THE ROLE OF THE TUDOR MONARCHY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MERCANTILISM IN ENGLAND
THE ROLE OF THE TUDOR MONARCHY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MERCANTILISM IN ENGLAND
Before the industrial revolution, the dominant form of capital in Western Europe was merchant capital, it was capital obtained from trade. Western Europe came into contact with the rest of the world through trade; this system of trade is known as mercantilism.
The development of mercantilism in England went through two faces namely;
- First phase which took place from mid 15th C – mid 17th
- Second phase which took place from mid 17th C – mid 18th
The first phase was associated with the Tudor monarchy was an English dynasty that descended from King Henry VII to Elizabeth I.
The Tudor monarchy played a significant role in the rise of mercantilism in England.
1. Acquisition of colonies.
The Tudor monarchy helped the merchants to acquire colonies. Colonies were important in the whole system of mercantilism because they provided markets and raw materials such as gold and silver which were needed by the merchants.
2. Chartered trading companies.
The Tudor monarchy charted trading companies had given them exclusive rights to trade all over the world. The most importance of these companies were the royal Africa company charted in 1588 in order to organize slave trade and east India company chartered in 1600 for trading with India and the far east including china and Japan.
3. Set up navigation acts.
The Tudor monarchy set up navigational acts of the 17th C which were introduced to monopolize the rights to transport goods into and from the colonies as well as the profits obtained from transportation between the mother land and the colony.
4. Ensured constant supply of wool.
The Tudor monarchy assured the merchants constant supply of wool by stopping the export of wool. Wool was important as a raw material in the textile industries. The textile industries were very important during the early days of the industrial revolution in Britain.
5. Promoted organization.
The Tudor monarchy provided organization of merchant groups for the exploitation and settlement in the new world. By the 17th C, many Britons were investing overseas, these included members of parliament and merchants.
6. Security.
The Tudor monarchy assured the merchants protection on the high seas from pirates. Mercantilism was characterized with primitive accumulation of capital; one of the methods used to acquire capital was piracy, thus the assurance of protection encouraged the merchants to engage in trade.
7. Provided loans.
The Tudor monarchy provided loans and grants to the merchants, the provisions of loans and grants encouraged the merchants to engage in mercantile activities thus leading to the development of mercantilism in Britain.
8. Developed and consolidated maritime technology.
The Tudor monarchy contributed to the development of mercantilism in Britain by developing and consolidating maritime technology. Maritime technology made it possible for the merchants to trade overseas with Africa and America thus the rise of mercantilism.
9. Discarded feudal elements.
The Tudor monarchy abandoned feudal elements and promoted capitalism, this led to the emergency of the merchant class. The merchant class conducted trade overseas which contributed to the rise of mercantilism.
Sources of primitive accumulation of capital during mercantilism
1. Long distance trade.
The capitalists obtained capital from the long distance trade that was conducted among various continents such as Africa, America and Asia. This was the Trans Atlantic slave trade. European countries acquired capital by accumulating precious metals such as gold and silver which was based on unequal exchange.
2. Crusades
These wars were fought between the Muslims and the Christians from the 11th to 12th centuries. The Christians claimed that these were holly wars which aimed at the holly lands from the Arabs. It should be noted that the wars were accompanied with massive looting which formed the basis of primitive accumulation of capital.
3. Confiscation of church property.
The church in England controlled large estates of land but between 1535 and 1539 AD. King Henry VIII following the advice of his chief minister Thomas Cromwell decided to confiscate church property. The land was grabbed and sold to the capitalist; this capital was acquired by using primitive means.
4. Feudal wars.
The feudal wars were very common in Europe especially between 1337 and 1453 AD. There was the hundred year‟s war between the French and the British monarchies. These wars were characterized with plundering and looting which help the European powers to accumulate capital that contributed to the rise of capitalism.
5. Enclosure system.
This system involved evicting peasants and serfs from their land. The land was sold to the capitalist who organized it into compact forms and enclosed it. The enclosure system contributed to the improvement of the agriculture sector which led to the rise of the industrial revolution, but the eviction of the peasants and serfs was a primitive act.
6. Protectionist policies.
Mercantilism was associated with protectionism especially in England which was the major power during the mercantile period. The Tudor monarchy introduced navigational acts that denied other countries from trading freely with England and her colonies. This aimed at protecting the British interests.
WHY BRITAIN SUCCEEDED IN MERCANTILE TRADE
Britain was the most successful nation in Europe in mercantile trade especially during the second phase which took place between the 15th and 18th centuries. Britain was also the first country to industrialize because it was very active during mercantilism. There are many factors that aided Britain to dominate mercantilism in Europe or the world.
1. Role of Tudor monarchy.
The Tudor monarchy played a great role in the development of mercantilism in Britain and ensuring that the country became the most powerful during the mercantile period. The monarchy acquired colonies that provided raw materials and markets to the merchants and it also promoted political stability that encouraged domestic production.
2. Development of maritime technology.
Maritime technology first developed on a larger scale in Britain then it spread to other countries. Maritime technology facilitated inters–continental trade that greatly contributed to the development of mercantilism in Britain. Ever since the 14th C Britain has been enjoying an extra advantage over navy supremacy than other European nations and used this advantage to dominate mercantile trade.
3. Increase in internal production.
There are various changes that took place in the agricultural and industrial sectors in Britain. These changes boosted internal production that stimulated trade with other countries. Britain traded with north and South America, Asia and Africa thus she was able to dominate other countries in mercantile activities.
4. Acquisition of colonies.
Britain had so many colonies in Africa, America and China. These colonies guaranteed the merchants sources of raw material and markets thus leading to the development of mercantilism in Britain.
5. Imposition of protective tariffs.
The establishment of navigation acts of the 17th C provided moral and material support to the merchants by protecting them from competition. By this law, all goods exported to British colonies had to be carried by British ships and all goods from British colonies were supposed to be shipped first to Britain before exporting them to other countries. The navigation acts played a crucial role in helping Britain to dominate mercantilism.
6. Enclosure system.
Britain was the first country to implement the enclosure system in the 16th century. The enclosure system involved grouping all peasants and common land in the villages in two compact forms, this land was subjected to commercial production. The enclosure system led to increase in production which contributed to the development of mercantilism.
7. Exploitation of other countries.
Britain was able to exploit heavily the weak nations, Portugal depended heavily on the military support from Britain against her rivals such as Spain and in return Britain got economic gains. These activities contributed to the development of mercantilism in Britain.