Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

Trade guilds were associations of producers in European towns that trained craftspeople, controlled production, regulated prices, restricted entry of new traders, and held monopoly rights granted by rulers.

Their dominance made it difficult for new merchants to set up or expand businesses in towns. So merchants turned to the countryside, where poor peasants and artisans were willing to work for them without guild restrictions.

Source: The Age of Industrialisation, Proto-industrialisation section

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• 1 mark for defining trade guilds (mention: associations, controlled production/prices, restricted entry, monopoly rights).
• 1 mark for explaining why guilds pushed merchants to the countryside (guilds blocked expansion in towns → merchants sought unrestricted rural labour).
• Use the word "monopoly" and mention guild functions — examiners look for these terms.
• Don't over-explain the countryside side; the question focuses on why merchants were pushed out of towns.