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Economic developments in Elizabethan England (Prosperity and depression…
Economic developments in Elizabethan England
Trade
The pattern of trade
1-
The value of internal trade exceeded that of foreign trade
biggest development in internal trade= growth in shipping of coal from Tyne and Thames
2-
Wider range of foreign luxury goods
suggests goods were becoming affordable for wider range of population
3- The cloth trade with the Netherlands, declined relatively as part of the economy
4- Though attempts to establish new overseas markets did take place e.g. Russia, these remained economically marginalised
Attempts to expand trade
Guinea- main centre of African trade, became used as starting point for John Hawkins's move into the Americas; in the process, invented English slave trade
Hawkins made 3 expeditions from 1562, getting slaves in Africa and selling them in South America
first 2 expeditions=financially successful, but irritated Spanish authorities
1564 secured investment from Earl of Leicester and queen who supplied ships
3rd expedition= disaster, fleet blockaded in Mexican port
1580s
main markets for English wool moved from southern to northern Netherlands
increase in trade with Ottoman Empire
The Levant Company 1600
Turkish Company, success in attempts to develope trade with Ottoman Empire
The Muscovy Company 1555
to trade with Russia and northern Europe
The Eastland Company 1579
trade in Baltic, limited effect
The East Indian Company 1600
trade with Asia, less investment than Dutsch East Indian Company, found it v difficult to compete with them
exploration and colonisation
the extension of trade to the mainland of North America and attempt to form colony of Virginia
suggestion of England colonising North America came from explorer Humphrey Gilbert
Sir Walter Raleigh
gained support of Sir Francis Walsingham
1585 received patent from the queen to colonise what would become known as Virginia
2 expeditions made land on Roanoke Island (North Carolina)
but attempts of colonisation were disastrous, due to poor organisation, ill luck, and queen giving priority to war with Spain
Prosperity and depression
Prosperity and land
landowners benefited: landed incomes rose, many landowners acquired a range of material possessions, unknown to grandparents' generation
landowners had profited from generosity go Henry VIII and Edward VI when disposing for a quick profit often at knock-down prices much of the land which they had acquired through the dissolution of church property
consequence of this was the huge proliferation of building more modest yet imposing country houses. Building boom took place during Liz's reign
farmers benefitted from rise in agricultural prices
overall increase in all aspects of agricultural production, but bad harvests interrupted this
prosperity and trade
economic historians in first half of 20th century argued that trade was buoyant, reinforced by evidence of ship building which took place at the time
second half of century= pessimistic view, emphasising the the desperate search for new markets to offset the long-term decline in the cloth trade, reinforced by argument that English financial institutions were less sophisticated than their counterparts in Netherlands, Germany and Italy
urban prosperity
some old established towns like Winchester did decline during Elizabeth's reign
Urban decay particularly associated with corporate boroughs that had been heavily dependent on cloth industry as this had migrated to more rural areas
condition of other old established towns like York and Norwich continued to improve
towns which did well had either: a broad range of manufacturing industry or were unincorporated towns in which industry was able to develop
impact of growth of London
alleged that its growth as a port and an industrial centre, had an effect on other towns
but some places like Newcastle upon Tyne benefitted from supplying London's economic needs
Depression
real wages fell, problem at times of bad harvest
9/44 harvests described as poor, worse impact when they were consecutive
1594-1597= 4 successive poor harvests
1596 real wages were less than half of level 9 years prior
conditions were worse in far north with starvation the outcome in rural and urban places like Newcastle
Economic conditions of regions
the wealthiest part of country was south-east, followed by Norfolk and Suffolk and counties of Somerset, Gloucester and Wiltshire
poorest county= north and West Midlands, reflected in income levels amongst different social groups
the evidence of inventories of goods left by labourers in Hertfordshire suggests they left goods worth almost 3x as much as their counterparts in northern England