Economic Development Flashcards
What was the size of England’s population at the start of the 1400s? What percentage of this population lived in a) urban and b) rural areas? - Economy
At the start of the 1400s, England had a population of 2.2 million.
A) 10% of the population lived in urban areas.
B) 90% of the population lived in rural areas.
What were the main industries in urban areas? What examples are there of England’s largest cities at this time? - Economy
The main industries in urban areas included wool and cloth industries, mining tin/lead/coal, metalwork, leatherwork, shipbuilding.
London, Norwich, Bristol, York, Coventry
What was Henry VII’s economic policy? How was it influenced? - Economy
Henry VII had no specific policy for England’s economy, rather he aimed to improve his own finances. Henry’s economic acts were mainly influenced by lobbying by merchants with vested interests.
When did sheep farming begin to replace England’s agrarian economy? Why? - Economy
In the 1480s and 90s, sheep farming began to replace the agrarian economy in response to reduced profitability of arable farming. Sheep farming was way more profitable as wool was in demand for a booming cloth trade.
What two zones could England’s economy be divided into? What forms of agriculture were common in each zone? - Economy
England could be divided into the ‘Lowland Zone’ of the South East, and the ‘Highland Zone’ of the North West. The lowland zone was dominated by mixed farming, whilst the highland zone was common for pastoral farming.
What is ‘mixed farming’? What is ‘pastoral farming’ - Economy
Mixed farming is a system of farming involving the raising of livestock and arable farming.
Pastoral farming is a system of farming involving purely the raising of livestock for meat and animal by-products.
What was open-field husbandry? - Economy
Open-field husbandry is the system of a landowner granting common rights to peasants (tenants) who were able to farm strips of land.
What was enclosure? What did this change about farming? - Economy
Enclosure was the process by which landowners ended the common rights of tenants and altered the purpose of the land. This mainly involved changing the land from arable uses to pastoral farming.
What material drove the increase in enclosure? How? - Economy
The rise in profitability of wool in order to prop up the growing cloth trade led to the rapid shift to use of enclosure by landowners to increase their wealth.
What issues were there with enclosure? - Economy
Enclosure often meant that peasants (tenants) who farmed strips of land had their livelihoods removed from them by the landowner, leaving them impoverished as their common rights were extinguished.
How much of England’s foreign trade was cloth responsible for? - Economy
The cloth trade was responsible for 90% of England’s foreign exports.
By how much did the volume of cloth exports increase during Henry VII’s reign? - Economy
The volume of cloth exports is estimated to have increased by 60% during Henry’s reign.
What processes were involved with the cloth industry? What positives are there of these processes being used? - Economy
The cloth industry created businesses based around weaving, fulling and dyeing. These industries were often used to supplement agricultural work in rural areas by peasants.
What areas dominated the cloth industry? Give examples - Economy
Rural areas dominated the cloth industry, with smaller towns being extremely prosperous. East Anglia, West Riding of Yorkshire, LEWES IN SUSSEX very successful.
Who were the Merchants of the Staple? Where were they based? What led to their downfall? - Economy
The Merchants of the Staple were a company of merchants which controlled the trade of raw wool from England. Traded through Calais. When the wool trade declined, the influence of the MotS declined with it.
