The economy of the Albanian territories in the century of Scanderbeg and the European economic crises during the Late Middle Ages

Abstract

Political events contribute a small part of the historical context when describing and analyzing the political history of any period. The science of history is a set of specified relationships encompassing different historic matters that focus and organize inquiry to describe, explain, and predict different events and behaviors. The territorial possessions of the Kastrioti family and their metropolis Kruja experienced an economic development during the XV century, from the moment the Kastrioti family became the rulers of Kruja to the annexing by Venice after death of Scanderbeg. During the Scanderbeg era, these territory possessions had the highest economic evaluation rate. Scanderbeg’s behavior towards Venice, Ottoman Empire and Aragon gave a strategic first-hand role to Albania in general, and Kruja, the metropolis of Albania during the Scanderbeg era, in particular, and caused a clear economic growth compared with the previous period. In addition, we have a new administrative approach addressing the greater influence of man over the territory, expressed in a different territorial organization and effective exploit of his natural sources. Moreover, this paper analyzes and compares the economic and demographic indexes of the Albanian territories with the Europe's economic situation, in the framework of the European crises in the Late Middle Ages, as it is  known by the Albanian historiography.