Chapter 5 - Economic Developments Flashcards
What was the population in England at the start of the fifteenth century?
2.2 million
What were the main industries in the urban areas?
Wool and cloth
In the 1480s and 1490s what was England moving towards?
Sheep farming
What happened to peasants as production improved?
They lost their access to land and common rights
How much of the cloth trade was responsible for the value of English exports?
90%
Who did London have links with to export cloth?
Antwerp
When was Merchants of the Staple incorporated?
1319
Where was the Merchants of Staple based and what did they control?
Calais
Export of wool
Why was the company’s importance reduced?
Decline in the wool trade
Who were the Merchant adventurers?
They were a trading organisation which came to dominate London’s cloth trade with Antwerp
Where was the development of basic plumb technology first recorded?
Finchale in County Durham
What was Henry VII willing to sacrifice to secure the dynasty?
Revenue and trade
What was the first sign of weakness in trading policies?
Attempt to make a breakthrough in Mediterranean trade proved a dismal failure
What were the Hanseatic League successful in doing?
Limiting the development of English trading interest in the Baltic
When were the navigation acts passed?
1485 and 1489
What was the aim of the Navigation acts?
Encourage English shipping as English ships could carry certain products to and from English ports
Why were the Navigation acts useless?
Foreign vessels continued to transport a substantial proportion of English exports
When did John Cabot arrive in Bristol?
1494/1495
What did John Cabot loacte?
Newfoundland
What did John Cabots son, Sebastian try to lead in 1508?
‘North-west passage’
What year were building workers and agricultural labourers better off?
1490s
