European economy

 

Yes I agree but why it was such a division on west and east? Why agriculture on the east and trade and manufacturers in the west. The better ground for agriculture is not the only answer. Why the Western Europe was developing quicker than Eastern. I'm sure that such conditions like the weather and geography were very important.

1. The territories east to the Elbe river was peripherical region of Europe, they integrated around 1000 AD, when christian kingdoms appeared. Might be the "belated" social changes caused this. For example in Hungary a western style feudal state nevers exist. There were simply no time for such a transitory forms.  :)

2. These countries were out of colonization.

3. As "frontier territory" the continuous fight, and cultural change with non-western elements may had an impact also. For example Hungary fought continously (150 years) with the Ottomans its own territory. Then as a part of the Habsburg Empire the emperor willingly aid the stabilization of the division of labour. (Not because they were the bad guys, but they tried to create a unified, centralised state instead a set of states.)

 

Trade also became more suitable for the west because of the Mediterranean, which provided an important link to all the major cities and trade routes throughout Europe. Even though the east had its rivers that could be easily navigated, the rivers still could never accommodate the large amount of trade that the Mediterranean was known for(or the balance of large and small ships that could be seen in the Mediterranean, as mentioned by F. Braudel).

 

Finally, after the crusades new trade routes were forming in the Middle East to bring goods from Asia, further diminishing the importance of the River routes to the northeast. The new routes also provided even more trade for the Mediterranean as well, through the port cities of Sidon, Tyre, Alexandria, and Constantinople. All of these factors quickly diminished the trade routes in the east, and made way for an emconomic pursuit that would soon take control of the eastern economies, agriculture.