Economic, social and cultural change 1509-88
How accurate is it to say that foreign influences were the main factor in bringing
changes to industry and trade in the Tudor period?
Foreign workers
- Dutch settlers brought new skills and techniques to the cloth industry in London, Kent and
southern ports, increasing export
- Immigration fuelled the growth of Tudor London, with estimates of 40- 50,000 arrivals in the
period c1560 to 1585, the bulk of whom were skilled artisans
- Window glass production spread after the arrival of French glass makers, such as Jean Carre,
reducing the need for imports
- German miners were invited to work the Lake District in the 1560s because of the technical
expertise they brought, expanding domestic supply and so reducing imports
- By the 1580s, Norwich had almost 5,000 foreign-born residents, contributing to the
development of the new draperies and their export
Trade
- Attempts to find north-eastern and north-western passages brought increases in trade
through the Baltic and parts of Asia, alongside government actions which facilitated trade,
such as the granting of the charter to establish the Muscovy Company
- The growing trade with Venice and the Levant in the 1580s, with the enormous prosperity of
the ‘Turkey merchants’
Economic
- The replacement of the debased coinage increased confidence in the currency, with a
recoinage from 1560, aiding the development of trade
- Government issuing of licences, patents and monopolies, with complaints against the latter
being evident in the 1571 parliament
- The growth of London as a population centre increased commerce, with the founding of
centres such as the Royal Exchange in 1571
-
How far do you agree that the influx of foreign workers was the main factor in bringing change to
patterns of trade in the years c1560–88?
Foreign workers
- 1555 Weavers Act - prevented factories from using big machines which required less labour,
protecting poor textile workers
- 1566 - Dutch settlers brought new skills and techniques to the cloth industry in London, Kent
and southern ports, increasing export - New Draperies 1566 (used a combination of wool
and yarn/silk (required a large amount of labour - helping the unemployed)
- By 1600 60% of all exports were new draperies - brining £25,000 a year
- Immigration fuelled the growth of Tudor London, with estimates of 40- 50,000 arrivals in the
period c1560 to 1585, the bulk of whom were skilled artisans
How accurate is it to say that foreign influences were the main factor in bringing
changes to industry and trade in the Tudor period?
Foreign workers
- Dutch settlers brought new skills and techniques to the cloth industry in London, Kent and
southern ports, increasing export
- Immigration fuelled the growth of Tudor London, with estimates of 40- 50,000 arrivals in the
period c1560 to 1585, the bulk of whom were skilled artisans
- Window glass production spread after the arrival of French glass makers, such as Jean Carre,
reducing the need for imports
- German miners were invited to work the Lake District in the 1560s because of the technical
expertise they brought, expanding domestic supply and so reducing imports
- By the 1580s, Norwich had almost 5,000 foreign-born residents, contributing to the
development of the new draperies and their export
Trade
- Attempts to find north-eastern and north-western passages brought increases in trade
through the Baltic and parts of Asia, alongside government actions which facilitated trade,
such as the granting of the charter to establish the Muscovy Company
- The growing trade with Venice and the Levant in the 1580s, with the enormous prosperity of
the ‘Turkey merchants’
Economic
- The replacement of the debased coinage increased confidence in the currency, with a
recoinage from 1560, aiding the development of trade
- Government issuing of licences, patents and monopolies, with complaints against the latter
being evident in the 1571 parliament
- The growth of London as a population centre increased commerce, with the founding of
centres such as the Royal Exchange in 1571
-
How far do you agree that the influx of foreign workers was the main factor in bringing change to
patterns of trade in the years c1560–88?
Foreign workers
- 1555 Weavers Act - prevented factories from using big machines which required less labour,
protecting poor textile workers
- 1566 - Dutch settlers brought new skills and techniques to the cloth industry in London, Kent
and southern ports, increasing export - New Draperies 1566 (used a combination of wool
and yarn/silk (required a large amount of labour - helping the unemployed)
- By 1600 60% of all exports were new draperies - brining £25,000 a year
- Immigration fuelled the growth of Tudor London, with estimates of 40- 50,000 arrivals in the
period c1560 to 1585, the bulk of whom were skilled artisans
