Innovations in Cloth Manufacture in Early Modern England: The Demise of English Fine Wools and Rise of Spanish Merino Wool Hugh Chevis, B.Sc., M.Sc. This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The University of Western Australia School of Humanities Discipline of History 2017 THESIS DECLARATION I, Hugh Chevis, certify that: This thesis has been substantially accomplished during enrolment in the degree. This thesis does not contain material that has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in my name, in any university or other tertiary institution. No part of this work will, in the future, be used in a submission in my name, for any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution without the prior approval of The University of Western Australia and where applicable, any partner institution responsible for the joint-award of this degree. This thesis does not contain any material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. The work is not in any way a violation or infringement of any copyright, trademark, patent, or other rights whatsoever of any person. This thesis contains only sole-authored work, some of which has been, or is being, published under sole authorship. Signature: …… Date: ………………………….. AUTHORSHIP DECLARATION: SOLE AUTHOR PUBLICATIONS This thesis contains the following sole-authored work, some of which is being prepared for publication under sole authorship. It also references material that has already been published. Details of the work: Chevis, Hugh, ‘Civil War, Trade and Kinship: The Experiences of Some West Country Clothiers’, Limina, vol. 20, no. 3, 2015, Festschrift in Honour of Philippa Maddern, pp. 1–19. Location in thesis: The paper is drawn from material in Chapter 5. Signature: ……… … Date: ………………………….. Abstract This thesis examines why and how a small, regionally isolated group of closely related clothiers in Somerset and their merchant kin in the adjacent south coast ports took on the risky venture of establishing a new textile industry based on fine Spanish wool from the late sixteenth century. English wool had been the best available in Europe for at least four hundred years. It was the mainstay of the English export economy, first as raw wool, then as finished cloth. The thesis explains why Spanish wool became a viable alternative to fine English wool in English cloth manufacture. It fills gaps in the historiography of this industry, in understanding why English sheepmasters moved away from producing fine wool, and how Spanish wool was introduced. The thesis provides a detailed study of successful entrepreneurship in an early modern setting, and adds to the literature on this understudied topic. The thesis’ main argument is that the clothiers and merchants in this study developed a new textile industry using Spanish wool by creating a cradle of innovation. Their tight social networks, reinforced by a common Puritanism, were crucial in integrating the essential components of their trade. This trade could have broken down at multiple points, and for many reasons, but these merchants created robust structures to avoid, or repair, this eventuality. These networks and structures allowed them to make informed judgements about the opportunities available to them and to manage their associated risks. They innovated in developing new sources of raw material supply, producing new types of cloth, and developing new markets. They were pioneers, of the Newfoundland and New England trade triangles trading cod for supplies of wool, oil, soap, and dyes from the Iberian Peninsula, and also in promoting their cloth within the new markets that emerged as the English commercial world expanded. They were politically adroit, avoiding the potentially disruptive commercial effects of the Cockayne project, the English Civil Wars, and the Interregnum. The first chapter analyses, through agronomic theory, why the supply of fine English wool was declining and that of fine Spanish wool was improving in the sixteenth century. The following four chapters examine issues and events over the eighty-year period, from the 1570s to 1660, during which the Cardinal and Spanish Cloth industries were initiated and then matured. Focused upon the activities of the principal families involved in these industries, the events of this period are viewed through the themes of entrepreneurship, kinship, and religion. Chapter 2 discusses the i creation of Cardinals – the first cloth made with Spanish wool – through the accounts of William Leonard. The third chapter documents the emergence of Spanish Cloth in the early seventeenth century, how the industry survived the disruption of the Cockayne Project, and how the supply of Spanish wool was secured through the emerging trade in cod from Newfoundland and New England to Spain. Chapters 4 and 5 analyse the emerging Spanish Cloth industry in detail through the accounts of the Ashe family. The effect of the Civil Wars and Interregnum are assessed. The integration of raw material supply, production, and marketing by this entrepreneurial group is analysed in each chronological period. ii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. i Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. ix List of Tables.................................................................................................................... xi Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ xiii Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Methodology ............................................................................................................... 3 Selected literature review and conceptual framework ................................................ 4 Entrepreneurship and processes of economic change in an early modern setting ..... 4 Kinship theory ........................................................................................................... 8 Shared religious belief ............................................................................................. 12 Elements of textile manufacture .............................................................................. 13 Changes in fine woollen manufacture supporting the adoption of Spanish wool .... 15 Contribution to historiography ................................................................................. 19 Structure of the thesis ............................................................................................... 21 Chapter 1 The Merits of Sixteenth-Century English and Spanish Wools ....................... 23 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 23 Using Spanish wool in England ............................................................................... 27 Using Spanish wool on the Continent ...................................................................... 30 Early modern commentary and evidence about English and Spanish wools ........... 33 Empirical evidence of wool character ...................................................................... 42 Applying modern sheep management theory ........................................................... 45 Sheep and flock management in England and Spain: Re-interpreting the historiography ........................................................................................... 48 Conclusion: The stage set for the adoption of Spanish wool in England ................. 54 Chapter 2 The Beginning: Spanish Wool in Cardinals ................................................... 57 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 57 Spanish wool in the felt hat industry ........................................................................ 59 The pioneers in making Cardinal cloth .................................................................... 65 William Leonard’s accounts .................................................................................... 66 William Leonard’s sales of Spanish wool ............................................................... 68 The Cardinal clothiers ............................................................................................. 71 iii Marketing of Cardinals ............................................................................................. 75 Puritan influence in the Cardinal industry ................................................................ 80 Puritan influence: An economic philosophy or strengthening social networks?...... 84 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 89 Chapter 3 The Transition from Cardinals to Spanish Cloth ............................................ 91 Introduction .............................................................................................................