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The book is devoted to topical problems of the 14th–17th century social history of England. Modern understanding of social history includes the whole spectrum of society life, from economic relations to various forms of daily routine. An inseparable part of Western-European society history is the history of the medieval town. It is impossible to understand the evolution of this society without studying it. The more important are transitional stages when established old relations come into collision and interweave with the new ones. In different countries and towns changes in different spheres of social life did not take place simultaneously. In every case they had their own features. New phenomena could appear and, then, vanish for some definite time. But these fluctuations and peculiarities do not deny common laws of development. Over the last decades researchers are getting more interested in the problem of transitional epochs that existed in various periods of history and in various countries.
Using numerous sources the author considers different aspects of life in England: correlation of industry and trade in economic development of the country, guild and off-guild craft, decay of medieval guilds and emergence of new forms of production, influence of wide international ties and entrepreneurial activity on people’s psychology, traditions of self-government in English towns, daily routine and, especially, mentality of townspeople in the 14th — 17th centuries, and so on.
The data given in the book show that the 14th — 17th centuries was the time for England that brought a lot of changes into economy, social relations, and peoples psychology. The analyzed material makes it possible to conclude that in the 14th — 17th centuries not only in the capital but in provincial towns as well there started to emerge new forms of manufacturing organization — the system of buying up and distribution, simple capitalist cooperation, and, in some cases, manufactory.
Craft guilds keeping their outward form began to change from the inside. First of all it could be well seen in export branches of production — cloth making, metal working, and tanning. For example, the majority of Bristol dyers worked for a small number of guild members who were engaged only in cloth exporting.
Emergence of new forms of production in the 14th — 15th centuries was not connected with the decay of the guild system. For a long time they co-existed in many branches of industry.
It is necessary to note that new developments were characteristic both for towns and villages. Early capitalist production in the village was set up due to accumulation of capital by town manufacturers who organized and controlled not only town production but also country craftsmen.
Bristol’s history evidences that early capitalism in Italian towns of the 14th century was not a unique phenomenon. That age was the time when similar processes in economy took place in different European countries. New capitalist forms of production occurred in the textile industry of England, the Netherlands, and Germany. In the 15th century other branches, such as mining, book printing, soap and sugar manufacture, joined this process. Though in England early capitalist relations were developing more slowly than, for example, in Italy, they proved to be more viable due to early economic consolidation and political centralization of the country, and more balanced development of urban and rural economies. Relations between the town and its countryside were closer in England which brought to a quicker formation of domestic market than in the countries of continental Europe.
The fact that there was a port in the town favoured successful development of crafts in it. Overseas trade appeared to be the most important factor of production growth as it provided a wide trading area. English merchants all the more tried to drive foreign merchants out of the market which could be especially well seen in London, Bristol, and Southampton. The character of external trade started to change as well. For example, Bristol was one of the first English towns which began to export fabricated production instead of wool. As wool had never been an important export item, there were no essential differences between Bristol’s Merchant Staplers and Merchant Adventurers; belonging to the Merchants of the Staple gave to their members, first of all, legal advantages.
Until the end of the 13th century the main trade turnover took place inside the country at fairs. But by the 14th century their importance had fallen as towns themselves became permanent trade areas. In the 14th — 15th centuries intraurban trade was notable for its significant volume and complexity. At that time trade in various goods was carried out by separate guilds — of fishmongers, cloth dealers, mercers and others — which were established instead of Trade Guild that once united all rightful townspeople. Appearance of the position of a broker is an evidence of increased and complicated trade and financial operations at the market. The sources also show that wholesalers were trying to subordinate small retail trade.