Henry VII | Trade / Agriculture / Exploration Flashcards
(13 cards)
What were the main industries during Henry VIIIs reign ?
What other industries were prevelent ?
-Wool
-Cloth
-Mining for tin / lead / coal
-Metal working
-Leatherwork
-Shipbuilding
-Papermaking
What was the English population dependant on regarding economy ?
What proves this ?
Farming
Majority of the population lived in the countryside, with only 10% of the country living in urban areas. This leads to reade being mostly agricultural and most of the population working farms - which proves a mass relience on farming, for both work and trade.
What was the state of agriculture as a whole under Henry VII ?
As a whole, how much did agriculture really change under Henry VII ?
-Income from farming started to recover in the 1480s, after the Black Death of 1300/1400’s.
-Shift towards sheep farming instead of crop farming
-Open field system, still mostly used
-Enclosure was not a huge issue under Henry VII, however was existent.
As a whole, agriculture did not really change, as although there were slight increases in the amount of production, and shifts toward sheep farming, this is largely insignificant, when considering that farmers at this stage neither prospered or suffered, and the situation remained stable.
What was the main export, during Henry VIIs reign ?
How much of Englands overall exports did cloth make up ?
Cloth
90% of the value
How did the cloth industry change in terms of trade during Henry VIIs reign ?
What may this show ?
-Cloth exports increased by over 60% during Henrys reign
An increase in trade may show the stability of the economy, as such an increase in trade, allows merchants to prosper, and lead to the development of a middle class.
Which trading group controlled trade through the Balkan seas ?
Why were they so significant ?
The Hanseatic league
The League maintained significant influence over trade, particularly in wool, cloth, and other commodities, and controlled the major trade routes throughout northern Europe and the Balkans. They were significant, as England somewhat relied on them for exports to European nations.
Which English trade group controlled English trade into Europe ?
Why were they significant ?
-The Merchant Adventurers
The Merchant Adventurers were a powerful trading company in . They were based in London but had affiliated groups across England. Their main trading hub was Antwerp, which was the commercial center of Europe at the time. This shows their significance, as their control of Antwerp was crucial for English trade, as the trade route between England and Antwerp was crucial for trade and therefore the whole of the English economy.
What were Henrys dealings with the Hanseatic league ?
Why was this damaging to the Merchant Adventurers ?
In a 1504 treaty, he reaffirmed the organisation restoring their trading rights, due to concerns that the League might support the Earl of Suffolk, who was a threat to his reign.
By reinstating the League’s privileges, Henry VII allowed Hanseatic merchants to trade in England with fewer restrictions, giving them advantages such as lower duties and access to key markets. This made it harder for the Merchant Adventurers to dominate trade as they had aimed to, as they now had to compete with the well-established Hanseatic League who had strong networks across the Baltic and North Seas. Also, this was simply insulting to the Merchant adventurers, as it undermined English traders in return for more rights given to foreign powers, so it was seen as Henry cooperating with foreign traders instead of his own.
Which two acts were passed to boost english significance in European trade ?
How did these work ?
-Navigation Act (1485)
-Navigation Act (1489)
These acts stated, that English merchants should use English ships and travel between English ports. This reduced the reliance on foreign traders amd boosted autonomy for English traders in Europe. The act also, boosted English ship-building to support this.
What action did Henry take in 1493, which severely damaged English trade ?
Why was this so damaging ?
-Trade embargo with the Netherlands
In attempts to damage Dutch trade, Henry implemented an embargo in response to the HRE housing Perkin Warbeck. This was instead damaging for English trade, as groups such as the merchant dventurers relied on Antwerp to export goods into Europe. The embargo therefore prevented this ultimately damaging English trade.
Through which two acts did Henry lift the embargo on the HRE ?
How did these work ?
-Intercursus Magnus (1496)
-Intercursus Malus (1506)
The 1496 Intercurcus Magnus lifted the embargo, therefore allowing free trade betweem England and the HRE, thus allowing English traders to use Antwerp once more. Whereas Intercurcus Malus aimed to further boost trade between England and the HRE, by removing duty on English texiles into Burgundy, however this was never implemented.
How did Henry seek to expand English exploration ?
What does this show ?
-Treaty with Denmark giving English fishermen the right to fish in Icelandic waters (1489)
-Financed the voyages of John Cabot
-Henry sponsored Sebastian Cabot as he led an unsuccessful voyage to find the ‘north-west passage’ in Asia.
Henrys involvments with exporation was rather unsuccesful, as although he was interested with exploration on a personal level, his spending toward exploration was relatively limited, as his main aim was to keep England secure both dynastically and financially, and exploration wouldnt nessesarily contribute to that. Therefore he gave limited support to the Cabots and gained the right to fish in Icelandic waters (which was revoked not long after by the Hanseatic league), which was largely insignificant compared to the success of Christopher Columbus, of whom the The Royal Council previously advised Henry not to finance. However, its clear that Henry perhaps priortized domestic policty and securing the dynasty as a whole.
What were Henrys exploration successes ?
-Finding of fishing waters in Newfoundland
-William Weston may have stepped foot on the American mainland from 1499 to 1500 during his expedition to the “New World”.
