Wool smuggling from England's eastern seaboard, c. 1337–45: An illicit economy in the late middle ages

Raven, Matt

Abstract

The medieval English wool trade was a commercial activity of huge economic importance. The historiography of the medieval wool trade, however, has focused overwhelmingly on its legitimate side. This article uses the evidence of legal proceedings prosecuted in the royal courts to provide the first detailed account of wool smuggling in the fourteenth century, a time of heavy governmental regulation and hugely increased taxation. It demonstrates that a substantial number of merchants responded to these challenges by participating in a flourishing trade in smuggled wool which was considered a serious threat to crown fiscality. In particular, the article explores how smaller-scale smuggling took place along under-regulated areas of coastline away from customs ports; how major export operations were able to smuggle wool through the customs system itself; and how concerns over smuggling influenced a series of administrative reforms designed to improve the efficiency of commercial regulation.

Citation

Raven, M. (2022). Wool smuggling from England's eastern seaboard, c. 1337–45: An illicit economy in the late middle ages. Economic History Review, 75(4), 1182-1213. https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13141

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 8, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jan 17, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022-11
• Deposit Date: Jan 14, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 18, 2024
• Journal: Economic History Review
• Print ISSN: 0013-0117
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-0289
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 75
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 1182-1213
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13141
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7228491
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ehr.13141
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: M. Raven, 'Wool smuggling from England's eastern seaboard, c.1337-1345: an illicit economy in the late middle ages', Economic History Review, 75 (2022), 75, which has been published in its final form at DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13141. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley's version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.