Rise of Capitalism in Europe Before the 20th Century

Rise of Capitalism in Europe Before the 20th Century

Introduction

The growth of capitalism on Europe is a matter before the 20th century. As a matter of fact, the history of capitalism can be traced back to the merchant capitalism, which was on its verge in the Western Europe during the middle ages. There are, however, different views from economic historians pertaining to the growth of capitalism. For instance, many economics historians opine that Netherlands as the home country of capitalism.

Capitalism, as a matter of fact, emerged in Europe in the course of several centuries. As it not hidden, that the Europe was hub of feudalism in the medieval ages, however, capitalism has deep linkage with such a structure (Robbins, 2007). The political powers of merchants and the exploitation by them by the dint of irrationalities smoothened the ground for capitalism to flourish over the period of time. Hence, the rise of capitalism is a matter of Europe before the 20th century.

Discussion

Capitalism in Europe is an outcome of feudalism. Under the umbrella of feudalism, land was one of the main factors of production. However, this land was under the immediate custody of feudal lords, and peasants use to work there under a strict bondage system. All in all, the surplus produced by such peasants was under the authority of feudal lords. The feudal lords had meager interest in enhancing the output from such lands as they were satisfied from whatever receiving. However, over the period of time, a group of peasants and artisans, accumulated enough wealth and purchased their own land and ultimately the monopoly of such feudal lords vanished, once for all.

The rise of working class was the inception of capitalism. As the conflict between the bourgeoisies against the conventional feudal ...