British domestic economy
The Cloth trade
Banking and insurance
Impact of London
in the Middle Ages, the production of cloth had always been small scaled and often home-based
cloth ranged from low quality to high quality textile for the national and international markets
with increased population, more labour became available and the domestic system flourished in the first half of the 17th century
the value of exports rose from £600,000 in the 1560s to London alone exporting £1.5 million of textiles in the 1660s
cloth accounted for 92% of exports out of London in 1640
74% in 1660
72% in 1700
insurance companies based in London
banking was essential for the development of both the british economy and international trade
Marine insurance - a line of insurance applicable to the conveyance of cargo over land or water.
the royal exchange, the first commercial building in Britain, was opened by Gresham in 1571 and provided space for brokers to do deals
'New draperies' and protestant immigration
before banking, goods were traded or bartered for
bills of exchange were developed in the Middle Ages
marine insurance was introduced in 1601 in order to regulate the market and create a separate 'Assurance Court' to deal with insurance matters.
in the first half of the century, many British merchants were reluctant to part with large sums of money in order to take out insurance
Fire insurance - a contract of insurance against the loss/damage by accidental fire or other occurrences customarily included under a fire policy.
state funded fire insurance began in Germany in 1623, but the first insurance companies were established in London
records show that there was a scheme that existed created by Charles I in 1638 to insure London's citizens and business owners against fire.
insurance was clearly still a developing establishment but it was vital for the building of a prosperous economic system.
'new drapery' Also known as "perpets", perpetuana fabrics were made in France and Holland (Leiden).
the heavy woollen cloth that had been the stable of british textile industry was replaced with lighter textiles such as silk and linen.
many traditional centres of the cloth industry declined and changed their economic focus
just over 1,500 protestant dutch immigrants had settled in Colchester in 1565-68
by 1585, there were around 13,000 immigrants working in he cloth industry in England
in colchester, those employed in the textile industry rose from 26.4% in 1619 to 40% in 1699
mid 17th century, London was the biggest city of Western Europe , population of 400,000
many historians believe that the success of the Stuarts ws down to the drastic growth of London
the city saw a boom under the Stuarts (1603 - 1714)
by 1700, the population increased to 575,000
EAST INDIA COMPANY - INSURANCE
London was the economic, political and religious capital of England, resulting in migration of not only poor workers from out of town, but also gentry and their families
FRIENDLY SOCIETY 1683 and FIRE OFFICE 1681 - two companies set up near the end of the period