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 depots 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:
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