Henry VII - Economy

Question 1

Give two statistics to support wool and cloth being vital to the English economy:

Answer 1

• 90% of English exports were made up by the cloth trade.
• By 1509 the export of raw wool had fallen 30%. This encouraged the export of expensive finished cloth.

Question 2

Provide three examples of trade laws and treaties that benefitted England under Henry VII

Answer 2

• Navigation Act (1485) - Gave English ships preference in carrying goods, aiming to develop the shipping industry.
• Intercursus Magnus (1496) - Ended the trade embargo with Burgundy; allowed English merchants free trade in most of Burgundy.
• Intercursus Malus (1506) - forced better trade terms for England out of Philip of Burgundy but they never amounted to much

Question 3

Problems in trade under Henry:

Answer 3

Trade in Winchester and Lincoln decayed as industry moved into manufacturing centres and away from corporate boroughs.

Question 4

Other industries that developed:

Answer 4

coal, tin, iron and lead

Question 5

Give the names of two east coast English ports of this time:

Answer 5

• Norfolk and Suffolk
• Transported wool to the Merchants of the Staple (an English company based in Calais since 1363)

Question 6

What percentage of people lived in rural areas?

Answer 6

90%

Question 7

Which groups shipped goods abroad from England?

Answer 7

Hanseatic League - a group of cities which formed a commercial union and controlled trade in the baltic sea; they dominated commercial activity from the 13th-15th century

Question 8

Who threatened the status of the Hanseatic League?

Answer 8

The Merchant Adventurers - founded in 1407 and became the wealthiest and most influential company in London: dominated cloth trade in Antwerp (maintained good relations with the King)

Question 9

Name two English adventurers:

Answer 9

• John Cabot - upon hearing of Columbus’ success he decided to form a new northern route to Asia, sponsored by Henry with the sum of £50. He finds Newfoundland, America in 1497 and claims the land for Henry. On a later expedition he is lost in storms and died, with his son continuing his work.
• Sebastian Cabot - after his father’s death Cabot sailed to seek the northwest passage through North America in 1508-09 (he was forced to turn back due to iceburgs)

Question 10

How was raising taxes problematic?

Answer 10

Often led to rebellions (Cornish Rebellion, 1497)