stuarts KQ4- economy, trade & empire

britain's agricultural output

by the 1640s it surpassed all european nations except holland and by 1700 agricultural families worked an average of 405 days a year, up from 266 in 1450.

enclosure

consolidating land into individual holdings, it accelerated after 1660. in sherrington and buckinghamshire small freeholders were driven out by larger enclosed farms, but innovation also thrived in unenclosed regions like oxfordshire.

farming techniques

rising literacy and agricultural books eg walter blith. fallow land reduced from 3 million acres in 1420 to 1.8 million in 1700 due to crop rotation. Dutch immigrants like cornelius vermuyden introduced nitrogen rich crops like clover.

water meadows

expanded in 17th century, kept soil damp by diverting water, improving animal nutrition. the number of working horses doubled to 630,000 by 1700.

specialised farming

arable farming in warmer, drier south and pastoral farming in wetter, hillier north. yeomen with much land could experiment more and husbandmen benefitted by focusing on high demand products but were slower to adopt changes due to risks.

growth of employment

agricultural labourers grew in number but inflation meant real wages fell. by 1700 240,000 worked in cloth industry. by 1688, over 1 million people were agricultural labourers.

1662 settlement act

allowed landowners to hire and release workers from other parishes without taking responsibility for their welfare, facilitating seasonal employment.

capital investment in agriculture

mainly done by higher gentry and aristocracy as yeomen and husbandry lacked the means. after 1650 falling population growth and deflation made land improvement cheaper. by 1700 large estates made up 54% of agricultural land in south midlands. large farms often employed tenant farmers who paid high rents and invested in improvements in exchange for loans or infrastructure upgrades.

transition from feudalism to capitalism

in feudalism peasants depended on land owning lords, but in capitalism was driven by capital accumulation and wage labour. this transition was shown by enclosure, large estate farming and capital investment. middle and upper gentry benefitted most from this.

development of national markets

london's grain imports rose from 6.4 million kg in 1605 to 14.6 million kg in 1661. due to transport infrastructure like 1675 introduction of stagecoaches between london and bath/bristol.

1663 turnpike act

merchants could establish toll roads, improving links between major market towns.

water transport

the thames and severn supported movement of goods and the coal trade from newcastle to london was protected by charles i's navy.

lack of progress in national markets

scotland and ireland lagged behind due to poor infrastructure and limited government investment.

dominance of london market

drew resources from surrounding areas and raised prices. by 1650 basic goods cost 6x more than in 1500. local industries were damaged.

cloth industry

driven by population growth, increased labour supply and flourishing putting-out system where families worked from home using merchant-provided materials.

export growth and economic impact on cloth industry

value of textile exports rose from £600,000 in 1560s to £1.5 million from London in 1660s. value of exports multiplied 15 fold between 1485 and 1714, faster than population growth. in 1640, cloth made up 92% of exports out of london.

regional production and putting-out system

lancashire focused on coarse cloth and west country on durable broadcloth for export. merchants grew wealthy and sometimes entered the gentry. domestic system avoided taxes and regulation.

new draperies and immigrant influence

by early 1600s, lighter new draperies became fashionable in europe, norwich and colchester produced a lot. between 1565-1568 1500 dutch protestant immigrants settled in colchester.

dutch contributions to cloth industry

introduced worsted draperies (eg bays and says), producing versatile and affordable cloth. greater quality control meant merchants trusted products without seeing samples. employment in colchester textile industry rose from 26% in 1619 to 40% by 1699. introduced frame knitting machine to improve productivity.

huguenot immigration 1680s impact on cloth industry

many settled in kent and london as louis xiv persecuted protestants. they brough skills like weaving, silversmithing and watchmaking.

population growth of london

by 1700 population reached 575,000 and was western europe's largest city.

why london grew

strong road and river networks. better job opportunities and urban infrastructure, attracted skilled workers, poor migrants and gentry families. due to multiple small developments, not a single driving factor.

key institutions in london

inns of court were all in london, admiralty and royal court and trade companies like east india company.

london's economic influence

set national prices for livestock, grain and cloth. investment banking and insurance boomed due to increased risk from international trade.

banking

before 1600s it was informal and based on loans, bartering and bills of exchange. 1571 royal exchange opened, creating a central trading and finance hub. interest fell from 10 to 6% between 1571 and 1714 to encourage investment.

money scriveners

first firm opened in 1636 by robert abbott. 1659 first cheque drawn in england. lent to royalist landowners and arranged loans.

goldsmith bankers

after charles i seized gold from the royal mint in 1640, merchants trusted goldsmiths to store gold. they began lending at interest but in 1672 charles ii confiscated goldsmiths' funds.

marine insurance

by 1657 common for dutch ships to be insured by english brokers. premiums dropped by 75% during the century due to growth and competition.

fire insurance

1638 charles i planned to insure londoners against fire. great fire of london 1666 drove demand for formal policies.

significance of north america

- virginia began a profitable tobacco trade, by 1700 22 million lbs of tobacco exported

- indentured servants and british vagrants provided labour

- colonies like massachusetts bay drive by protestant discontent with charles i's religious policies

- shipbuilding industries grew

- colonisation helped relieve overpopulation and expand british markets

significance of jamaica and caribbean

- jamaica captured from spain in 1655 became central to sugar trade

- sugar plantations increased slave population from 7000 in 1670 to 55,000 in 1713

- treaty of madrid 1670

- crops like coffee and cocoa emerged

treaty of madrid 1670

gave england control of jamaica and freedom to trade in caribbean

reasons for rapid growth of international trade

- increasing power of royal navy

- decline of spanish empire

- rise of mercantilism

mercantilism

a state-led economic policy aimed at wealth accumulation through restricted imports, colonial expansion, and export of surplus goods. described by ralph davis as a commercial revolution.

navigation act 1651

passed by the rump, requiring that goods imported into england or its territories be carried on english ships with crews at least half english. boosted levant company and textile industry and targeted dutch freight trade monopoly. tripled customs revenues between 1643 and 1659.

navigation act 1660

barred both imports and exports from foreign shipping and restricted some goods like tobacco and sugar to english and colonial trade.

staple act 1663

required goods from europe destined for colonies to pass through england, reinforcing commerical control.

plantation duty act 1673

imposed financial penalties on captains who failed to deliver specified goods to england, ensuring continued regulation of colonial trade.

causes of anglo-dutch rivalry

- dutch dominated european shipping first half of century

- dutch east india company more profitable than english

- fishing rights

- colonial competition in east indies and americas

first anglo dutch war

1652-54, sparked by navigation act 1651 that excluded dutch ships from english trade routes.

end of first anglo dutch war

treaty of westminster 1654, dutch agreed to salute english ships and limit william ii's political power.

second anglo dutch war

navigation act of 1660 excluded foreigners from trade and taxed goods like tobacco and sugar. english seizures of dutch colonies in 1664 in africa led to war between 1665-67.

end of second anglo dutch war

dutch captured the english royal charles ship and forced relaxation of the navigation act

third anglo dutch war

1672-74, arose as 1670 treaty of dover meant england allied with french against dutch and english helped louis xiv.

end of third anglo dutch war

parliament wary of absolutism and french catholicism so pressured charles ii to withdraw, second treaty of westminster 1674 restored pre war status.

impact of anglo dutch wars

disrupted london's economy and hit merchants and insurers hard. victories led to expansion of colonial trade. nigel heard stated england's colonial strength allowed it to withstand conflicts.

end of anglo dutch rivalry

by 1670s war fatigue, economic disruption and political shifts led to end of rivalry. growing anti-french sentiment unified 2 nations after louis xiv revoked the edict of nantes in 1685. glorious revolution marked end of political rivalry.

foundation of east india company

founded 1600 by 242 london merchants. early efforts focused on east indies where trade was in silver (not british goods), conflicting with mercantilism. after amboyna massacre focus shifted from indonesia to india.

amboyna massacre

1623 dutch forces executed english traders in indonesia.

expansion in india

pepper and calico trade grew. 1635 peace with portuguese in goa improved west indian trade.

challenges/recovery of east india trade

1657 cromwell withdraws EIC's charter due to royalist leanings. after restoration charles ii restores charter. 1664 first tea shipment arrives and 1666 great fire destroys lots of pepper stock.

rise in power of EIC

1675 indian rupee production begins, private army and specially designed ships boost company's influence. by 1680s annual profits are £600,000, rivalling tobacco and sugar trades.

triangular trade expansion

by 1700 around 120,000 slaves present, mainly in caribbean. labour shortages in montserrat and antigua drove demand for slaves over indentured servants.

royal adventures of england trading in africa

founded in 1663 after first anglo dutch war success, seized dutch trading posts.

royal african company

established 1672, could levy armies and build forts to enforce its monopoly. monopoly ended under william iii.

economic impact of triangular trade

london gained profits from slaves and goods, ports like bristol thrived. african gold funded royal mint and investment in RAC was widespread- 15 lord mayors, 25 sheriffs and 38 aldermen were shareholders.