Price Revolution

In this episode, we examine the Price Revolution, the prolonged wave of inflation that swept across Western Europe from the late 1400s to the mid-1600s and reshaped the foundations of the early modern economy. Fueled largely by the massive influx of silver and gold from the Spanish Americas, the expanding money supply collided with rapid population growth and rising urban demand, pushing prices steadily higher for more than a century. While powerful merchants and bankers amassed fortunes in this transforming financial landscape, those living on fixed incomes saw their purchasing power erode, and even the Spanish Crown faced repeated sovereign defaults. By the mid-17th century, as the flow of New World bullion slowed and markets adjusted, inflation stabilized—but not before the Price Revolution had permanently altered global trade, state finance, and the balance of economic power in Europe.