What term describes an association of workers of the same trade for mutual benefit?

• A. Guilds
• B. Craft Guilds
• C. Merchants' Guild
• D. Trade Unions

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is how skilled workers in the same craft organized themselves for shared benefit. Craft guilds are exactly that: associations of artisans who work in the same craft, formed to protect interests, regulate training and quality, oversee entry into the trade, and provide mutual aid to members. This focus on a specific craft and on collective support is what makes the term craft guilds the best fit for describing workers of the same trade joining together for mutual benefit.

Guilds, in a broader sense, can refer to other kinds of groups, including merchants. Merchants' guilds involve traders rather than craftsmen. Trade unions describe more modern labor organizations focused on wages and working conditions, not the regulation and training of a particular craft in historical contexts. So the craft guilds specifically capture the idea of a group of workers in the same trade banding together for mutual benefit.