Henry VII: Economic Development - Cloth Trade

Question 1

How important was the cloth industry to England’s exports?

Answer 1

• Cloth exports made up 90% of the value of English exports
• Cloth exports rose by an estimated 60% during Henry VII’s reign

Question 2

What did Henry do about raw wool trade?

Answer 2

• In 1489 an Act was passed which limited the export of English wool and made it illegal for foreigners to buy wool for making into cloth on the continent
• This gave more business to domestic weaving, fulling and dying companies/farmworkers
• Export of raw wool was 30% lower than it had been in 1485

Question 3

How did Henry encourage cloth trade with Burgundy?

Answer 3

• Intercursus Magnus (1496)
- It allowed English merchants to trade freely with all parts of Burgundy except Flanders
- This normalised trade between England and Burgundy

Question 4

What was the cloth industry like prior to and during Henry VII’s reign?

Answer 4

• Trade was changing long before Henry’s reign from export of raw wool to export of broadcloth
• This development continued under Henry VII with the growth of the Merchant Adventurers, and the decline of the Merchants of the Staple

Question 5

What are the Merchant Adventurers and the Merchants of the Staple?

Answer 5

• Merchant Adventurers
- Company that exported finished cloth from London
- Helped reinforce London’s commercial dominance over England

• Merchants of the Staple
- Company that exported raw wool through Calais

Question 6

How important was England to cloth trade in Europe?

Answer 6

• By 1509, English merchants were shipping more than half the cloth exported to Europe