Studies in English Trade in the 15th Century

Of all the activities of the most neglected century in English History, England's trade has received the least attention in proportion to its importance. It was obviously in the course of the later Middle Ages, and more particularly in the fifteenth century, that there took place the great transformation from medieval England, isolated and intensely local, to the England of the Tudor and Stuart age, with its world-wide connections and imperial designs. It was during the same period that most of the forms of international trade characteristic of the Middle Ages were replaced by new methods of commercial organization and regulation, national in scope and at times definitely nationalistic in object, and that a marked movement towards capitalist methods and principles took place in the sphere of domestic trade. Yet little has been written concerning English trade in this period.

First published in 1933, this classic volume goes a long way to fills this gap superbly. There is an abundance of material, and the writers have compiled a statistical analysis of the Enrolled Customs Account from 1377-1482, which provides an essential measure of the nature, volume, and movement of English foreign commerce during the period.

Preface 1. Foreign Trade from 1446 to 1482 2. The Wool Trade in the Fifteenth Century 3. The Economic and Political Relations of England and the Hanse From 1400 to 1475 4. The Iceland Trade 5. The Overseas Trade of Bristol 6. The Grocers of London, A Study of Distributive Trade 7. The Financial Transactions Between the Lancastrian Government and the Merchants of the Staple from 1449 to 1461 8. Tables of Enrolled Customs and Subsidy Accounts, 1399-1482 i. Introduction ii. Tables Notes to the Text Appendix A. Variations in English Foreign Trade, 1446 to 1482: Annual Averages by Periods Appendix B. Total English Foreign Trade, 1446 to 1482 Appendix C. Broadcloths Exported by the Hanseatic Merchants, 1406 to 1480