Introduction Throughout history, trade stands out as the single most consistent pillar of global economic development. For many countries across the world, the extent of their development is defined by the level of involvement in trade at both local and international level. Wahl argues that it is widely acknowledged that medieval trade played a significance role in the development of regions and cities across Europe (1). This assertion indicates that as early as the medieval times, the economic significance of various trading activities across Europe was well known. Arguably, the regional development patterns witnessed in Europe to date are partly attributable to medieval economic activities as regions or cities that engaged in more economic activities back then tend to be more advanced in terms of development in comparison to those that hosted less economic activities. However, the various industries that thrived in the late medieval Europe all played a significant role in defining the path taken by Europe’s economic development albeit at varying magnitudes. This essay seeks to compare and contrast the economic significance of the textile industry and the mining and metallurgy industry of medieval Europe insofar as their contribution to Europe’s economic development is concerned. Similarities between the textile and mining/ metallurgy industries of medieval Europe The first most outstanding similarity in the economic significance of the textile and the mining industries of medieval Europe is that both industries provided massive employment opportunities for Europe’s populace. The textile industry was directly linked to agriculture, viz. its raw materials came largely from sheep, flax, and cotton (Postan and Miller 264). In addition, at the time, agriculture was widespread across the European continent. The people who were employed to tend to sheep, flax, and cotton farms were thus indirectly employed in the textile industry. The fact that the tools and equipment used to carry out sheep husbandry and tend to cotton were rudimentary implies that large numbers of people needed to be employed to manage the sheep and cotton plantations. Similarly, the processing of wool from the time it was shaved from the sheep to the time it became some form of clothing also called for the input of many individuals in order to meet the clothing demands of the time. Therefore, the textile industry was very important in late medieval Europe because after agriculture, there was no other economic activity that was as widely practiced as textile production (Hunt and Murray 121). Mining and metallurgy also take a central place in the economy of medieval Europe because this industry produced all the tools and equipments that were used in agriculture and textile production (Blanchard 3). Mining has a lengthy history; in fact, it is almost as old as humankind is (Boissonnade 178) and over the years, it has been getting better as technology improves. In the late medieval Europe, mining played a key economic role as like textile production, it employed large numbers of people. This assertion stems from the view that towards the end of the 13 th century, there emerged a flurry of mining activity in the mountain region of Bohemia (Blanchard 1). People travelled from everywhere ac