As the Renaissance spread from southern to northern Europe, major cities experienced rapid population growth. In 1500 the population of Venice reached approximately one hundred thousand; by 1600 London had reached the same size. Much of this growth was due to the migration of peasants from neighboring countrysides.

People moved from rural villages to cities in order to benefit from the increasing economic opportunities in urban areas. The transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance was marked by commercial and economic expansion, and by a shift from an agricultural to a merchant society.

Merchant Society

The Renaissance was marked by the emergence of a thriving middle class of craftsmen, who produced goods and commodities, and trader-merchants, who purchased, transported, distributed, and resold the goods for profit wherever demand was high. As these merchants became successful, they spent money on...