Economic development in Henry VIII's reign

• Although there were occasional downturns, English trade increased in the first half of the 16th century - a continued rise in cloth exports (woollen cloth exports almost doubled in Henry VIII's reign); significant increases in the exports of hides and tin. There was also in increase in the import of wine, suggesting the more prosperous classes had more money to spend. 
• The leading route for exports was from London to Antwerp, where it was often sent to Central Europe and the Baltic. Increasingly, exported cloth was routed through London, negatively impacting on other ports, like Bristol and Hull. Traders in the provinces struggled to compete with their London rivals.
• The profits of the cloth trade didn't always benefit English traders - 70% of cloth exports were transported by English merchants from the 1550s but much of the trade was in foreign hands before this. 
• The cloth trade depended on the woollen industry which grew in the first half of the 16th century. The industry mainly worked on a domestic basis - children would card the wool, women would spin in and men would weave it; then it would be passed from the domestic sphere for more specialist treatment e.g. fulling and dyeing. The three areas that saw the greatest growth in the cloth industry were the West Riding of Yorkshire, East Anglia and parts of the West Country. The work was not always secure and could lead to poverty, but serious profits could be made, especially by rich and entrepreneurial clothiers.
• There was some growth in the mining industries - Cornish tin was still a prize export and lead mining in the Pennines and coal mining in the northeast (Newcastle supplied the increasingly important London market) were growing in importance.

• Henry VIII was uninterested in exploration and didn't build on the achievements of Cabot and the Bristol merchants at the end of the 15th century.
• Robert Thorne, a Bristol trader, was still involved in an Iceland and Newfoundland fishery, but other merchants who were interested in further exploration couldn't gain royal support. 
• Sebastian Cabot remained in Spain for most of Henry's reign and only when Edward VI took the throne did he return. 

John Guy argued that 'England was economically healthier, more expansive and more optimistic under the Tudors'. There are some points which support this view:

• The population began to grow significantly from 1925 and there was a decline in the mortality rate.
• From the 1520s, agricultural prices rose significantly - an increase in farming incomes which was sometimes helped by engrossing (the joining together of two or more farms which would improve efficiency).
• Debasement of the coinage created a short-term artificial boom in 1544.

But:

• Bad harvests - temporary but significant increases in food prices as food prices almost doubled across Henry's reign. 
• Real wages began to decline for many - this was worse at the end of Henry's reign due to the effects of debasement.
• Assessment for subsidies indicated considerable urban poverty e.g. over half the population of Coventry were recorded as having no personal wealth.
• Evidence of growing unemployment among rural labourers.
• Some people were made homeless due to engrossing.

Impact of enclosure

• Enclosure was perceived as creating a moral problem in that it caused the poor to have to leave their homes.
• Thomas More's Utopia, published in 1516, highlighted its harmful social effects and Wolsey launched an enclosure commission the following year to understand the scale of the problem. Proceedings were launced against no fewer than 188 defendants who had enclosed illegally. 
• At this time, enclosure was mainly a regional practice and most of the damage caused by enclosure and the conversion ofland from tillage to pasture had occured before 1485. Although, there was further legislation in 1534 which tried to restrict sheep ownership and engrossing but this had limited results.

Population

• The main underlying cause of economic distress was the increase in population - put a strain on the supply of food which made it difficult to meet the demand. This was made worse by the wages stagnating due to the plentiful supply of cheap labour. 
• Wealthier farmers and landowners benefitted from population increase - agricultural prices and therefore farm incomes rose. There was a growing class of farmers who could respond effectively to the changing market conditions and thus enjoyed much better material conditions. 
• Society became more polarised, undermining the traditional ideas of good lordship and social responsibility, causing 'the upper strata of society became richer, but the poor became poorer'. The upper classes believed that the poor were poor due to their idleness which would lead in the long-term to sterner measures against vagrancy and begging.