London exerted a major influence on the economy of England during the period of rapid population growth in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, promoting specialised forms of agriculture and trade. Recent work at the Centre has shown that medieval London played a similar role (see Feeding the city (I), Feeding the city (II) and Market networks and the metropolis projects). This project aims to extend our understanding of the parallels between the two periods, and to trace the development of trade networks between 1300 and 1600, using computer analysis and data mapping techniques to provide 'snapshots' of London's financial and trading markets around 1300, 1424, and 1600. In addition, the project examines provincial contacts and prices to establish the degree to which different parts of the country were united in a single economy and participated in regular trade with London at various dates. The work sheds fresh light on changes and continuities between the medieval and early modern periods, on the role of London as catalyst to economic development, and on the operation of markets as institutions within a changing urban system.

Publications

James A. Galloway, 'One market or many? London and the grain trade of England' and Derek Keene, 'Changes in London's economic hinterland as indicated by debt cases in the Court of Common Pleas', both in James A. Galloway (ed.) Trade, urban hinterlands and market integration c.1300-1600 (Centre for Metropolitan History Working Papers No. 3, 2000), 23-42 and 59-81; Derek Keene, 'Metropolitan values: migration, mobility and cultural norms, London 1100-1700', in Laura Wright (ed.) The development of standard English 1300-1800: theories, descriptions, conflicts (Cambridge University Press, 2000); James A. Galloway, 'Town and country in England, 1300-1570', in S.R. Epstein (ed.), Town and country in Europe, 1300-1800 (Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 106-31.

Reports

CMH Annual Reports 1996-7, 1997-8, Tenth Anniversary Conference paper, 1998-9, 1999-2000, End of Award Report (ESRC)

Project details

Researchers: James Galloway, M.A., Ph.D., Margaret Murphy, B.A., Ph.D.
Funded by: ESRC (Ref: R000237253) (1 August 1997-31 July 2000)
Amount Awarded: £207,142