English Economic History: Select Documents

by Unknown

(1) Documentary Sources:—Gairdner, Letters and Papers of Henry VIII; S.P. Dom. from 1558 to 1660; The Acts of the Privy Council; The Commons Journals; and the Statutes of the Realm, which are particularly instructive on the subject of commercial policy. An invaluable collection of documents is given by Schanz, op. cit., Vol. II; and useful, though smaller ones, by Scott, Price, Cunningham, and Unwin.

(2) Literary Sources:—Starkey, Dialogue Between Cardinal Pole and Thomas Lupset; The Italian Narration of England (Camden E.E.T.S. Society, 1847); Dudley, The Tree of Commonwealth (1509); Drei Volkswirtschaftliche Denkschriften aus der Zeit Heinrich VIII von England, edited by Pauli; The Commonwealth of this Realm of England; Wilson, Discourse upon Usury (1572); Malynes, A Treatise of the Canker of England's Commonwealth (1601); Wheeler, Treatise of Commerce (1601); Malynes, Consuetudo vel Lex Mercatoria (1622); Misselden, Free Trade (1622); Bacon, History of King Henry VII (1622); Knowler, Letters and Despatches of Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford; Robinson, England's Safety in Trade's Increase (1641).

1. Letters Patent Granted to the Cabots by Henry VII [R.O. Pat. 4 Ed. VI, p. 6], 1496.

The King to all to whom, etc., greeting. It is manifest to us by inspection of the rolls of our Chancery that the lord Henry the Seventh, late King of England, our dearest grand father, caused his letters patent to be made in these words:

Henry by the grace of God King of England and France and Lord of Ireland, to all to whom the present letters shall come, greeting. Be it known and manifest that we have given and granted, and by these presents we do give and grant for us and our heirs to our beloved John Cabot, citizen of Venice, and Lewis, Sebastian and Sanctus, sons of the said John, and the heirs and deputies of them and every of them, full and free authority, faculty and power to sail to all parts, regions and gulfs of the sea, east, west and north, under our banners, standards, and ensigns, with five ships or boats of whatsoever portage or kind they be, and with as many sailors and men as they wish to take with them in the said ships at their own and the others' costs and expenses, to find, discover and search out any isles, countries, regions or provinces of heathens and infidels whomsoever set in any part of the world soever, which have been before these times unknown to all Christians. We have granted also to the same and to every of them and to the heirs and deputies of them and every of them, and given licence for them to affix our aforesaid banners and ensigns in any town, castle, isle or solid land soever newly found by them; and that the aforenamed John and his sons or heirs and the deputies of the same may subjugate, occupy and possess any such towns, castles and islands found by them which can be subjugated, occupied and possessed, as our vassals and governors, lieutenants and deputies of the same, acquiring for us the lordship, title and jurisdiction of the same towns, castles, islands and solid land so found; so, nevertheless, that of all fruits, profits, emoluments, commodities, gains and obventions arising from such voyages, the aforesaid John and his sons and heirs and their deputies be held and bound to pay to us for every voyage, as often as they touch at our port of Bristol, at which alone they are held and bound to touch, after deducting the necessary costs and expenses made by them, a fifth part of their capital gain made whether in wares or in money; giving and granting to them and their heirs and deputies that they be free and immune from all payment of customs on all and singular goods and wares which they bring back with them from those places so newly found. And further we have given and granted to the same and to their heirs and deputies that all lands, farms, isles, towns, castles and places whatsoever found by them, as many as shall be found by them, may not be frequented or visited by any other our subjects soever without licence of the aforesaid John and his sons and their deputies, under pain of loss as well of the ships or boats as of all goods whatsoever presuming to sail to those places so found; willing and most straitly commanding all and singular our subjects set as well on land as on sea that they give good assistance to the aforesaid John and his sons and deputies and show all their favour and aid as well in manning the ships or boats as in provision of equipment and victuals to be bought for their money and all other things to be provided for them to be taken for the said voyage. In witness whereof we have caused these our letters patent to be made. Witness myself at Westminster, 5 April in the 11th year of our reign.

And we, because the letters aforesaid have been lost by mischance, as the aforesaid Sebastian, appearing in person before us in our Chancery, has taken a corporal oath, and that he will restore those letters to us into the same our Chancery to be cancelled there, if he shall find them hereafter, have deemed fit to exemplify by these presents the tenour of the enrolment of the letters aforesaid, at the request of the same Sebastian. In witness whereof these our letters, etc. Witness the King at Westminster, 4 June.

2. The Merchant Adventurers' Case for Allowing the Export of Undressed Cloth [Br. M. Cotton MS. Tib. D. VIII, f. 40[303]], 1514-1536.

Considerations alleged by the governor and fellowship of merchant adventurers to prove how it were more for the universal wealth of the realm of England to convey and send over the sea to the markets accustomed cloths of all prices, not dressed nor shorn, than cloths dressed and shorn.

First it is to be noted, marked and considered, that in few years after the act of Parliament made, that no sort of cloths draped and made within the realm of England being above the price of five marks sterling the piece should be conveyed over the sea undressed and unshorn, the same sort of cloths, which at that day were bought for five marks, be now at this present day by the industry of the said merchants uttering the said cloths sold within the realm for four pounds sterling, which is a great enriching of the whole realm, so that the said merchants think it to stand with reason and conscience, that those sort of cloths, of four pounds the piece, ought to be reputed and taken, in regard of the act, after cloths of five marks the piece.

Item the merchants of those parts buying English cloths will in no wise meddle with any cloths, that be dressed, unless they may have them at a price far under the foot; for it is in experience daily, that the merchants of England conveying over the sea a sort of cloths every of them being of like length and goodness, whereof the one half of them have dressed and shorn and the other half undressed and unshorn, the said merchants shall sell those cloths being undressed five shillings dearer in every cloth, than those that be dressed; also those cloths undressed be meet and ready for every man and the other dressed but only for one man, so that against one cloth dressed the merchants of England shall sell five hundred undressed, whereby it appeareth, that it were for the common weal and great enriching to the realm of England to send over into those parts all sorts of cloths undressed and but a singular and private wealth to dress any such cloths; for there be many more in number, that live by making of cloths and selling of the same, than there be that live by dressing of cloths.