In the year 1354 we have a regular account of such exports and imports as paid duty; from which it appears, that there were exported 31,651 sacks of wool, 3036 cwt. of woad, sixty-five wool-fells, 4774 pieces of cloth, and 8061 pieces of worsted stuff; and there were imported 1831 pieces of fine cloth, 397 cwt. of wax, and 1829 tuns of wine, besides linen, mercery, groceries, &c. As tin, lead, and several other articles are not enumerated, it may be inferred that they paid no duty. In the year 1372 there is the earliest record of direct trade with Prussia. As the woollen manufactures of England began to flourish, the importation of woollen cloths necessarily diminished; so that, in the act of 1378, reviving the acts of 1335 and 1351 for the encouragement of foreign merchants, though cloth of gold and silver, stuffs of silk, napery, linen, canvas, &c. are enumerated as imported by them, woollen cloth is not mentoned. The trade to the Baltic gradually increased as the ports in the north of England, particularly Newcastle, rose in wealth. In 1378 coals and grindstones were exported from this place to Prussia, Norway, Schonen, and other ports of the Baltic. Soon afterwards, in consequence of some disputes between the Prussians and English, a commercial treaty was formed between the Grand Master of Prussia and Edward III., by which it was agreed that the Prussian merchants in London should be protected, and that English merchants should have free access to every part of Prussia, to trade freely, as it used to be in ancient times. In order to carry this treaty into full effect on the part of the English, a citizen of London was chosen to be governor of the English merchants in Prussia and the other countries on the Baltic. Disputes, however, still arose, and piracies were committed on both sides. Meetings were therefore held at the Hague, to hear and settle the complaints of each party. From the statements then given in, it appears, that woollen clothes now formed a considerable part of the exports of England to the Baltic. That they were also exported in considerable quantity to the south of Europe, appears from other documents.
At the beginning of the fifteenth century the foreign commerce of England had considerably increased; for we are informed, that some merchants of London shipped wool and other goods, to the value of 24,000 l., to the Mediterranean; and nearly about the same time, the English merchants possessed valuable warehouses and an extensive trade at Bergen in Norway, and sent vessels of the size of 200 tons to Portugal. The freight of one of these is stated to have been worth 6000 crowns in gold. The improvement of the woollen manufactures may be inferred from the following circumstance: alum is very useful to fullers and dyers. About the year 1422, the Genoese obtained from the Greek emperor the lease of a hill in Asia Minor, containing alum: England was one of the chief customers for this article; but it undoubtedly was imported, not in English, but in Genoese vessels. In the year 1450 the Genoese delivered alum to the value of 4000l. to Henry VI. Bristol seems to have been one of the most commercial cities in England. One merchant of it is mentioned as having been possessed of 2470 tuns of shipping: he traded to Finmark and Iceland for fish, and to the Baltic for timber and other bulky articles in very large ships, some of which are said to have been of the burden of 400, 500, and even 900 tons. Towards the latter end of the fifteenth century, the parliament, in order to encourage English shipping, (as hitherto the greatest part of the foreign trade of England had been carried on by foreign merchants in foreign vessels,) enacted a species of navigation law, and prohibited the king's subjects from shipping goods in England and Wales on board any vessel owned by a foreigner, unless when sufficient freight could not be found in English vessels.
Such are the most instructive and important notices respecting the state and progress of English commerce, which occur prior to the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope and America. We shall now proceed to give similar notices of the commerce of Scotland, Ireland, France, and the other countries of Europe; these, however, shall be very brief and few. In the middle of the twelfth century, Berwick, which then belonged to Scotland, is described as having more foreign commerce than any other port in that kingdom, and as possessing many ships. One of the merchants of this town was distinguished by the appellation of the opulent. Inverluth, or Leith, is described merely as possessing a harbour, but no mention is made of its trade. Strivelen had some vessels and trade, and likewise Perth. There was some trade between Aberdeen and Norway. There were no trading towns on the west coast of Scotland at this period; but about twenty years afterwards, a weekly market, and an annual fair were granted by charter to Glasgow.
It is probable that the foreign commerce of Scotland, being confined to the east coast, was principally carried on with Norway: with which country, indeed, Scotland had intimate connection; for we do not find any notice of foreign merchants from other countries trading to or settling in Scotland, till towards the end of the thirteenth century, when some Flemish merchants established a factory at Berwick. Wool, wool-fells, hides, &c. were the chief articles of export; salmon also was exported. Of the importance and value of the trade of this place we may form some idea, from the circumstance, that the custom duties amounted to upwards of 2,000 l. sterling; and of 1,500 marks a year settled on the widow of Alexander prince of Scotland, 1,300 were paid by Berwick.
In the year 1428. foreign commerce attracted considerable attention in Scotland; and in order to encourage the native merchants to carry it on themselves, and by their own vessels, the parliament of Scotland seem, some time previous to this date, to have passed a navigation act; for in an act passed this year, the Scotch merchants were permitted for a year ensuing, to ship their goods in foreign vessels, where Scotch ones were not to be found, notwithstanding the statute to the contrary. Indeed, during the civil wars in England, between the houses of York and Lancaster, when the manufactures and commerce of that country necessarily declined, the commerce of Scotland began to flourish, and was protected and encouraged by its monarchs. The herring fishery was encouraged; duties were laid on the exportation of wool, and a staple for Scotch commerce was fixed in the Netherlands, In the year 1420 Glasgow began to acquire wealth by the fisheries; but until the discovery of America and the West Indies, it had little or no foreign trade. Towards the middle of the fifteenth century, several acts of parliament were passed to encourage agriculture, the fisheries, and commerce; the Scotch merchants had now acquired so much wealth and general respectability, that they were frequently employed, along with the clergy and nobles, in embassies. Even some of the Scotch barons were engaged in trade. In 1467 several acts were passed: among the most important enactments were those which related to the freight of ships, the mode of stowing it, the mode of fixing the average in case goods were thrown overboard, and the time of the year when vessels might sail to foreign countries.
The commerce of Ireland, when its ports were frequented by the Ostmen, has been already noticed. In the middle of the twelfth century, we are informed, that foreign merchants brought gold to Ireland, and that wheat and wine were imported from Bretagne into Wexford; but the exports in return are not particularized. About this period, some trade seems to have been carried on between Bristol and Dublin; and on the conquest of Ireland by Henry II., that monarch gave his city of Dublin to be inhabited by his men of Bristol. A charter granted by the same monarch, gives to the burgesses of that city free trade to England, Normandy, Wales, and the other ports of Ireland. From this time the commerce of Dublin seems to have flourished. It is certain, that at the middle of the fourteenth century the Irish stuffs were in such request abroad, that imitations of them were attempted by the Catalans, and they were worn as articles of luxury by the ladies of Florence. But of the mode in which they were conveyed to foreign countries, and the articles which were received in exchange for them, we have no certain information.
Though France possessed excellent ports in the Mediterranean, particularly Marseilles, which, as we have seen, in very early times was celebrated for its commerce, yet she, as well as less favoured ports of Europe, was principally indebted for her trade to the Lombards and other Italian merchants, during the middle ages. The political state of the country, indeed, was very unfavourable to commerce during this period; there are, consequently, few particulars of its commerce worth recording. About the beginning of the fourteenth century, Montpelier seems to have had a considerable trade; and they even sent ships with various articles of merchandize to London. Mention of Bourdeaux occurs about the same time, as having sent out, in one year, 1350 vessels, laden with 13,429 tuns of wine; this gives nearly 100 tuns in each vessel on an average. But Bourdeaux was in fact an English possession at this time. That commerce between France and England would have flourished and extended considerably, had it not been interrupted by the frequent and bitter wars between these countries, is evident from the consequences which followed the truce which was concluded between their monarchs in 1384. The French, and particularly the Normans, taking immediate advantage of this truce, imported into England an immense quantity of wine, fruits, spiceries, and fish; gold and silver alone were given in exchange. The Normans appear to have traded very extensively in spiceries; but it is uncertain, whether they brought them directly from the Mediterranean: they likewise traded to the east country or Baltic countries. About a century afterwards, that is in 1453, France could boast of her wealthy merchant, as well as Florence and England. His name was Jacques Coeur: he is said to have employed 300 factors, and to have traded with the Turks and Persians; his exports were chiefly woollen cloth, linen, and paper; and his imports consisted of silks, spiceries, gold, silver, &c.
In all our preceding accounts of the trade of Europe, the Italian and Flemish merchants make a conspicuous figure. Flanders was celebrated for its woollen manufactures, as well as for containing the central depôts of the trade between the south and north of Europe. Holland, which afterwards rose to such commercial importance, does not appear in the annals of commerce till the beginning of the fifteenth century. At this period, many of the manufacturers of Brabant and Flanders settled in Holland; and about the same time the Hollanders engaged in maritime commerce; but there are no particulars respecting it, that fall within the limits of the present chapter.
It remains to notice Spain. The commerce of Barcelona in its earliest stage has been already noticed. The Catalans, in the thirteenth century, engaged very extensively in the commerce of the Mediterranean, to almost every port of which they traded. The earliest navigation act known was passed by the count of Barcelona about this time; and laws were also framed, containing rules for the owners and commanders of vessels, and the clerks employed to keep their accounts; for loading and discharging the cargo; for the mutual assistance to be given by vessels, &c. These laws, and others, to extend and improve commerce, were passed during the reign of James I., king of Arragon, who was also count of Barcelona. The manufactures and commerce of this part of Spain continued to flourish from this time till the union of the crowns of Castile and Arragon, which event depressed the latter kingdom. In 1380, a Catalan ship was wrecked on the coast of Somersetshire, on her voyage from Genoa to Sluys, the port of Bruges: her cargo consisted of green ginger, cured ginger, raisins, sulphur, writing paper, white sugar, prunes, cinnamon, &c. In 1401, a bank of exchange and deposit was established at Barcelona: the accommodation it afforded was extended to foreign as well as native merchants. The earliest bill of exchange of which we have any notice, is one dated 28th April, 1404, which was sold by a merchant of Lucca, residing in Bruges, to a merchant of Barcelona, also residing there, to be paid by a Florence merchant residing in Barcelona. By the book of duties on imports and exports, compiled in 1413, it appears, that the Barcelonians were very liberal and enlightened in their commercial policy; this document also gives us a high idea of the trade of the city of Barcelona. A still further proof and illustration of the intelligence of the Barcelona merchants, and of the advantages for which commerce is indebted to them, occurs soon afterwards: for about the year 1432 they framed regulations respecting maritime insurance, the principal of which were, that no vessel should be insured for more than three quarters of her real value,--that no merchandize belonging to foreigners should be insured in Barcelona, unless freighted in a vessel belonging to the king of Arrogan: the words, more or less, inserted frequently in policies, were prohibited: if a ship should not be heard of in six months, she was to be deemed lost.
Little commerce seems to have been carried on from any other port of Spain besides Barcelona at this period: the north of Spain, indeed, had a little commercial intercourse with England, as appears by the complaints of the Spanish merchants; complaints that several of their vessels bound to England from this part of Spain had been plundered by the people of Sandwich, Dartmouth, &c. Seven vessels are particularly mentioned: one of which, laden with wine, wool, and iron, was bound for Flanders; the others, laden with raisins, liquorice, spicery, incense, oranges, and cheese, were bound for England. The largest of these vessels was 120 tons: one vessel, with its cargo, was valued as high as 2500l.