W.E.A. LECTURE.

Shannon News, 24 April 1928, Page 2

W.E.A. LECTURE.

RISE OF THE ENGLISH TRADING COMPANIES. The third lecture in the history series by Mr J. Marsh, given under the auspices of the Levin branch of the W.E.A., was on ‘‘The Rise of the English Trading Companies.” The following is a summary of the, lecture: — In the 13th century certain Germanic towns formed among themselves a league for the mutual protection of their trade within the Baltic. This combination was forced upon them by the lack of control exercised by the governments of the day. Wrecking and piracy went unchecked, and it 'was not until these merchants took the matter into their own hands that any security of trade could be looked foi. This Ilansa League established a monopoly over the Baltic trade, and by their ‘‘factories” or depots in England, Russia, Sweden and elsewhere, they gained a firm hold on North European trade. The London depot known as the Steel Yard loomed large in the commercial world of the time and excited the envy of English merchants, were keen to emulate their competitors across the , narrow seas. . . There was a time in the middle ages when the wealth of England consisted almost entirely of raw material —and that raw material was almost entirely wool. The wool trade, because of its importance, had to be controlled and protected, and the course was therefore taken of fixing certain towns at which alone the wool should be sold. The merchants entrusted with the working of the system were called ‘‘Merchants of the Staple,” the staple originally being the central market where the sales were transacted. King Edward HI. attracted to England Flemish weavers and clothmakers who taught our people their art, and gradually the English, instead of sending their wool to foreign parts, used it in increasing qualities at home and exported the manufactured article instead of the raw products. This brought into being a different set of men', the merchant adventurers, whose business it was to deal m English manufacturers, especially cloths, and to find markets in foreign lands. As they grew they came into rivalry with the Hanse merchants, whose pii\ileges (in London) were cancelled towards the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. These merchants; as was only natural, aimed at getting an exclusive monopoly. They had to meet the initial expense of any venture, and, when they had opened the field and soivn the seed, they expected to be allowed to reap the fruits of their labours. From the merchant adventurers developed the later trading companies, who, however, dealt with unknown or far distant lands.

Of the many trading companies which came into existence the East India Company is the most famous. Inaugurated in 1600, this chartered company waq merely a trading concern; but trade with semi-civilised countries inevitably leads to settlement and ownership. The Company officials on the spot gained permission to build two forts, one on the Hooghly and the other at Madras. Internal dissensions ariiong the native potentates and the lack of efficient control by the. Mogul made self-defence imperative. The third great trading centre, Bombay, was acquired as part of the marriage dowry of Charles 11. ’s Queen, Catherine of Braganza. The fact that Charles leased Bombay to the Company for a yearly rental of £lO seems to indicate that East Indian finance was somewhat shaky at the time. The next thirty years saw a wonderful change in this direction. In 1660 stock could be bought for £6O; by 1690 the same stock stood at £3OO. What had brought about this wonderful change? Good leadership, fashion, and change in national habits. Teadrinking, noted in Pepys’s Diary as a new thing, became extremely popular. The extravagance of the Court demanded more and more the products of the Indian loom and the jewels of the East. The art of warfare called more and more for gunpowder, and the supply of nitre had long been found a difficulty. India supplied the nitre in large quantities. In spite of this financial prosperity, the Company still experienced many anxious moments. The renewal of their charter had to be periodically' effected, and the changing political situation of the Stuart days made this very difficult. Thanks to the cleverness of Sir Josiah Child, the company weathered the storm of opposition and regained its lost influence over the Court, and with that its monopoly. Under the leadership of Clive the Company definitely became a territoryholding body. This policy was forced on it by circumstances, and as time went on the company simply had to administer more and more territory. They must become the dominant power or perish. Governor Generals such as Warren Hastings, Wellesley, and Dalhousie, added greatly to the dominions controlled by the Company. Dalhousie introduced many excellent reforms —but the native mind was not ready for such radical changes. Unrest, fostered by religious feeling, showed itself, and broke out in dreadful form as the mutiny in 1857. After that the Company as a mono-poly-holding administrative company' ceased to exist, and the Home Government assumed the reins.