medieval-atlas/economic-development/255

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Overseas trade: the Middle Ages to the sixteenth century Woollen cloth had been a major constituent of Berwick's booming economy in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries but the extent of exports is unknown. The manufacture of cloth ceased to be significant in burgh affairs. In the fourteenth century it may largely have been produced in the countryside. Cloth found its ells main export market amongst the urban poor of Flanders and latterly in the Baltic. Duty was introduced in 1425 but accounted for less than 10% ofcustoms receipts until the sixteenth century. There was a dramatic rise in levels ofcustomed exports from the 1520s, at over 175,000 ells in 1541-2. Thereafter war with England and the Holy Roman Empire, followed by the Reformation, brought about a slump which lasted until the 1570s. Although the rate of duty on _000 Inverness cloth was nominally 2s in £ Scots, in practice it became fossilised in most burghs at a rate of Id an ell until well into the sixteenth century, Before the death of James V it had been increased to 21/4d, which probably was then a tenth of the average value. That in turn became the fossilised rate until James VI increased the duty to Is an ell in 1598. As a result, by the end of the sixteenth century cloth accounted for no less than 34% of all customs receipts. The bulk ofrecorded cloth exports was located in Edinburgh throughout this period: 75% in the 1420s, 65% in the 1470s and over 80% by the 1530s. Yet a cloth industry was significant in some other towns: Kirkcudbright and Wigtown, exporting cloth to Brittany and the Biscay ports, held a 20% share in the 1430s and a 13% share in the 1470s. ells 8000~ 4000 o . 'Y Stirling Inverkeithing Dumbarton ID~"~'"go: • ~addington __0 . • Melrose Imooo DOOm. Dumfries --KirkcUclbfignt7 olD No returns extant·small returns reflecting value of less than £1 Values too small to ~ register on bar chart Based on only one or two years returns Returns for 1536 are deficient a Customs on exports~ main burghs, Cloth 1425 to 1599 ML, ASt 255 kms 25 50 75 100 0 , ,, . , I i 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 have been omitted miles

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