The Age of Mercantilism

In the late Middle Ages, the monetary economy grew in importance with the development of trade between cities, such as the Hanseatic League and the South German League of Cities. The courts of aristocratic rulers needed to acquire trade goods, especially those not available at their own courts. Caspari discusses that the economy became less embedded in the medieval Christian order, and as a result the economic thinking of the ruling houses increased. At the same time, “cameralism” became a university discipline in some European territories.