The Jews in the middle ages progressed economically through various occupations. Their economic status was very volatile for many reasons. No area of Jewish life in Western Europe offers such a perpetual change as the economy does. The Jews most specifically participated in international trade, crafts, slave trade, local trade, and most popularly in money lending.

The Jewish people participated in commerce in the countries of western Mediterranean . However, Jewish roles in commerce were rather limited because Syrian merchants in Gaul who supplied the population with luxury articles imported from the East monopolized the whole commerce scene . There would be a consistent war between Muslim and Christian fleets at sea, which left the Jewish merchants at a neutral status. As a result, Jewish merchants who were kidnapped at sea by pirates had a better chance of getting their ransom paid by their co-religionists . Jewish merchants had become very competitive which supposedly put some fear on others. Consequently, in 945, the Venetian government ordered its ship owners not to carry Jewish passengers .

Jewish merchants traded in amber, textiles, hides, arms, spices, precious st

In the later part of the Early Middle Ages, Jews began to engage in lending money on interest to Christians . Feudalism was the economic and political system that characterized Christian Europe during the Middle Ages , therefore leaving the rich and powerful nobles with the land. The Jews were left outside feudalism, with no protection for their land . The 12th and 13th century Jews of Ashkenaz began to move out of farming into money lending because of many political instabilities and discrimination towards Jews . Jewish merchants could no longer compete with the Christian merchants who had monopolized the whole scene already, and the post-Crusade roads were extremely dangerous , therefore leaving money lending as a possible economic opportunity for the Jewish people. There was not much competition in the money lending market because Christians were forbidden to participate in money lending because lending money on interest was found to be immoral by the Church , which accordingly made the money lending Jews pertain an immoral image as well . The money lending Jews were looked at with distain despite the fact that they were performing a vital economic function . The Jews would set very high interest rates that were authorized by the kings, because of the lack of security regarding repayment of loans .

Some believe that Jews controlled the slave trade . Jews were also accused of kidnapping Christian children and selling them to

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