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Summary Economic Development under Henry VIII
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Economic Development in the reign of Henry VIII· There was a continued rise in cloth exports, though the market for raw wool declined.
Woollen cloth exports almost doubled during Henry VIII’s reign. This was accompanied by
significant increases in the export of hides and tin.
· These exports were counterbalanced by an increase in the import of wine, which suggests
that the spending power of the more prosperous classes increased.
· Leading routes for exports, particularly cloth was from London to Antwerp. This had negative
impact on some other ports, especially Bristol and east-coast ports such as Hull and Boston.
· Provincial traders seem to have found it difficult to compete with London rivals.
· Southampton enjoyed a boom, especially in trade with Venice, but it was short-lived and
was over by the middle of the century.
· There was an increase in cheaper fabrics such as kersey.
· Although 70% of cloth exports were transported by English merchants from 1550s, much of
the trade was in foreign hands before this.
· The cloth industry was largely operated on a domestic basis with children carding the wool,
women spinning and men weaving it. The wool was then passed from the domestic sphere
for more specialist treatment such as fulfilling and dyeing.
· The West Riding of Yorkshire, East Anglia and parts of the West Country saw the greatest
growth in the cloth industry.
· Work in the cloth industry was not always secure and could lead to poverty.
· There were serious profits to be made, especially by the rich and entrepreneurial clothiers
were able to acquire wealth and enhance their social status. The best example is William
Stumpe of Malmesbury in Wiltshire who became MP of Malmesbury, High Sheriff of the
county, wealthy landowner and beneficiary from the dissolution of the monasteries.
· Also some growth in the mining industries. Cornish tin remained a prize export. Lead mining
in the High Pennines and coal mining in the northeast of England were growing in impor-
tance, with Newcastle supplying an increasingly important London market by sea.
· Blast furnaces produced an increasing amount of iron ore in the Weald of Sussex and Kent.
By the middle of the century their number totalled 26.
· Henry was uninterested in exploration and made no attempt to build the early achievements
of Cabot and the Bristol merchants at the end of the 15 th century.
· Although Robert Thorne, a Bristol trader, continued his involvement in an Iceland and New-
foundland fishery, other merchants that showed an interest in further exploration found
themselves unable to win royal support for any venture.
· The population began to grow significantly from about 1512 with a decline in the rate of
mortality.
· From the 1520s agricultural prices rose significantly, therefore there was an increase in
farming incomes, enhanced in some cases by the practice of engrossing.
· Debasement of the coinage created a short term artificial boom in 1544 to 1546, but at a
long term cost to living standards.
· Bad harvests (1520-21 and 1527-29) led to temporary but significant increases in food
prices. Food prices almost doubled across Henry VIII’s reign.
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