urbanisation and the growth of the professional and merchant classes

what were the main areas of urban development?

* the years 1625-88 witnessed increasing levels of urban development - some towns became centres of distribution of a wider range of foods than was stocked in the local market economies
* a growing number of shops were established in towns which sold a wide range of goods, including tobacco, books, textiles and tea

what was the impact of urbanisation?

* urban development therefore became more concentrated in some larger existing market towns - eg. Norwich which grew from 10,000 in 1550 to over 30,000 in 1650 (due to its importance in the cloth trade)
* the proportion of the population living in town with a population over 10,000 rose during this period.
* new urban areas such as Manchester, Sheffield, Derby and Newcastle began to emerge through the amalgamation of industrialised parishes
* in 1688 the towns with the biggest population was the same as in 1625 - most near the sea or to navigable rivers allowing for easy movement of good

what did urbanisation mean for the merchant and professional classes?

* urban growth and the emergence of shops brought the development of the professions and merchant classes
* service and leisure activities developed as part of this urban development, to cater for and exploit the urban market
* lawyers, doctors and estate agents had a larger client base in urban centres

what was the impact of the increase of legal educations?

* in Stuart England a high proportion of sons of the gentry studied at the Inns of Court in London, and had at least some form of legal training in order to meet the demands of landowning
* such widespread legal knowledge meant that the early modern England was an extremely litigious society.
* by 1625 there were proportionally as many lawyers as there are now

impact of the war on the classes?

* other structural changes to the economy brought about the greater emergence of the professions.
* as England increasingly competed with the Dutch and the French after 1660, there was a necessary development of administration
* war and trade demanded more services from doctors, lawyers, financiers, teachers and architects

how did overseas trade affect the merchant classes?

* 1625-88 saw the growth of a merchant class involved in overseas trade - the East India Company was a very profitable enterprise trading in cotton, silk, tea and spices.
* the EIC grew in importance under Charles II allowing the company to acquire territory in India in order to protect its trading interests
* A growing number of London merchants became very rich on the proceeds of Indian trade - other merchants were involved in the profitable sugar and tobacco trade with America