Mites and merchants: the crisis of English wool and textile trade revisited, c. 1275–1330

On the basis of 7,871 manorial accounts from 601 sheep‐rearing demesnes and 187 tithe receipts from 15 parishes, this article addresses the origins, scale, and impact of the wool and textile production crisis in England, c. 1275–1350. The article argues that recurrent outbreaks of scab disease depre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Economic history review Vol. 73; no. 4; pp. 885 - 913
Main Author Slavin, Philip
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2020
Subjects
Crises
Disease
Economic history
Exports
Merchants
Parishes
Production
Recurrent
Sheep
Taxation
Textiles
Wool
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Summary:On the basis of 7,871 manorial accounts from 601 sheep‐rearing demesnes and 187 tithe receipts from 15 parishes, this article addresses the origins, scale, and impact of the wool and textile production crisis in England, c. 1275–1350. The article argues that recurrent outbreaks of scab disease depressed sheep population and wool production levels until the early 1330s. The disease, coupled with warfare and taxation, also had a decisive role in depressing the volumes of wool exports. Despite this fact, wool merchants were still conducting business with major wool producers, who desperately needed access to the capital to replenish their flocks.
Bibliography:The author wishes to thank all three anonymous reviewers for numerous suggestions, as well as Prof. Patrick Wallis for his kind suggestions and forbearance at later stages of the article's revision. All errors and interpretations remain, naturally, mine.
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SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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content type line 14
ISSN:0013-0117
1468-0289
DOI:10.1111/ehr.12969