Chapter 5: Economic Developments: trade, exploration, prosperity & depression Flashcards
What was society like in 15th C Tudor times ?
- population around 2.2m (majority of people living in the countryside)
- 10% of pop. were urban dwellers (lived in small towns) - London an exception pop. exceeding 50,000
- no more than 20 towns exceeding 3000 - Norwich= 10,000, Bristol & York= 8-10,000
- cloth & wool industry= main industries
What was Henry’s economic policy ?
- had no specific policy even though he was interested in building up his wealth
- the Acts of Parliament that dealt w/economic matters mainly the result of the private lobbying of merchants who had vested interests
What were changes and continuity with the agrarian economy ?
Changes:
- increase in sheep farming (bcs of increase in the profitability due to the increase in the demand for wool due to the development in the cloth trade)
- decrease in arable (crop) farming- suffering from decline in profitability
- start of enclosure
Continuity:
- no significant changes in agriculture
- enclosure no a common occurrence- more widespread in 16th C but outcry = difficult to contain
Why was cloth trade important ?
- responsible for 90% of the value of English exports, estimated that there was an increase of over 60% in the volume of cloth exports during HVII’s reign
- increasingly finished cloth dominates the trade- led to developments in weaving, dyeing ect -= commercial enterprises (cloth industry offered rural employment)
Who were the Merchants Adventurers ?
- trading organisation who became the most powerful English business organisation of the age
- enjoyed a positive relationship w/the crown + H increasingly used their expertise in negotiating and trade treaties eg. intercursus magnus and malus
Why couldn’t the Merchant Aventurers achieve complete dominance ?
- they were unable to overcome trading privileges enjoyed by the Hanseatic League (commercial union of free cities who dominated commercial activity in Northern Europe from the 13th-15th C)
- H agreed to reassert this treaty in 1474 & 1504 to ensure that HL would offer no support to the Earl of Suffolk
What were changes and continuity of the cloth trade ?
changes:
- increase in cloth exports (60% increase)
- early 15th C raw wool+ main export, late 15th C finished cloth= dominated trade - led to development in weaving ect
- cloth industry moved from old corporate boroughs eg. Winchester to new manufacturing centres in small market towns eg. East Anglia, West Yorkshire who experienced greater prosperity ?
Continuity:
- the Hanseatic League continued to dominate commercial activity in Northern Europe
Why was the crowns approach to trade inconsistent ?
- clearly interested in maximising customs revenue but equally as clear that revenue and trade would be sacrificed in the interest of dynastic security
- H also happy for parliament to legislate infavour of sectional interests (particular groups)
Why was the trade embargo w/the Netherlands the biggest issue concerning trade in H’s reign ?
- imposed in 1493 bcs of Margret of Burgundy’s support for Warbeck (highlights H’s insecurity and fear)
- meant that english merchants were required to direct trade through Calais instead of trading directly w/the Netherlands, this invited retaliation from the Netherlands
- Embargo ended w/ Intercursus Magnus 1499
What did the treaty of Intercursus Magnus do ?
- proved a solid basis for trading relations
- meant English Merchants could export to any part of the Duke of Burgundy’s land apart from Flanders
- the merchants would also be granted swift & fair justice and effective arrangements put in place for the resolution of disputes
What was Intercursus Malus and why was it imposed ?
- imposed bcs H panicked again in 1503 (when once again the claim of the Earl of Suffolk was taken seriously around Burgundy
- H attempted to impose and embargo, however fortunate that circumstances allowed him to negotiate Intercursus Malus
- full terms were never imposed and trading relations were restored on the basis of Intercursus Magnus
What was the Treaty of Etaples (1492) ?
- not primarily a trade treaty, however encouraged Anglo-French commercial relations- removed most of the remaining trade restrictions which existed since Edward IV
What were the objectives of the Navigation Acts of 1485 and 1489 ?
- to encourage English shipping by trying to ensure that only English ships could carry certain products to and from English ports
- only had limited usefulness as foreign vessels continued to transport a substantial proportion of English exports
Overall conclusion of trade laws and treaties ?
- trading interests proved not to be as great of a priority to H as through treaties it can be seen that H was willing to put dynastic security and foreign policy above trade
- embargos imposed w/Netherlands due to BurgUndy’s support of Warbeck, however removed by Intercursus Magnus and Malus
- Treaty of Etaples removed trading restrictions + encourage trade between England and France
- Hanseatic League still largely dominated trade in the Baltic (HL successful in limiting the development of English trading restrictions in the Baltic)
What were the other industries during H’s reign ?
- other than cloth, other industries remained small and failed to compete w/continental competitors
- Germany & Bohemia= superior in mining & metallurgy
- mining remained fairly small scale: coal shipped from Newcastle to London to meet the growing demand for domestic and industrial fuel, but also a small export trade to Germany + Netherlands
- Spanish, Portuguese & Dutch superior in ship building
- most industrial activities eg. weaving and brewing were small scale requiring little capital investments but supplied basic necessities of life, food and shelter
