Economy

• • Enclosure led to more efficient medium farms and increased cultivation
  • Industrial crops like saffron and rapeseed were grown for dyes and oils
  • Mining industries saw growth, with tin in Cornwall, lead in upland areas, and iron in Sussex and Kent
  • The Navigation Acts of 1485-86 broke the monopoly of the Hanseatic League
  • Debasement of the coinage by Henry VIII in 1545 led to economic inflation
  • New trade routes were opened in Africa, especially Morocco and Guinea
  • Mary I's government increased custom duties and commodities assessed for duty
• • The Statute of Artificers in 1563 set maximum wage rates by Justices of the Peace
• Economy during the period of 1485-1603:

  • 90% of the population lived and worked on the land
  • Sheep farming became more profitable than arable farming due to increased demand for wool
  • Bulk of exports went to the Netherlands, specifically Antwerp and Bruges
  • The cloth trade was responsible for 90% of the value of English exports
  • Estimated 60% increase in the volume of cloth exports during Henry VII's reign
  • Cloth towns like Lavenham in Suffolk and Lewes in Sussex were prosperous
  • Merchant Adventurers dominated trade and gave large loans to the crown in return for privileges
• • Debasement continued to fund wars, leading to a decrease in the purchasing power of silver
  • Law enforcement against grain hoarders and encouragement to switch pasture land to tillage
• Effects of economic changes:

  • Population growth outpaced agricultural production, leading to falling real wages
  • Large farmers profited while small farmers faced financial pressure
  • Harvest failures in 1555 and 1556 due to heavy rain led to grain price rises
  • Taxation was high to pay for wars, causing discontent among the population
  • Enclosure of land led to social distress and financial pressure on small farmers
  • Somerset introduced a tax on sheep to deter enclosure, affecting small farmers in upland areas
• Statute of Artificers, 1563:

  • National attempt to sort out wages
  • Setting of maximum wage rates by JPs in every county
  • One year work period without leaving a master
  • Craft work only after a 7-year apprenticeship
• Government restored confidence in the currency by:

  • Withdrawing debased coins
  • Replacing them with soundly minted coins
  • No more debasement
• Value of internal trade exceeded foreign trade

  • Growing coal trade to meet demands of London and trade with France
  • Wider range of foreign luxury goods imported and becoming more affordable
• English trade changes in 1580s:

  • English wool market moved from southern to northern Netherlands
  • Increase in trade with Ottoman Empire
  • Trading companies established: Muscovy Company in 1555 to trade with Russia and northern Europe, East India Company in 1600 to trade with Asia
• Exploration under Henry:

  • Patronage to John and Sebastian Cabot to explore and claim new lands
  • Cabot sailed to North America to discover a sea route to Asia for the spice trade
  • Robert Thorne, a Bristol trader, continued involvement in Iceland
• English voyages of exploration:

  • Richard Chancellor and Sir Hugh Willoughby tried to discover a north-eastern route by sea to Asia
  • Charter issued to the Muscovy Company in 1555 giving it exclusive trading rights in the region
  • Humphrey Gilbert believed in the colonization of North America
• Prosperity and depression in the English economy:

  • Economy grew due to expansion of trade in the Mediterranean and Baltic
  • Increased wealth and prosperity
  • Embargo on trade in 1493 led to economic slowdown and depression
  • Economy remained based on agriculture with small-scale industry
• Effects of debasement of coinage:

  • Short-term artificial boom in 1544 to 1546 but long-term cost to living standards
  • Rapid inflation of prices due to increased money in circulation and devalued coinage
  • Real wages began to decline, worsened by debasement
• Harvest failures and food shortages:

  • Bad harvests in 1520-21 and 1527-29 led to temporary increase in food prices
  • Food prices almost doubled, making it difficult for urban workers
  • Evidence of growing unemployment among rural laborers
• Edward VI's actions:

  • Debasement of coinage led to the exchange rate of the sterling falling
  • Edward tried to repair the damage caused in 1551
  • Complaints that the prosperity of the cloth industry was undermined by the previous boom
• Trade and industry in the 1550s:

  • Long-term increase in cloth exports started to come to an end
  • Trade passing through London was at a considerably lower level by the end of the 1550s
  • Harvest failures and food shortages were an ever-present risk that might lead to rebellion
• Inflation and regulation:

  • JPs given power to regulate wages, control food prices, and in Norwich, store grain
  • Inflation remained a problem but trade continued to flourish and industry continued to grow