human history.
The plague caused the infected victim to have purplish-black tumors all over their body. The death of over at least 70 million people caused social, economic, and political troubles throughout Europe. Since “history is made by the living, not the dead, who are no longer historical actors,” people started to abandon their friends and family in order to escape the risk of being exposed to the Black Plague (Dutton 309) . Religious faith significantly decreased among citizens due to the death of the many of the clergy and that prayer failed to prevent sickness and death.
The economy suffered extreme inflation for a short period of time, which caused the prices of goods to skyrocket. Ultimately, lords had to increase their peasants wages to keep them on their land. Wages began to surpass the cost of goods resulting in peasants gaining power and revolting. The plague caused a political uprising. The Roman Church had complete control over the government. The Pope not only led the church, but led the government and had more power than the kings. Due to many people believing that the plague had to do with God, they felt that if they prayed their family and friends would be cured from the sickness. Since the prayers did not work, the churches started to lose followers of the faith, which meant they were not following its political practices either. The social and economic structure of Europe was drastically and irretrievably changed.
The Hundred Years War was a conflict between France and England that was caused by William of Normandy.
While on the conquest of England, William of Normandy created a state on both sides of the English Channel. The English kings held the duchy of Guienne in France and they disliked paying homage to the French Kings. The immediate causes of the Hundred Years War were: England’s dissatisfaction with France not restoring a part of Guienne when they pledged to do so, England trying to control Flanders which was an important market for English wool and cloth, and Philip’s support of Scotland against England. Edward the III of England assumed the title of king of France and then began to invade France. With invasions and battles ranging from 1337-1453, England and France were trying to destroy one another. But France ended up with the destruction of its country. Along with the negative impact of the Black Death, France’s population was decimated by war and famine. Louis XI, the successor of Charles VII, decided to exploit these evils to his benefit. Essentially, the feudal nobility ended which enabled him to unite France under the royal authority. Instantly, an entirely new France emerged after being stuck in the ruins from the Hundred Years War. As for England, they ceased to be a continental power and had desires to expand as a dominant naval
power. Society slowly started to rebuild itself and it started with the rebellions of the lower classes in France, England and the Holy Roman Empire. City workers began to recognize that their labor was more valuable and demanded a wage increase. Farm workers also noticed that the power favored them over the lords. There are indications that “a plowman in 1347 was paid 2 shillings for a week’s work, and by 1350, 10 shillings 6 pence a week” was their wage (Dutton 310). Their rebellion against landowners resulted in a 500 percent increase in their weekly wage over the span of three years. In Italy, a revolt was led by the wool carders in 1378. Other revolts by lower classes broke out throughout Europe, all in an attempt to restructure medieval society. The lower classes across Europe wanted to protect their rights against the weakened authorities to prevent them from reobtaining their previous powers. In 1381, peasants in England lead a revolt. The English king imposed a head tax on his subject on three different occasions. The last imposition of the tax sparked a rebellion, in which the rebels questions the nature of social classes in England. They felt that, at the creation of Adam and Eve, the world did not have any social inequalities. But, the rebels were eventually silenced and King Richard II violently ended the rebellion. Europe became a colonizing world power due to the developments in navigation and technology.
The “shipbuilding technology made it possible for mariners to sail farther than ever before into uncharted seas and along unmapped coastlines” (Dutton 360). By the mid-fifteenth century, Europeans were back to full strength and ready to explore the world. Their economy recovered and those who were unable to afford luxury goods could afford the imported goods. Europeans found new trade routes since there was such great competition for shipping lanes and ports in the Mediterranean. Portugal was the key that drove European kingdoms to maritime exploration territorial expansion. Its economy depended on fishing and trade, thus Portugal was a great outlet for getting goods. The Portuguese traded horses, saddles, coth, wine, salt, lead in exchange for gold. They also started to trade goods for slaves and trade them throughout the European economy. Explorers like Amerigo Vespucci and Christopher Colombus lead conquest and exploration overseas to expand the European horizon and reclaim the title of most dominant continent in the
world. Europe suffered darktimes due to the Black Plague. A huge portion of its population was killed off and there was unrest among the continent. There was political, social, and economic unrest causing people to worry about what is to come in the future. Europe, as a whole, was in a rut and it seems as if the famine, disease, and inflation were too much to overcome. But, Europe was able to become a colonizing world power through its technological and navigational advancements. Europe was ready to venture the world and regain its strength.