Failure of the

English in

Gascony.

137. Decline of English Power in Aquitaine. The treaty was, however, scarcely more than a temporary truce. So long as the English remained in Aquitaine, the French kings - could not be expected to lay down their arms, and very soon the strife was renewed. Edward III was now advancing into premature old age, he was becoming feeble both in body and in mind. At the same time a most capable king, Charles the Wise, ascended the throne in France. Conditions became more and more unfavorable for the English. Edward the Black Prince, who had shown such genius and bravery on the field of battle, did not prove to be a wise governor. He tried to interfere in Spanish affairs and taxed the Aquitanians heavily to pay for a fruitless expedition across the Pyrenees. Revolts broke out in various parts of his duchy, in suppressing which he displayed a cruel strain in his character that has defaced an otherwise fair reputation: in the rebellious city of Limoges more than Massacre at Limoges. 3000 were put to the sword in one day. In 1371 the prince, broken in health, left Aquitaine and returned to England, where he died five years later. When Edward III's reign closed in 1377, the English kings scarcely retained more territory in southwestern France than the city of Bordeaux, which remained loyal because the connection with England was likely to bring commercial profit. The wines of Bordeaux were famous even in that day; but in France they had to compete with the products of Burgundy and the Rhine country, especially with those of Champagne. England, however, produced no wines, and so long as the English kings had territories in Gascony, the merchants of Bordeaux would enjoy a monopoly of the English wine trade.

138. Summary. The three Edwards ruled England for a little more than a century. It was a period when foreign affairs occupied a very prominent place in the thoughts of the English nation. Three purposes dominated and directed the foreign policy of the kings and statesmen of the period: (1) they wished to consoli

Foreign policy of the three

Edwards.

date Britain by uniting Wales and Scotland with England and Ireland into a single monarchy; (2) they wished to secure full sovereignty for the English king in Gascony; (3) they wished to make sure of a market for English products in Flanders. These purposes led to nearly a century of almost constant warfare. It was a period of many great battles, an age that produced a number of heroic figures; but in the end little was gained for England. Wales was conquered, but Scotland was lost. The king gained complete control of Gascony, but when Edward III died, most of his Gascon lands had been seized by Charles the Wise. With respect to the Flemish markets England was more successful; for some time there was a close alliance between England and the manufacturing towns of Flanders. In the next century, however, this connection was broken; meanwhile, the manufacture of woolen cloth had been introduced into England, and the time was coming when the island would not be in such great need of Flemish markets.

REFERENCES

THE FINAL CONQUEST OF WALES. Edwards, Story of Wales, cc. x-xi; Innes, History of England, 122-126; Jenks, Edward Plantagenet, c. viii; Oman, History of England, 153-157; Tout, Edward I, c. vi.

METHODS OF WARFARE IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. — Fletcher, Introductory History of England, I, i, 231–236.

WILLIAM WALLACE. Brown, Short History of Scotland, 134-147; Innes, 135-137; Jenks, 281-295; Lang, Short History of Scotland, c. vii; Maxwell, Bruce, cc. v-vi.

BRUCE AND BANNOCKBURN. Brown, 147-168; Innes, 137-138, 141-145; Lang, c. viii; Maxwell, cc. vi-vii, ix; Oman, 169–170, 174–176.

THE ERA OF VICTORIES IN FRANCE. Ashley, Edward III and His Wars; Cheyney, Short History of England, 233-242; Fletcher, 253-264, 268–272; Gardiner, Student's History of England, 235-243, 251-254; Innes, 154-160; Oman, 183-195; Tout, Advanced History of Great Britain, 210-219; Froissart's Chronicle.

CHAPTER VII

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL REVOLUTION

teenth century.

139. An Age of Revolution: the Reign of Richard II, 13771399. The second half of the fourteenth century was a period of great and far-reaching social and political Social changes changes. English society was being transformed in the fourat its very foundations; the center of authority in the English constitution was shifting from kingship to parliament; serfdom was disappearing and the economic system of the nation was being rebuilt on a new basis; heresy threatened to disrupt the English church. These developments are often associated with the reign of Richard II (1377– 1399); but they began long before and continued far into the fifteenth century.

The beginnings of

woolen manufactures.

140. The Hundred Years' War and the Wool Trade. One of the principal factors in this series of movements was the war with France. The victories of Sluys, Crécy, and Poitiers meant much for the prestige and glory of England, but these were frail rewards: English success was won at a terrible cost in blood and treasure. Nevertheless, the struggle was not without advantages to the English people, though these were chiefly indirect. It was during the reign of Edward III that the manufacture of woolen cloth in England had its beginnings. Edward I had encouraged trade, particularly the commerce in wool, which was the staple product of the kingdom. He encouraged Flemish weavers to settle in England and set up their looms in the great English wool district, which comprised the old East Anglian country and adjacent terri

Flemish

weavers in

England.

tories. The Hundred Years' War in which the Flemings were involved made it easy to induce the weavers to come.1 From this time on, England dealt in cloth as well as in raw wool. From these small beginnings in the fourteenth century has grown the greatest system of manufactures in the entire world.

Medieval ideas of commerce.

141. The Development of Foreign Commerce.2 In addition to wool, England produced leather, tin, and lead in considerable quantities, most of which found markets abroad. It was believed in the later middle ages that the wealth of the country consisted chiefly in gold and silver; since a man who had money could purchase whatever he wished, it seemed evident to the statesmen 1 Innes, Industrial Development, 82. 2 Ibid., 70-72, 76-80.