Germany was in the early stages of industrialization as weaving, fine metals, etching, and wood carving industries employed increasing numbers of people. Commerce expanded but was heavily regulated by guilds in the cities and the nobility in the countryside. Money was more widely distributed but a bewildering variety of currencies and standards complicated life for farmers. More people moved into urban areas in search of work while the countryside was being developed into farmland to feed the growing population. The lesser nobility was slowly disappearing while the princes were growing stronger and more independent of the ruling house.