Internal colonization and its consequences


In the 11th-13th centuries, as a result of the population increase, new territories are being developed in Europe. The peasants cleared the forest, raised the virgin land, and won the land from the sea. In the valleys of large rivers, the swamps began to drain and build protective dams. Such changes are usually called internal colonization. This process has spread throughout Western Europe.

The development of new lands took place in several directions. One of them is deforestation and construction of new settlements on the liberated massifs. More often than not, this type of colonization was carried out by settlers, state drinkers, invited from afar, on preferential terms. Another common variant of colonization due to the internal reserves of each village is the development of wastelands, unsuitable lands, frontier territories with neighbors, and so on. The result of internal colonization was an increase in crop areas, the addition of the river system with canals, and the change

in flora and fauna. Sharply increased number of settlements.

But, despite all attempts, in the XIII century. land, suitable for cultivation without much difficulty, was already lacking. The peasant allotments were decreasing, and families were starving.

In the XIII century, because of the hasty attempts to open new fields and feed more and more people, many forests were cut down. But the whole of Europe flared up conflicts between the villages or between feudal lords and their peasants for the right to use the remaining wretched remnants. Some villages were depopulated, because it was practically impossible to live in them without forest gifts.

Often, a person, taming nature, did not think about the consequences. It is a pity, but Holland, the “forest country”, in the Middle Ages actually lost its forests. Wood was cut down and burnt in England, France, Spain, Italy. At the dawn of the Middle Ages, there were many animals in the forests. Hunting for them had an industrial character: meat of wild animals was one of the basic food products of the population. Fishing was no less important. The ruthless destruction of animals, deforestation gradually led to a decrease in the species of animals and birds, as well as their number.


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Internal colonization and its consequences