A changing economy also makes for discontent…

A changing economy also makes for discontent among those unable to profit from new conditions.

Some of the empire's inhabitants have become quite rich, most notably the Fugger family of Augsburg, whose members have replaced the bankers of northern Italy as Europe's leading financiers.

The Fuggers have come to manage the financial affairs of the Habsburg Dynasty, which, in combination with increased trade between south and north, makes Germany Europe's financial center for a few decades.

However, other groups in Germany are experiencing hardship.

A burgeoning rural population finds it difficult to get enough to eat, and many peasants go to the towns to seek a living.

Municipal officials respond by seeking to bar rural newcomers.

Within towns that are not prospering, relations between the classes become more tense as social mobility is reduced by a declining economy.