Trade and Exchange in Early England - Essay Example

Trade and Exchange As Stimulus for Economic Growth in Early England According to Philip Curtin, trade and exchangerepresent "the most important external stimuli to change". The country of England, surrounded on three sides by water, can credit its major role in history to this location, and its subsequent reputation as being a global hub for commerce. From the city of London's birth in Roman times through the end of the eighteenth century, maritime commerce was the foundation of the country. Change in the form of economic growth was a direct attribute of England's trade and exchange policies. Commerce based on these policies was developed over the centuries and England's economic status by the end of the eighteenth century had far surpassed that of other countries vying for expansion. By reviewing the history of trade and exchange in England, Curtin's assertion will be proven true. The River Thames is where England's first foray into trade and exchange began. With its estuary opening out to the North Sea and beyond that the Baltic and the River Rhine leading to continental Europe (Clout, 22), the structural basin rimming its shores provided an ideal location to establish England's biggest city, London. Beginning circa AD 50, Londinium was established by the Romans and populated with citizens who used the River Thames to not only do their laundry and provide their drinking water, but as a thoroughfare which encouraged trade with other countries through its junction of road, river and sea-going traffic (Clout, 22) and even its own mint to create coins. The Roman, Tacitus, in the second century, described Londinium "as a place teeming with businessmen and a famous centre of commerce" (Clout, 25). By the late fifth century, the Romans had abandoned the city but it was their early efforts of building roads, bridges, and houses of commerce, while establishing a busy importing business, which first gave London its reputation as a thriving port. Under Anglo-Saxon rule, London and the country of England continued to be developed specifically for ease of trade with other regions of the empire. Lundenwic was another major city of the period specifically established by the East Saxons as a trading town and river port (Clout, 40). In the Middle Ages, London continued to grow and prosper while the royal and government offices migrated from other areas in the country to reside in the city proper. The majority of overseas trade was channeled into the Port of London, although the east and south ports remained busy as well. Wool and cloth became the two main exports, while Cornish tin, hides, sheepskins, and foodstuffs were also sent to foreign merchants, although it was London's reputation as a major marketplace for imported goods, in particular wine, which had a greater impact on the Medieval economy. Fleming and Italian merchants use their considerable financial backing to organize this trade (Clout, 52). High demand for imported raw materials and manufactured goods was a boon to merchants and bespoke the higher standard of living many Englanders had come to expect in the fifteenth century. Icy conditions in the winter, however, precluded far-reaching travel during those months while spring and summer were the busiest periods for cargo ships. Ships of this time period were built with vast holds to carry the maximum of goods (Marshall, 12) for exchange. England lagged behind other countries in exploring across the Atlantic Ocean, however. Consequently the country's major exchanges were made only between European ports of call (Marshall, 33) until viable trade routes were discovered by Portugal, Spain, and France. During the Tudor and Stuart periods, much of London was rebuilt and its major waterways redirected; the River Walbrook was filled in and the ditch surrounding the city, created by the Romans centuries earlier to stem invasion attacks, also covered over (Clout, 58). London's ports became official quays, confirming the city as the major hub of commerce in England. According to Ralph Davis, author of The Rise of the English Shipping Industry, "the mid-sixteenth century may well mark the nadir of English merchant shipping" (from Marshall, 35). Sir Frances Drake became a leader in navigation when he found a North-East passage to the Spice Islands. It was Drake's legendary voyage and subsequent trade agreement between Ivan "The Terrible" of Russia and the British-Muscovy Company, which contributed greatly to England's import and export industries (Marshall, 35). England was not alone in its quest for expansion of commerce, however. Other maritime nations also employed expansionist policies and fought for control of trading routes. In response, English galleons were outfitted with cannons to provide protection in case of attack from vessels of other countries (Marshall, 52). It was with a fleet of English galleons that Queen Elizabeth was able to topple Spain's reputation as a supreme maritime force in the sixteenth century. The London East India Company was formed as a trading company to exchange goods with the Far East and England began trading there beginning in the year 1600. It competed with the Dutch East India Company and a fierce rivalry over trading rights in the Far East developed between the two companies, and the two nations. The Dutch, once seen as a formidable maritime power, took a financial hit from Oliver Cromwell's Navigation Acts of 1650 and 1651. The Acts stated that any imports to England had to be carried by British ships. Since the Dutch relied primarily on shipping cargo for other countries to boost its economy, rather than the sale of its own exported goods, this dealt Holland a large financial blow and once again gave England the advantage in commerce. England's quest for expansion provided for additional sources of trade. America was one of England's first acquisitions where the country, through the Virginia Company, owned by a group of wealthy London merchants, established a trade monopoly (Sachs & Hoogenboom, 4). England also eagerly took America's goods to be exported at a profit while repaying the colonists through an exchange of products instead of money ("History of England: The Age of Empire"). Through the subsequent acquirement of colonies in the West Indies by the middle of the 1600s, a trade triangle was established between England, where ships left the shores filled with goods, to West Africa, where slaves were added as cargo (Marshall, 79). After the ships crossed the Atlantic Ocean, the slaves were sold in the Caribbean and sugar cane loaded into the cargo hold for the return trip to Bristol (Rowe). By 1709, England was transporting as many as twenty thousand Black slaves per year to the Caribbean ("History of England: The Age of Empire"). Thomas Mun, in 1664, delivered a treatise which stated "The ordinary means therefore to increase our wealth and treasure is by Forraign Trade, wherein wee must ever observe this rule; to sell more to strangers yearly than wee consume of theirs in value" (from Halsall, Internet Modern History Sourcebook). As well, duties on goods began to be levied against merchants to provide additional income for England (Clout, 62). By the end of the seventeenth century, the number of ships recorded as entering the Port of London had increased exponentially, enforcing London's reputation as a mercantile capital and lining its coffers with money from importing and exporting. Two great merchant associations, the Honourable English East India (HEEI) company and The Royal Exchange, did much to stimulate international trade. The HEEI, formed as an amalgamation of two separate merchant companies in 1708, was so successful and gained such a great deal of power through the creation of its own army and navy, that the English government took steps to take the company, and its trade monopoly with India and China, under its control. The Royal Exchange, built as a headquarters building whereby merchants could conduct trade and exchange, was a key factor in the promotion of London as a commercial capital (Clout, 63) in the 1700s. The Georgian period in England's history witnessed the continued creation of wealth based on maritime trade and overseas commerce, much of it as the direct result of continued acquisitions (Clout, 70) and, as a result, the economy rotated around the finances of the ruling elite while the working class saw little money added to their own coffers. Wealthy merchants relied on trade and exchange to expand their businesses. West coast ports such as Liverpool and Bristol began to compete with the Port of London for international, most specifically, trans-Atlantic trade (Clout, 82). Exports of Yorkshire woolens, Staffordshire pottery and Lancashire cotton left the country via western ports while importing such items as tobacco, sugar, rum, and furs. Building supplies were received mainly at the Port of London while sea coal, shipped from Newcastle and Sunderland, became the largest export with sales of this commodity tripling during the 18th century (Clout, 82). The Act of Union, passed in 1707, "allowed Scottish ships access to English trade and colonies" (Marshall, 96) and this was the impetus for establishing the country as a superior maritime power. After its great success in amassing colonies throughout the world to add to its empire, the title of Great Britain was bestowed upon England in deference to its supremacy in trade and acquisitions. British merchants were cutthroat in their intensity to provide imported goods to colonial America. They provided amenable credit terms, absorbed shipping costs, and advertised heavily to gain business in the New World (Sachs & Hoogenboom, 100). Even the Revolutionary War with the United States could not stop England; indeed, it continued its slave trade as well as bringing imports such as tobacco, sugar, and timber from the new country even after the loss of the conflict (Marshall, 96). By the end of the century, work had progressed in the construction of secure, deep water basins between the Tower and London Bridge, along with massive warehouse buildings, and additional docks to improve conditions for the transportation of goods. In the very latter years, although the majority of imports continued to come from other European countries, England was receiving nearly 12% of its imports from South America and Africa and 7.1% from North America, exemplifying how the acquisition of English colonies increased trade (Clout, 83). By the close of the eighteenth century, England had completed its financial revolution and gained a reputation for its ability to commercialize society. Sir Walter Raleigh is quoted as saying, "Whosoever commands the sea commands trade; whosoever commands the trade of the world commands the riches of the world, and consequently the world itself" (from Marshall, 12). England, most assuredly, did control the world's major waterways for hundreds of years and through them, the majority of global trade and exchange. Through its inception during the Roman conquest in the early centuries to its rise in shipping innovation and expansionistic policy, the country has experienced a great deal of change and that change was perpetuated by a growing understanding, and control of, global commerce. The history of England and its fluctuating economic status is a true exemplification of the importance of trade and exchange as stimulus for creating a commercial super power. Works Cited Clout, Hugh, ed. The Times London History Atlas. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991. Halsall, Paul. "The Internet History Source Book". 1999. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from the Fordham University Website: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1664mun-engtrade.html. "History of England: The Age of Empire". Britannia, 2000. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from the Britannia Website: http://www.britannia.com/history/naremphist6.html. Marshall, Michael W. Ocean Traders. Oxford, Great Britain: Facts on File, 1990. "Old England: A History of Social England in the Seventeenth Century". The New York Times, May 9, 1903. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from the New York Times Online Archives: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.htmlres=9B0DEFD91F30E733A2575AC0A9639C946297D6CF. Rowe, Mark. "England Special: In the footsteps of Bristol's slave traders". The Sunday Independent, March 27, 2005. Sachs, William S. & Hoogenboom, Ari. The Enterprising Colonials. Chicago: Argonaut Publishers, 1965. Read More