Tudor Economy Flashcards
Why was agriculture significant within Tudor England? What two resources were especially significant?
It was England’s method of creating their income via exporting their goods
Wool (raw product) and cloth (finished product)
Why was there tension between landowners and peasants?
Landowners were trying ways to increase their land’s productivity + efficiency - began to force peasants off of their land (enclosure)
How did Henry VII tackle enclosure? Was it successful?
Anti-Enclosure Law 1489
It had little effect
Why was the Cloth Trade so important to England?
It was responsible for 90% of English exports
Why did Henry VII limit the export of raw English wool in 1489?
By making it illegal for foreigners to buy raw wool - it meant more income was generated by selling cloth from that raw wool
Which three ports were raw wool transported from?
Boston
Lynn
Yarmouth
Who were the Merchants of the Staple?
An English company based in Calais - their only foothold in France + Europe
What did the manufacturing of raw wool within England increase exports by?
60%
What were Cloth Towns?
Towns that prioritised manufacturing cloth and became extremely prosperous
Name two of the Cloth Towns
Lavenham
Lewes
Which company overtake the Staple’s importance further into Henry VII’s reign? What were the perks of this company? (2 examples)
The Merchant Adventurers
They dominated London’s cloth trade to Europe
They enjoyed a privileged position close to the monarchy
What was the Hanseatic League?
A group of free cities that formed a commercial union + dominated commercial activity in Northern Europe
Name five cities who were part of the Hanseatic League
London
Oslo
Stockholm
Danzig
Novgorod
Why did Henry VII support the Hanseatic League? (2 examples)
It would stop these cities from harbouring pretenders/Yorkists
He saw the Baltic Sea as an important economic area for England
What other small industries were developing in England? And where were these? (4 examples)
Coal - Durham/Newcastle
Lead - High Pennines
Iron - Sussex/Kent
Tin - Cornwall
What years were the Navigation Acts passed? What were these? Were these effective?
1485 + 1489
Certain goods could only be transported by English ships to and from English ports
Limited in their effectiveness
When and Which city did England have a trade deal with? Who did this anger?
1490
Florence - trade deal for English cloth
Angered Venice and they imposed limits on English trade + high tariffs
Eventually, England and Venice had a deal to lift these restrictions - why was this significant for England?
It gave England a trade route into the Mediterranean - possible trade route to the east (Turkey, China, India etc)
Throughout Henry VII’s reign - what did he invest in?
A navy
Where was the first naval base? And how many ships upon Henry VII’s death?
Portsmouth
9 ships
Give an example of a ship built under Henry VII
The Regent
Who did Henry VII support to launch an expedition into the New World? What did he locate + report back with?
John Cabot (1494)
Located Newfoundland (near Canada) - reported back on new fishing grounds
Why did Henry VII lose enthusiasm for sponsoring exploration?
Sebastian Cabot had led an unsuccessful expedition to find the ‘North-west’ passage to Asia (1508)
This was expensive for Henry VII - sponsorship cut
