1.5 Economic development: trade, exploration, prosperity and depression Flashcards
what was the function of a town?
- centre of trade
- exchanges of goods in markets/fairs
- key for merchants, Burgesses (run the local gov), professionals (lawyers+physicians), guild (represents trades)
why were towns important during henry v11’s reign?
- a social exchange of ideas, intellectual
- uses raw materials of countryside and turns them into goods e.g wool to cloth
- back at pre-black death numbers. about 700 towns, most have less than 1000 people, london has a population of 50,000
what would an important industry be?
- provides lots of jobs that are permanent and stable
- make money
- have demand at home and aborad/ how much europe relys on it
- widespread across England
- in the interest of the crown
what is the open-field system of farming?
surrounding each village there were three open fields that were divided into strips and shared out amongst the villagers. a system, of rotation was followed so that the soil did not become exhausted. There was also a common stretch of land where the villagers grazed their animals. Decisions about the way in which the land would be sued had been made collectively by all those who farmed it
what is the enclosure system of farming?
Enclosure was the fencing-off of land and the abolition of all common rights over it, so that it then became solely the responsibility of its individual owner, who could use it in whatever way he wished
advantages of enclosure?
-particualry useful where lands were most suited to sheep farming than to the growing of arable crops
- the enclosures could divide their land into properly fenced off fields, which was not possible with the open-field system
- they could then, for instince, practice selective breeding of animals or develop their own techniques without being held back by their less adventurous neighbours
- this was particularly true of the midlands where farmers were still beneffiting from changing arable to pasture farming. the problems resulting from enclosure would be most apparent in this area
disadvantages of enclosure?
- it could lead to the eviction of families who could not prove that they had a legal right to part if the land which was to be enclosed, or to the loss of the right to use common land for grazing and for the collection of fire wood
was enclosure a big issue in henry’s reign?
- it had been practised for centuries before Henry’s reign, so was not a new problem
- during the 15th century when the population was low and the workforce small, many landlord had turned to pasture farming as the only viable way of using their land, as they could not recruit enough labour to grow arable crops on it
- in the midlands, where the problem was most concentrated, less than 3% of the region was enclosed
- most of the enclosure was done with the consent of both the lord and the tenant
acts against enclosure?
- Henry’s parliament passed the first legislation against enclosure in 1489, although its terms were motivated by a desire to protect the interests of the crown rather than those of the people adversely affected by the changes. it was specifically aimed at the Isle of Wight on the grounds that the depopulation of the island was a threat to the defence of the realm.
- Later in the same year another, more general, act was passed which was the forerunner of legislation in succeeding reigns. Although the word enclosure was not used in the act, its preface did criticise the conversion of arable to pasture
how was England divided agriculturally?
England could be divided into a ‘lowland zone’ to the south and east ( a line drawn from the Tees estuary to Weymouth) and a ‘highland zone’ roughly north and west of that line. Mixed farming was the most common form of farming found in the lowland zone, though pastoral farming predominated in woodlands areas and there were specislisms such as horse breeding in the Fenlands. The traditional manorial system of open-field husbandry could be found in such areas and was concentrated mainly in the grain-growing areas of the southeast and the east midlands
did the cloth indsutry provide a lot of jobs
- the expansion of the cloth trade was greatly helped by the upward trend in the population, creating a larger pool of available labour.
- Children carded the wool, women span it and men wove the fabric and sometimes finished it off ready for the next stages of the process
what was the geographical spread of the cloth indsutry?
- the three main districts in which wollen cloth was manufactured were the west riding of Yorkshire, East Anglia and the West Country
- in some areas like Wiltshire, families were wholly dependent on the cloth trade for their livelihoods
- small market towns such as Lavenham in Suffolk and Tothes in Devon prospered from the proceeds of the trade
what was the size/reliance of the cloth trade?
- became the country’s major industry by the 15th century, accounting for about 90% of English exports
was the cloth trade important in Europe?
- initially English wool would have been exported raw, it was of the highest quality and was consequently in great demand in European markets
- English kings were quick to realise the advantages of this and levied heavy duties on its exports
what was the geographical spread of the metal indsutry?
- The pennies
- North and central Wales and the Mendips
- Devon and Cornwall were famous for their tin making
