BRITAIN. 



711 



ercouragement ; but the true principles of trade were 

 ill-understood. In 1296, the society of merchant- 

 adventurers was instituted, for the purpose of improv- 

 ing the woollen manufactures, and encouraging the 

 exportation of that national staple. Edward granted 

 more protection to foreign merchants than they had 

 formerly enjoyed ; and though he still left them sub- 

 ject to the iniquitous law of answering for the debts 

 and crimes of any of their countrymen, he allowed 

 them the privilege of trial by jury, and fixed the duties 

 on importation and exportation. The office of aulna- 

 ger is likewise mentioned as existing in this reign. 



Manufactures and commerce, during the weak reign 

 of Edward II. were almost entirely unprotected. The 

 disorders of this reign rendered property insecure, and 

 consequently discouraged honest adventure and the 

 exertion of useful ingenuity. That English manu- 

 factures were in a very rude state at this time, ap- 

 pears from the fact, that the wealthy men of the age 

 often bequeathed their silk or velvet garments, for- 

 mally by will, as constituting a valuable part of their 

 property. Flanders was then the only country in 

 Europe where commerce was either understood or 

 practised. The first great historical encouragement 

 given to the woollen- manufactures of this country, 

 was in the reign of Edward III. He protected for- 

 eign weavers, and prohibited his subjects from wear- 

 ing any cloth not of English manufacture, hi 1331, 

 John Kemp, with 70 Walloon families, was invited 

 into England, and Kendal became the metropolis of 

 the woollen-manufacture. Wool was exported to a 

 considerable amount : but by a very absurd law, the 

 exportation of woollen cloth, as well as of wrought 

 iron was prohibited. The exports at this period con- 

 sisted entirely of raw materials, such as wool, hides, 

 butter, tin, lead ; manufactures were almost unknown. 

 The imports were chiefly linen, fine cloth, and wine. 

 The value of the total exports in 1354, was 294,184 

 17s. 2d. This sum was in money of that period, and 

 reduced to the present denomination and value, would 

 be very large. It is remarkable that the value of the 

 imported cloth, per piece, was at this time, three 

 times as great as that of the exported ; it may be in- 

 ferred that the quality was also greatly superior. 



The troubles of the reign of Richard II., the care 

 which Henry IV. was obliged continually to exert for 

 the preservation of that authority to which his title 

 was so lame, the incessant military expeditions of 

 Henry V.. the misfortunes of Henry VI., and all 

 the miseries brought upon the nation by the bloody 

 contest between the houses of Lancaster and York, 

 effectually opposed the progress of arts, manufactures, 

 and commerce. Nevertheless, some foreign merchants 

 residing amongst us amassed great wealth. The 

 commercial regulations of Henry VII., however well 

 meant, were in reality destructive of national industry. 

 Laws prohibiting the exportation of certain articles 

 were multiplied; the number of corporations and 

 monopolies was increased ; and other restraints im- 

 posed, which tended powerfully to obstruct the na- 

 tional prosperity. Fine cloths, however, seem to have 

 been much improved about this time ; and, in 1458, 

 the company of staplers paid to the crown 68,000 

 sterling for the customs of staple wares. 



The foreign commerce of England, under Henry 

 VIII., was confined to Flanders ; and of such impor- 

 tance was this commerce already found, that, when 

 war broke out between the English and Flemings, it 

 was agreed that the commercial relations of the two 

 countries should not be interrupted. Foreign artists 

 were now numerous in England ; their superior skill 

 and industry excited the envy of the natives, and 

 caused the enactment of many severe and preposterous 

 l;i\vs against aliens. The Flemings, in particular, 

 were so numerous, that 15,000 of them were expelhtl 



at one time from the city of London. The tru 

 method of encouraging commerce still remained ill 

 understood. Monopolies and corporations were mul- 

 tiplied ; the prices of labour and provisions were fixed 

 by an absolute authority ; sumptuary laws were 

 enacted ; and the legal interest of money was in this 

 reign fixed at 10 per cent. The interest really re- 

 quired was probably much higher ; but the. lending 

 of money on interest was generally esteemed unlawful, 

 and the law by which it was permitted was repealed 

 during the following reign. In 1557 glass was manu- 

 factured in England. 



Tlie disorders attending the minority of Edward VI., 

 and the religious disturbances under Mary, were op- 

 posed to the commercial progress of the nation. 

 Under Mary, however, we find a law which indicates 

 greater liberality of views than might have been ex- 

 pected at this period. A law had been formerly 

 enacted prohibiting any one from making cloth who 

 had not served an apprenticeship of seven years. 

 This law, during Mary's reign, was repealed ; but, 

 little to the honour of Elizabeth's penetration in affairs 

 of trade, it was revived by Mary's successor. 



Elizabeth was doubtless desirous of advancing the 

 commerce of England, yet she certainly pursued 

 measures of a directly opposite tendency. In particu- 

 lar, she exerted her prerogative in the creation and 

 encouragement of monopolies of every description. 

 Besides innumerable others ot inferior importance, 

 she established the East India company in 1600, a 

 society of monopolists whose power and possessions 

 have since become so exorbitant. She confined the 

 trade with Turkey io a company known by the name 

 of the Turkey company. She likewise procured from 

 John Basilides, a Russian prince, a law forbidding all 

 nations, except the English, to trade with his subjects ; 

 but this law was abrogated by his wiser successor. 

 Several attempts, during her reign, were made to dis- 

 cover a north-west passage to the East Indies, and 

 several colonies were founded in North America ; but 

 in these attempts and undertakings Elizabeth's sub- 

 jects enjoyed her permission only, not her encourage- 

 ment or aid. English manufactures were still very 

 imperfect, and were surpassed by those of every other 

 nation. Much of our exports consisted in white un- 

 dressed cloths ; and the profits upon dyeing and 

 finishing, amounting to 1,000,000 a year, were lost 

 to us, these operations being generally performed on 

 the continent. The legal interest of money was fixed 

 to 10 per cent., during this reign, while the legal in- 

 terest in France was 6" per cent. a proof that com- 

 merce in France, at that time, flourished much more 

 than in England. 



The pacific reign of James I. imparted a degree 

 of prosperity to the commerce of England, which it 

 had not formerly known. Her manufactures, however, 

 were still inconsiderable, consisting, for the most part, 

 of the building of ships, and the casting of cannon. 

 Wool continued to be a great material of national 

 trade ; and, during this reign, the exportation of raw 

 wool was forbidden. The greater part of the cloth, 

 however, was still exported without being dressed 

 and dyed, operations which it underwent in Holland. 

 The attempts for the discovery of the north-west 

 passage led to the discovery of Greenland ; and the 

 whale-fishing was soon thereafter carried on with some 

 success. The trade to Spain originally a monopoly 

 was now laid open, and soon augmented in an un- 

 exampled degree ; but the nation, incapable of pro- 

 fiting by such a plain argument, proceeded no farther 

 than to compel the monopolizing companies to extend 

 their stock, and to render the admission of new ad- 

 venturers less difficult than it had formerly been. 

 The chief glory of James's reign in a commercial 

 point of view, however, was the establishment of the 



