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Topic 5: Economic Development- trade, exploration, prosperity and…
Topic 5: Economic Development- trade, exploration, prosperity and depression
A. The economy: agriculture and trade
the agrarian economy
England can be split into a 'lowland zone', and a 'highland zone'
mixed farming was the most common in the lowland zone, with pastoral farming
increased efficiency came at a price for peasants who lost their access too land and common rights
open field husbandry was concentrated mainly in the grain growing south east and east midlands
trade and industry
the cloth trade was responsible for around 90% of the value of English exports
in the early parts of the century majority of exports were raw wool shipped mainly through the ports of Boston, Lynn and Yarmouth
then exported through calais by the Merchants of the Staple
1489 a law was passed which limited the export of English wool and prohibited the for foreigners to buy wool to be completed in the continent
H7 was successful as wool exports were down 30% at the end of his reign
increasing % of cloth was exported through London Merchant Adventurers
however the group could never fully dominate due to the privileges enjoyed by Hanseatic League reasserted by a treaty in 1504
other industries:
england was dependent on cloth industry as continental competitors like Germany and Bohemia were superior in mining metallurgy, and the Spanish and portugese superior in shipbuilding
most industrial activities were small scale activities which required little capital investment
Trade laws and Treaties:
Little consistency in the reign of H7 regarding his approach to trade- but he was clearly interested in maximising customs revenue
was quite happy to sacrifice his revenue for dynastic security and to prioritise sectional interests
B. Early English exploration:
Spanish and Portuguese opened up ties to the new world in 1492
england slow to get involved
england granted royal patent to John Cabot in 1496, and he found Newfoundland 1497- however this provided no incentive
Cabot had believed he found a route to the east not the west- China and Japan were believed to be rich in gold, jewels and spices
if cabot had been right about location of Asia it would have made England the greatest trading centre in the world
C. Prosperity and Depression:
prices seemed to remain steady despite slight rise in 1480's
evidence suggests the same happened with wages
traders and merchants were better off under the reign of H7
decline in the export of wool, animal products, and grain in 1490s suggests a decline in farming profitability