By Me. Cláudio Fernandes
The so-called transition from feudalism to capitalism (or from the feudal economic system to the capitalist economic system) began in the period of the Late Middle Ages , specifically from the 14th century. However, the expression “transition” presupposes a process of progressive continuity, as if there were not, in this period, complex processes of economic advance and retrogression both in the countryside and in the medieval city.
This theme of the “passage” or “transition” from the feudal to the capitalist economy was (and still is) an object of discussion among various historiographical currents. Within the Marxist field, authors such as – in addition to Marx himself – Maurice Dobb, Paul Sweezy and Ellen M. Wood are among those who most debated this issue. In addition to this current, other authors such as Henri Pirenne, Max Weber, Ludwing Von Mises, Vilfredo Pareto, among others, also made important contributions to this debate.
But the fact is that the feudal system entered a deep crisis in the 14th century due to factors such as the rise of the bourgeoisie in medieval cities, which began to have an intense commercial movement in this period. period; the crisis in the countryside, the peasant revolts, the Black Death, among others. This crisis forced both the feudal lords and the rising bourgeoisie to strategize the development of their economic structures.
It cannot be said, therefore, that the forces of capitalism were dormant only in the merchants of the cities. They were also in the countryside, in the manors, given that commercial development ended up favoring, in some cases, the feudal lords. There is no direct causality that implies the transition from feudalism to capitalism centered on commercial and urban renaissance.
The decline of feudalism and the origin of capitalism were largely two independent historical phenomena, despite unfolding simultaneously. It was from the countryside that the material bases for industry were born, especially in the English case, and, at the same time, the experience of commerce in the cities created the sophisticated relationship of monetary exchange, which was the basis of credit and the financial system that developed. a posteriori.
The English Revolution of the 17th century was decisive for the promotion of the conditions for the emergence of industrialization. With industry, the capitalist system became imperative and complex, generating a sharp division of labor in cities and an increase in the large flow of the mass of workers.
Ports, ships and cargo planes, this entire system of transporting products was born to accommodate the complexity of the capitalist system
The entire complex industrial and commercial network, worldwide, that we see today, linked to the also complex financial system – banks, stock exchanges, etc. – is the result of this process of rise of the capitalist system, which began in the 14th century.