THE BEGINNING OF TRADE 



merchants settled in various parts of France, some even as far South as 

 Marseilles. In the seventh century there was a very considerable trade 

 between the two countries, and then British merchants were established 

 principally at Rouen and Quentowich. King Oflfa appears to have 

 fostered trade considerably, and when Egbert ascended the throne in 

 827 he attempted to do more, but as he had not taken the precaution of 

 providing a Navy his merchantmen were practically annihilated by 

 pirates. King Alfred was as interested in his carrying as he was in his 

 fighting Navy and with typical foresight he immediately encouraged it 

 by putting the taxes and the customs on an absolutely firm basis and 

 assuring foreign traders of their safety. Until then traders appear to 

 have offered presents to the monarchs of the countries with which they 

 wished to deal in much the same way as pioneers in Africa took out 

 presents for the savages, and of course they never knew when the 

 demands would be increased. King Athelstan followed Alfred's 

 example and also improved the status of the merchants, ordering that if 

 a merchant " thrived so that he fared thrice over the wide sea by his own 

 means, then he was henceforth of Thane right worthy." 



The Beginnings of the Wine Trade. 



For many years one of the principal items of our import trade was 

 wine, which was imported in the earliest days of the conversion of 

 Britain for religious purposes, as it was ordered that for the Mass the 

 wine of the grape only should be used and no native drink would be 

 ritualistically correct. To begin with, it was sent in bulk to the 

 monasteries as the centres of religious practice but so much was cap- 

 tured by pirates in transit that the monks attempted to grow their own. 

 We have every reason to believe that as wine it was very poor indeed, 

 but it was what was needed and it was not until the fifth century that it 

 began to be imported regularly. In this case it is rather interesting to 

 note that the import duties on the wine at Billingsgate were levied at the 

 time of Ethelred II and that the foreign vintners made it their custom to 

 give the King a portion of their wares in return for the right to trade. 

 In this way we got our modern word " customs." Most of the wine in 

 the early days came from France, but some also from Germany where 

 Frankfort and Mayence were centres. The French had their own 

 rights but the German wine fleets had to anchor of? Queenhythe Wharf 

 (now the site of Cannon Street Railway Bridge) for two ebbs and a flood, 

 while the Sheriff and the King's Chamberlain boarded them and took 

 what they wanted. There was apparently very little regulation of their 

 demands. After that they might be moored and land their cargo. In 

 those days the only other ports through which wine might be brought 

 were Sandwich, Bristol, Southampton and Chester, but there is no doubt 

 that a good deal was smuggled as by this time the habit of wine drinking 

 had grown in the country. 



By King John's day wine was very generally drunk and there was a 

 very big trade in it. It is rather interesting to note that at this time the 

 Bishop of Winchester was solemnly fined one cask of good wine — the 



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