Great Slump (15th century)
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The Great Slump was an economic depression that occurred in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
from the 1430s to the 1480s.


History

The Great Slump occurred in England between approximately 1440 and 1480. The economic slowdown began in the 1430s in
Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
, spreading south in the 1440s, with the economy not recovering until the 1480s.Hicks, p.50. The Great Slump took place against a wider trading crisis in Northern Europe, driven by shortages of silver, essential for the money supply, and a breakdown in trade. Some accounts refer to the event as a " credit crunch". Some scholars blamed the slump on the effects of the Hundred Years' War and the economic blockades suffered by England due to its predations in France and its wars with
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
and the Hanseatic League. It was also said to be driven by multiple harvest failures in the 1430s and disease amongst livestock, that drove up the price of food and damaged the wider economy. Starting 1368 China's
Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
reversion to silver currency from the fiat currency of the Mongol
Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...
created substantial demand for the metal for the entirety of their reign. The impact of the Great Slump was far-reaching across England. Certain groups were particularly badly affected: cloth exports fell by 35 per cent in just four years at the end of the 1440s, for example, collapsing by up to 90 per cent in some parts of the South-West. Prices of remaining trade goods fell dramatically as well. Popular rebellions ensued in 1450 under
Jack Cade Jack Cade's Rebellion was a popular revolt in 1450 against the government of England, which took place in the south-east of the country between the months of April and July. It stemmed from local grievances regarding the corruption, maladmi ...
, and the events contributed to the outbreak of the
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...
in the 1460s.Hicks, pp.52–54. One of the ways English merchants survived the Great Slump was through the formation of merchant networks, which enabled them to organize into large conglomerates. This allowed access to needed bullion and well-guarded credit.


See also

* Great Bullion Famine * Economy of England in the Middle Ages * John and William Merfold * Hundred Years' War


References


Bibliography

* * * * 1430s establishments in England 1480s disestablishments in England Economy of medieval England Recessions 15th century in England 15th-century economic history {{England-hist-stub