The Black Death spawned the ‘crew culture’ that gave rise to pirates, mercenaries—and eventually labor unions

The Black Death spawned the ‘crew culture’ that gave rise to pirates, mercenaries—and eventually labor unions
James Belich January 22, 2023

After the Black Death, regions scattered across Europe, in which grain farming was marginal, reduced, or even abandoned their arable acres, and relied on imported grain. Such regions tended to be either coastal (including islands) with poor soils or prone to flooding, or mountainous.

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