The Exports
Consisted Principally Of Woollen Goods, Prepared Skins, Earthen-Ware, And
Metals.
The imports of linens, silks, paper, wines, brandy, fruits,
dye-stuffs, and drugs.
The woollen cloths of England were indeed the staple
export to all parts of England during the whole of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries: as our cotton, earthen-ware, and iron manufactures
sprung up and encreased, they supplied other articles of export; - our
imports, at first confined to a few articles, afterwards encreased in
number and value, in proportion as our encreased industry, capital, and
skill, enlarged our produce and manufactures, and thus enabled us to
purchase and consume more. A very remarkable instance of the effect of
skill, capital, and industry, is mentioned by Mr. Lewis, a merchant, who
published a work entitled, _The Merchant's Map of Commerce_, in 1641. "The
town of Manchester," he says, "buys the linen yarn of the Irish in great
quantity, and, weaving it, returns the same again, in linen, into Ireland
to sell. Neither doth her industry rest here, for they buy cotton wool in
London, that comes first from Cyprus and Smyrna, and work the same into
fustians, vermilions, dimities, &c., which they return to London, where
they are sold, and from thence not seldom are sent into such foreign parts
where the first materials may be more easily had for that manufacture." How
similar are these two instances to that which has occurred in our own days,
when the cotton-wool, brought from the East Indies, has been returned
thither after having been manufactured, and sold there cheaper than the
native manufactures.
But though there are no particulars relative to the commerce between
England and Europe, which call for our notice, as exhibiting any thing
beyond the gradual extension of commercial intercourse already established;
yet in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, there were other commercial
intercourses into which England entered, that deserve attention. These may
be classed under three heads: the trade to Africa, to America, and India.
I. The trade to Africa. - The first notice of any trade between England and
Africa occurs in the year 1526, when some merchants of Bristol, which, at
this period, was undoubtedly one of our most enterprising cities, traded by
means of Spanish ships to the Canaries. Their exports were cloth, soap, for
the manufacture of which, even at this early period, Bristol was
celebrated, and some other articles. They imported drugs for dyeing, sugar,
and kid skins. This branch of commerce answering, the Bristol merchants
sent their factors thither from Spain. The coast of Africa was, at this
period, monopolized by the Portuguese. In 1530, however, an English ship
made a voyage to Guinea for elephants' teeth: the voyage was repeated; and
in 1536, above one hundred pounds weight of gold dust, besides elephants'
teeth, was imported in one ship. A few years afterwards, a trade was opened
with the Mediterranean coast of Africa, three ships sailing from Bristol to
Barbary with linens, woollen cloth, coral, amber, and jet; and bringing
back sugar, dates, almonds, and molasses. The voyages to Guinea from the
ports of the south and southwest of England, particularly Portsmouth,
Plymouth, and Bristol, were frequently repeated: the returns were uniformly
gold dust and elephants' teeth. But it does not appear that other ports
followed the example of these, that these sent many ships, or that the
commerce became very regular and lucrative, till the west coast of Africa
was resorted to for slaves.
This infamous trade was first entered upon by the English in the year 1562.
Mr. John Hawkins, with several other merchants, having learnt that negroes
were a good commodity in Hispaniola, fitted out three ships, the largest
120, the smallest forty tons, for the coast of Guinea. Here they bought
slaves, which they sold in Hispaniola for hides, sugar, ginger, and pearls.
The other branches of the African trade continued to flourish. In 1577,
English merchants were settled in Morocco; Spanish, Portuguese, and French
merchants had been settled there before. In this year, Elizabeth, always
attentive to whatever would benefit commerce, sent an ambassador to the
Emperor of Morocco, who obtained some commercial privileges for the
English. In 1588, the first voyage to Benin was made from London, by a ship
and a pinnace: in 1590, a second voyage was made from the same port with
the same vessels. Their exports were linen, woollen cloths, iron
manufactures, bracelets of copper, glass beads, coral, hawks' bells,
horses' tails, hats, &c. They imported Guinea pepper, elephants' teeth,
palm oil, cotton cloth, and cloth made of the bark of trees.
An African Company had been formed in Elizabeth's reign; but neither this,
nor two others succeeded; their ruin was occasioned by war, misconduct, and
the interference of what were called interlopers. In 1672, a fourth company
was established, whose efforts at first seem to have been great and
successful. They bought the forts the former companies had erected on the
west coast: instead of making up their assortments of goods for export in
Holland, as the former companies had been obliged to do, they introduced
into England the making of sundry kinds of woollen goods not previously
manufactured. They imported large quantities of gold dust, out of which
50,000 guineas were first coined in one year, 1673. Their other imports
were red wood for dyes, elephants' teeth, wax, honey, &c. The value of the
English goods exported to them averaged annually 70,000_l_. This
company was broken up at the Revolution.
II. Though the Portuguese and Spaniards were very jealous of the
interference of any nation with their East India commerce; yet they were
comparatively easy and relaxed with regard to their American possessions.
Accordingly, we find that, in 1530, there was some little trade between
England and Brazil: this is the first notice we can trace of any commercial
intercourse between this country and the New World. The first voyage was
from Plymouth: in 1540 and 1542 the merchants of Southampton and London
also traded to Brazil.
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