In the late 1400s, most Europeans lived in cities. Thousands of people died from the Black Death towards the end of the 1300s. By the early 1400s, the populations in cities began to climb. There were still periodic outbreaks of the Black Death, but these soon abated. It took over fifty years for the urban populations to stabilize. During this time, people left the rural areas and moved into the cities. This created more opportunities for commerce and trade between various cities in a region.
