Blog 1: Open City, London: 1500-1700- Market

            Between 1500-1700 in London, there was an extreme growth in population which led to changes in London's market. The Royal Exchange, opened in 1569 by Sir Thomas Gresham, was a very important space mixed with many immigrants and locals alike. According to Kathryn Lynch'spodcast, some of the most important consumers were women, something that proves true even today in many countries. All were there to sell goods and show off their trades. The Folger Shakespeare Library states that "daily trading sessions took place in an open courtyard. Above were two levels of “pawn” shops where one could buy the luxury goods that international trade produced."

            After reading articles and listening to Lynch's podcast, I find immigration to be the biggest reason as to the change in the market over those years. With a higher amount of people in a population comes a higher demand on goods. Immigrants And The Industries Of London, 1500-1700 by Lien Luu states just as much by saying "the demand for basic goods and services...grew by at least tenfold." And why not? There were 50,000 people in London in 1500, by 1550 there was 80,000, by 1600 200,000, and a whopping 500,000 by 1700. Trade would have to grow rapidly to compensate, and thanks to trade companies and trades people, it did grow. Also at this time, the income for those living in London also went up. With higher demand of products also come a higher demand of man power and jobs opened up.

            The market also did well because of London's social structure at the time. Also according to Luu's book, there was the Court, the gentry, the aristocracy, the professionals (doctors and lawyers), and lots of merchants. The Royal Exchange would easily become a merchants paradise as there were people constantly in need of food and other necessities. The Court itself held a lot of people. Henry VIII was ruling at that time and his Court around the 1630s had about 2,500 or more people counting private servants. The servant's families would also mean more money for the market. Those Crowned between 1500 and 1700 put a large amount of money into the market. King James even had a mercer supply him with 5000 pounds worth of silks, 14,083 pounds for "wares, etc." as well as a two jewelers being paid 6,423 pounds for pearls to the King. The gentry, aristocracy, and the professionals came to the area due to the Court being there. With royalty so close, The Royal Exchange (which was originally backed by Queen Elizabeth herself, anyway) grew splendidly. With so much money flowing into the market from those with money, the market only continued to grow. Those living in London at the time were also very interested in luxury items from other countries. Italian cloths and glassware, Portuguese spices, and German metal wares were some of what was popular at the time. Londoners wanted these things in their home. That is the reason why immigrants would do so well in London and why the market was so prosperous.