Fleeces overflow their baskets at Jamieson and Smith, wool brokers in Lerwick, Shetland. Raw wool was a principal English export from before Norman times, thanks in no small part to innovative sheep farming by the monasteries; but it was not until the fourteenth century that England acquired her own textile industry by luring Dutch craftsmen over to England. Edward’s programme relied on the stifling regulation practised on the Continent, which drove skilled labourers chafing at the lack of competition into crossing the Channel. Something similar happened again in the sixteenth century, though for different reasons: see Asylum Christi.
Part 1 of 2
THE intercourse now being great betwixt the English and the Netherlands, (increased of late, since king Edward married the daughter of the earl of Hainault,)* unsuspected emissaries were employed by our king into those countries, who wrought* themselves into familiarity with such Dutchmen as were absolute masters of their trade, but not masters of themselves, as either journeymen or apprentices.* These [emissaries] bemoaned the slavishness of these poor servants, whom their masters used rather like Heathens than Christians, yea, rather like horses than men! Early up and late in bed, and all day hard work and harder fare, (a few herrings and mouldy cheese,) and all to enrich the churls* their masters, without any profit unto themselves.
But O how happy should they be if they would but come over into England, bringing their mystery* with them, which would provide their welcome in all places! Here they should feed on fat beef and mutton, till nothing but their fulness should stint their stomachs: yea, they should feed on the labours of their own hands, enjoying a proportionable profit of their pains to themselves.
* Philippa of Hainault (?1314-1369), daughter of William, Count of Holland and Hainault. Philippa and Edward (at that time heir to the throne of England) were betrothed in 1326, part of a plan, efficiently executed, by Queen Isabella to put young Edward on the throne in place of her disappointing husband, Edward II. Philippa herself was a remarkable woman too. She outgeneralled the Scots who invaded England while her husband was fighting the Crécy campaign in France, and in 1347 successfully interceded for six burghers of Calais accused of treason. A mother of twelve, she was also a lady of fashion with an impressive collection of fine clothes, something which perhaps helps to explain why Edward took such a keen interest in the price of fabrics.
* ‘Wrought’ is an archaic past tense and past participle of ‘work’. It survives in the term ‘wrought iron’, an iron alloy shaped by working it while it is hot.
* That is, these Dutch craftsmen were highly skilled itinerant workers or apprentices, but they had reached a ‘glass ceiling’ in their profession and could not set up in business for themselves. This often happened where mediaeval craft Guilds restricted competition in each town. See also The Hollow Blade Sword Company.
* ‘Churl’ comes from an Old English word meaning a commoner, one who is not well-born. It came to imply a boor, a rude and mean-spirited man.
* Sometimes spelt ‘mistery’, a craft or skill, in mediaeval towns often self-regulated as a Guild. These Guilds put on plays at major religious festivals, which came to known as Mystery (or Mistery) Plays.
Précis
In the fourteenth century, King Edward III was not satisfied with exporting raw wool to the Continent. Hoping to establish a full-scale domestic textile industry, he dispatched agents to the Netherlands with instructions to sow discontent among over-regulated Dutch craftsmen, and win them over with tales of England’s more liberal economy and higher standard of living. (56 / 60 words)
Part Two
The finished article: balls of wool and a knitted jumper at Jamieson and Smith, wool brokers in Lerwick, Shetland. By the early fifteenth century, England had become a busy textile hub, and mercers (dealers in fine cloth) such as Sir Richard Whittington made vast fortunes in the trade. A fresh boost came from mass production in the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century, though cotton superseded wool in the nineteenth. The tables were turned when manufacturers in Asia began to undercut British industry as the English had undercut Continental Europe, but once again the results were beneficial for everyone because as Asia prospered, so British consumers benefited from cheaper goods and British merchants benefited from new markets. See David Hume on The Jealousy of Trade.
THEIR beds should be good, and their bed-fellows better; seeing the richest yeomen in England would not disdain to marry their daughters unto them; and such the English beauties, that the most envious foreigners could not but commend them.
Liberty is a lesson quickly conned* by heart; men having a principle within themselves to prompt them, in case they forget it. Persuaded with the premisses, many Dutch servants leave their masters and make over for England. Their departure thence (being picked here and there) made no sensible vacuity;* but their meeting here all together amounted to a considerable fulness. With themselves, they brought over their trade and their tools; namely, such which could not as yet be so conveniently made in England.
Happy the yeoman’s house into which one of these Dutchmen did enter, bringing industry and wealth along with them. Such who came in strangers within their doors, soon after went out bridegrooms, and returned son-in-laws, having married the daughters of their landlords who first entertained them. Yea, those yeomen in whose houses they harboured soon proceeded* gentlemen, gaining great estates to themselves, arms and worship to their estates.*
* The verb ‘con’ here means ‘commit to memory’, a use rarely found today. The arguments for seeking liberty are easily learnt, because basic human desires drive a man to seek it.
* That is, the flow of craftsmen to England did not noticeably deplete the Dutch textile industry in any given town because they came from all over the land; but their impact when gathered in England was very significant.
* ‘Proceeded’ here means ‘became, rose to be’. Some of the English families wise enough to let these Dutchmen lodge with them saw their own fortunes take a turn for the better.
* That is, they became gentry with a coat of arms and a high degree of local respect.
Précis
Edward’s agents held their audiences spellbound with tales of English beef and English maidens, and promised that Edward would allow them to keep more of their profits than their masters did. The Dutch towns barely noticed the emigrants go, but the English economy boomed, and those who welcomed them into their homes and families were rewarded with rising prosperity. (59 / 60 words)
