The Tudors Economic Developments
Henry VII
1485-1509
-Countryside: Farming
-Towns: wool,cloth,tin,lead,coal,
metalwork, leatherwork, shipbuilding and
papermaking
-Less crop farming but more sheep
farming
-Open field husbandry was large,
enclosures started to make an
appearance due to profit from sheep
-Cloth trade 90% of the value of English
exports
-Cloth exports increased 60% in HVII’s
reign
-Merchants of the Staple controlled wool
exports from Calais
-Merchant Adventurers controlled lots of
finished cloth exports from London mostly
to Antwerp, where it could be distributed
all over Europe
-Not involved in Hanseatic League,
limited trading with Europe
-Wanted to maximise customs revenue
-1493 Trade embargo with Netherlands
to force out Warbeck broken off with
Intercursus Magnus.
-Intercursus Magnus resumed normal
trading from 1499
Intercursus Malus extorted from Philip in
1506 as he was weak, but this collapsed,
and trading continued under the
Intercursus Magnus in 1507
-Foreign policy and dynasty more
important than trading
-Trading restrictions removed in 1486 but
reimplemented in support of Brittany the
year after
-Treaty of Etaples 1492 encouraged
Anglo-French commercial relations
-Remaining restrictions removed 1497
-Cabot encouraged to find America, knew
it existed but never returned from 2nd
voyage
-Stable economy with stable prices
during HVII’s reign
Henry VIII
1509-1547
-Trade increased overall during HVIII’s
reign
-Cloth increased, raw wool declined but
woollen cloth doubled
-Growth in mining
-26 blast furnaces across the country
helping produce iron ore
-No interest in exploration, did not build
upon the achievements of Cabot which
occurred under HVII
-Agricultural prices increased significantly
increasing farming incomes
-Debasement of coinage created a short
term artificial economic boom 1544-1546
-Bad harvests 1520-1521, 1527-1529
-Food prices doubled across the entire
reign
-Real wages decreased at the end of
HVIII’s reign when the inflation was
noticeable
-Growing poverty
-Rising unemployment of rural labourers
-Enclosures were becoming an issue,
Wolsey launched an enclosure
commission and 188 people were
prosecuted
-1534 legislation against enclosures
-Increase in population put strain on the
economy, rich became richer poor
became poorer
Edward VI
1547-1553
Somerset:
-Inflationary pressures
-Enclosures rising
-Harvest failures (1548)
-Large taxation issues
-Continued debasement of coinage,
which raised £537,000 for war against
Scotland but ruined the economy even
further
-Proclaimed against enclosures
-Land sales and borrowing
-Sheep tax which put pressure on small
farmers
Northumberland:
-Reduced expenditure by stopping wars
with Scotland and France
-£133,333 French payment for return of
Boulogne
-Debased the coinage once, then
stopped
-Crown income increased, partly due to
the church revenue increasing from
melting items for bullion
-Plans for streamlining of financial
administration made but not implemented
before Edwards death
Mary I
1553-1558
-Court of Exchequer took over Court of
First Fruits and Tenths and the Court of
Augmentations
-Plans for recoinage drawn up 1556-1558
-Remitted final part of Edwards last
subsidy making her popular but at some
financial cost
-Book of Rates 1558 introduced
-Harvest failures
-High taxation
-War with France took a toll on the
economy
-Poor relief implemented
-Enforcement of laws against grain
hoarders
Elizabeth I
1558-1603
Early years:
-Bad harvests
-High taxation
-Significant cut in real wages
-Deserving poor were slightly helped,
undeserving poor were punished
-Poor relief attempted 1563 but
ineffective
-Debased coins withdrawn from
circulation and debasement was not
continued under Elizabeth
Triumph and final years:
-1572 Act local ratepayers paid for the
relief of their own poor
-1576 Poor law Act helped the deserving
poor nationally
-Further laws in 1598 and 1601
completed the legislative process, the
parish raised the funds and administered
poor relief, with each parish appointing an
overseer of the poor
-1572 Act added branding alongside the
already available punishment of whipping
for vagrants and undeserving poor
-1597 First time offenders of
vagrancy/undeserving poor were whipped
and sent back to birth parish, second time
executed
-Luxury foreign goods being imported
more
-Cloth trade spread from Antwerp to
Emden and Amsterdam
-Wool market moved from southern to
northern Netherlands
-Hawkins implemented the English slave
trade with south America, angering the
Spanish but it was financially successful
-Gilbert received patent to colonise
America (Virginia) 1585
-Total production had rose throughout the
reign but in the end to avoid poverty
normal people had to work multiple jobs,
commercial trading companies were also
set up to combat the Europeans.