Economic Developments:

• England was largely agricultural, so farming was really important during the Tudor dynasty (1485 - 1603).
• There coal and iron industries, but the cloth industry was the biggest one. It experienced a 60% increase under Henry VII's reign. 90% of the cloth industries were exported to the Netherlands and Henry understood the importance of trade.
• Henry passed navigation Acts in 1485 and 1486:

  • this was really on in his reign, so we can see that economy was a really high priority of his.
  • they were an attempt to promote trade and break the monopoly by the Hanseatic league.
  • this act supported the English Merchant adventures, which was an English trading company.
• Henry wanted to increase exploration, but not much happened. He gave patronage to two successful explorers - John and Sebastian Cabot - who sailed to North America, explored it and claimed new lands for the King of England.
• In 1489, Henry passed the Anti-Enclosure law. Because of this, it didn't increase and it stayed a minor problem. Enclosure didn't need to get the consent of the village to experiment with new crop methods, but it meant that peasants were often left homeless, leading to an increase in vagrancy and crime.