 Rural Life › Peasants  Worked 50 plus hours of labor  Women & men worked the fields  Rural poverty increased which lead to rapid population growth  Population 80 million by 1300

 Three field system › rotational system for agriculture in which two fields grow food crops & one lies fallow

 Population continued to rise  New settlements  Poor soil for agriculture lead some people to famine  Life expectancy was years of age

 Outbreak of bubonic plaque that spread across Asia, North Africa, and Europe  Reversed population growth  2 years spread across Europe

 Developed boils, black blotches, foul body odors, and severe pain  Death was within 2days of infection

 Black death survivors demanded higher pay  In Jacquerie peasants looted castles and murdered dozens of people  Authorities put out rebellion with greater bloodshed  Peasants bought freedom or ran away

 Mining, metal working, and use of mechanical energy expanded  Water wheels › Mechanism that harnessed the energy of water to grind grain or to power machinery

› Windmills multiplied across Growth of industry Water power aid for iron making High demand in iron making metal coins church bells cannon statues