Wool & Cloth

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Significance of the Wool and Cloth Trade

Wool and cloth were England’s primary exports in Tudor England.

Raw wool

Raw wool was originally England’s primary export. The Tudor government sought to change this to finished woollen products.
In 1489, Henry VII limited the export of English raw wool and made it illegal for foreigners to buy English raw wool for use on the continent.

Cloth industry

Cloth production was regional, flourishing in the West of England.
Cloth was produced by hand.

Cloth exports

Henry VII believed that Burgundy (a region in modern-day France) was England’s gateway to trade with the continent.
In 1496 Henry VII signed the Intercursus Magnus treaty with Burgundy.
It allowed English merchants to trade freely throughout Burgundy, except in Flanders.
Under Henry VII, English cloth exports were up over 60%.
Under Henry VIII, exports of woollen items increased by 100%.

New Draperies in Tudor England

New lightweight cloths began to be produced in England. These were called the ‘New Draperies’.

Immigrant craftsmen

In the 1560s, artisans (invited by the English government) from France and the Netherlands began to immigrate to England.
These craftsmen introduced new types of cloth to the English industry.
These included cloths such as silk and linen.

Demand for new draperies

There was a high demand for new draperies in northern and southern Europe.
Over the decades, new draperies began to dominate English exports.

Role of London

Primarily, trade was conducted through London.
The metropole became the heart of England’s (and her growing empire’s) economy.

Role of migrant workers

Historians have noted that ‘alien’ workers from the Netherlands contributed to the growth of the new drapery techniques in England.
- Coleman (1969): argued that the existing cloth industry was stagnating in England.
However, some historians have challenged this assessment.
- Kerridge (1969): The role of immigrants in reviving England’s cloth industry have been over exaggerated.

Regional impact of immigrants

Immigrant workers settled in certain regions in England.
Allison (1966) on the cloth industry in Norfolk: By the 1560s it was recognised that “only a radical change from traditional methods and products could have enabled Norfolk to compete with continental worsteds”.
Coleman (1969): “Those who went to Colchester helped to bring a major transformation of the output of the important Suffolk-Essex industry after their arrival in the 1570’s.”
The East Anglian industry was directly impacted by immigrants. In response, other areas adjusted without immigrants.

Hostility to immigrants

In 1517, Londoners rose up in a xenophobic riot. This was called ‘Evil May Day’.
The riot was targeted against merchants from the Hanseatic League.
Due to the rise of merchants from Antwerp and within England, Hanseatic merchants were expelled in 1597.

1Monarch & Government

1.1Tudor Monarchs

1.1.1Henry VII

1.1.2Henry VIII

1.1.3Edward VI

1.1.4Mary I

1.1.5Elizabeth I

1.1.6Succession Disputes

1.2Changing Role of Parliament

1.2.1Parliament & Henry VII

1.2.2Parliament & Henry VIII

1.2.3Parliament After the Reformation

1.3Principal Servants to the Crown

1.3.1Principal Servants to the Crown

2Religious Changes

2.1Tudor Monarchs & Religious Change

2.1.1The Henrician Reformation

2.1.2Impact of Religious Change Under Henry VIII

2.1.3Religious Change Under Edward VI

2.1.4Religious Change Under Mary I

2.1.5Elizabethan Settlement

2.2Catholicism & Survival

2.2.1Popular Attitudes to Catholicism

2.2.2Catholicism Under Henry VIII

2.2.3Catholicism Under Elizabeth I

2.2.4Catholic Nobility

2.3Protestantism & Puritanism

2.3.1Protestant Influences

2.3.2Protestantism Under Edward VI

2.3.3Protestantism Under Elizabeth I

3State Control & Popular Resistance

3.1Tudor Control of the Country

3.1.1Councils

3.1.2Role of Nobility

3.1.3Justices of the Peace

3.1.4Lord Lieutenant

3.2The State & the Poor

3.2.1Reasons for Growth of Poverty

3.2.2Punishments for Paupers

3.2.3Role of Charities

3.3Resistance to Tudor Rule

3.3.1Resistance to Tax & Subsidies

3.3.2Uprisings Against Henry VIII

3.3.3Uprisings Against Edward VI

3.3.4Uprisings Against Elizabeth I

3.3.5Decline of Popular Resistance

4Economic, Social & Cultural Change

4.1Patterns of Domestic & Foreign Trade

4.1.1Wool & Cloth

4.1.2Exploration & Trade

4.2Changing Structure of Society

4.2.1Population

4.2.2Dissolution of Monasteries

4.2.3Enclosure

4.3Cultural Change

4.3.1Education & Literature

4.3.2Impact of Religious Change

4.3.3Patronage

4.3.4The Arts

4.3.5Cult of Gloriana

5Historical Interpretations

5.1Significance of Threats to National Security

5.1.1Spain

5.1.2The Spanish Armada

5.1.3Ireland

5.2Court Politics

5.2.1Court Factions

5.2.2Essex's Rebellion

5.3Elizabeth & Parliament

5.3.1Conflict with Parliament

5.4Social Distress in the 1590s

5.4.1Social Distress in the 1590s

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