The Study Of Business Activities Of Italian Merchants In England From1272to1377

The time that English economic transformation from Feudal to Modern economy is1272to1377, which governed by Edward Ⅰ, Edward Ⅱ and Edward Ⅲ. During the time English economy had been vitally boosted in foreign capital inflow.Among English foreign merchants, Italian merchant has intimate relationships with the Kings, who brought capital into England as the Pope collectors, and invested in wool trade and the loans to the crown. Foreign merchants capital inflowing, which promoted the development of English economy, played an important role in founding a successful social transformation and significantly stimulated. The paper focuses on what kind of role the investments of Italian merchants played in the British economic transformation.In the early middle ages, the British economy based on the Agriculture, which had a phase lay economy, whose native merchants were relatively conservative and weak and the royal had financial difficulties; the Kings adapted favorable policy to the Italian merchants and brought them the priorities and monopolized of the woolen trades.Italian organization in England had three specialties. Firstly, there were various types of Italian groups, with financial strength and advanced business skill; secondly, under the great amount of loans from Italian money-lenders, the English Kings can run the financial system smoothly and confer Italian merchants wool trade privilege. Thirdly, the reasons that business activities of Italian merchants had gradually declined were the Kings lack of credit and poor repayment ability, drastic competitions of English native merchant and Internal Competitions and External Political Conflicts of Italian Organizations.Medieval English wool was popular as high quality and low price. Florence, Lucca and Genoa merchants preferred to invested English wool and wool textile martial trade in England. Italian merchants mainly invested in commercial and financial monetary aspects in England. Commercial investments referred to wool, cloth and textile material trade; financial monetary areas included fund scales, ways and benefits from trade investments. Capital inflow of Italian merchants played crucial part in English economic development during the medieval ages. Firstly, at the end of13th century, English native merchants were awoke the national consciousness, and started to competed against Italian merchants in commercial privilege. In the rival, English merchants constantly strengthened their status, increased the fortune and improved competitiveness in oversea trade. Secondly, native merchants were stimulated to cooperate with the government by the commercial priorities of Italian merchants, and the parliament issued related polices to protect and promote the British trade. In brief, during the period from the end of13th to the end of14th century, the investments of Italian merchants not only extended English wool sales markets but also promoted English economic development.