Hello and welcome to today's lesson looking at merchants and craftspeople in mediaeval England.

This lesson is part of a broader inquiry looking at the impact of migration in mediaeval England.

In the course of this inquiry we'll cover lots of different things, including several different migrant groups, the reasons why they migrated, their experiences and the impact in England.

But for today, we're just going to be focusing on merchants and craft people.

And in order to do that, we're going to need a piece of paper and a pen.

If you don't have one, absolutely fine.

Just pause the video, grab one now, and then come back and press play when you're ready to get going.

Great, and now we've got that, we can have a look at our lesson outcome for today.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to say, if you can explain the reasons for an impact of merchants and craftspeople in mediaeval England, as well as the experiences of these merchants and craftspeople.

But in order to do that, we're going to need some keywords.

And for today, we've only got two, low countries and the Angevin Empire.

Low countries are the coastal region of Northwest Europe made up of modern day Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg.

And the Angevin Empire is territories in England, Wales, Ireland and France held by Henry II and his descendants in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Now we've got our key words and we know what we're aiming for by the end of the lesson, we can get started.

And first we're going to be looking at why did merchants and craftspeople migrate to England? So in thinking about the reasons why merchants and craftspeople migrated to mediaeval England, you might take your mind back to think about the Norman and Viking Conquests.

And while there were significant moments in the mediaeval period, most migrants in this period were actually merchants and craftspeople from Europe.

This was partly for political purposes.

So for example, the norms referred to encourage migrants and craftspeople to migrate to England from the low countries, which we can see here circled on the map.

They preferred to encourage them to migrate from here instead of using Anglo-Saxon workers because they were often suspected of plotting against Norman rule.

Now, in contrast, the priority of most migrants from the low countries was to make money, not to start rebellions.

And this can be seen through the fact that they worked in a much wider variety of professions in England than they had in their home countries, becoming shoe makers, blacksmiths, and candle makers.

They essentially worked in wherever their economic benefit layer at the time.

Therefore, by encouraging migrant groups to settle, Norman rulers were able to better protect their power in England.

So essentially it worked in the Norman's favour to have migrant merchants and craftspeople working in England.

They pose less of a threat and were purely there for their own economic gain, which would in turn help the economy.

So most migrants and craftspeople settled in England for purely economic reasons, although they were invited by the Normans for political purposes.

For them, it was economic.

As England was heavily involved in the war trade, skilled Flemish weavers were encouraged to migrate to England by Henry II in 1270.

This was so that the cost of shipping the out to them in the low countries could be removed.

Italian bankers were also encouraged to migrate to England from the 1200s in order to replace Jewish money lenders you may have already learned about they were being increasingly persecuted as the Crusades turned people against non-Christian groups.

So we can see a variety of reasons here.

We can see that Norman rulers were inviting migrant workers for political purposes to protect their power.

But for many of these migrant workers, they came for economic reasons, for the gain that they would find if they settled in England and took up the various professions available to them.

So before we go on to look at one last factor that contributed to the increasing migration of merchants and craftspeople, I'm just going to pause and check our understanding with a few quick questions.

First, I'd like you to have a discussion.

If you're doing this lesson by yourself, not to worry, have a go at articulating out loud or with writing response down for me.

If you're doing this lesson in a classroom or with someone else, you can have this discussion in pairs.

But the question I'd like you to answer is, why did the Normans need to protect their power lead to an increasing number of merchants and craftspeople migrating to England? So what did the Normans needing to protect their power have to do with an increasing number of merchants and craftspeople in England? Give yourself enough time to articulate a response out loud or for both of you to contribute to the discussion and then come back and press play when you're done.

Well done, hopefully in your discussions, you mentioned that the priority of migrants and craftspeople from the low countries was to make money, making them less of a threat than Anglo-Saxon workers who were suspected of plotting against Norman rule.

Really well done.

Now I'd like you to tell me whether this statement is true or false.

All merchants and craftspeople came to England to work in the wool trade.

Pause the video now make a decision and then come back and press play when you've got an answer for me.

Brilliant, we know that this statement is false, but we need to think about why.

Is it because they worked in a range of professions, including blacksmithing and candle making, or was it because they avoided the wool trade as there was little money to be made? So pause the video now.

Come back when you are done for me please.

Brilliant, we know that this statement is false because they worked in a range of professions, including blacksmithing and candle making.

Last one, which two of the following statements explains why merchants and craftspeople migrated for economic reasons.

Is it A, skilled Flemish weavers in England reduce the cost of exporting wool? B, European merchants pose less of a threat to Norman rule, or C, Italian bankers were invited to work as money lenders to replace Jewish money lenders.

Pause the video now, make a decision and then come back and press play when you've got the two correct statements for me.

Really well done, so hopefully you said A and C.

Now, in addition to the Normans wanting to protect their power and the economic incentive for these merchants to migrate, there were also major events in Europe that led to monarchs needing to find ways to rebuild the English economy.

The most significant of these events was the Black death.

It was a deadly plague, which lasted from 1346 to 1353.

As 1/3 of the English population had died as a result of the disease, King Edward III invited several groups of merchants and craftspeople, especially Flemish weavers, to help rebuild England's economy.

And we can see here an engraving of the Black Death.

It was a huge event that shook Europe.

It killed 1/3 of the English population.

So there were huge numbers of workers that were needed if they stood any chance at rebuilding the English economy.

Now, before we put what we've learned into practise, I've got one more question for you and it's another discussion.

So I'd like you in pairs or out loud if you're doing this lesson by yourself, to explain why the Black Death led to an increase in migration of merchants and craft people.

Pause the video now, have that discussion or articulation out loud and then come back when you're done.

Brilliant, hopefully in your discussion, you mentioned that 1/3 of the English population died in the Black Death and many workers were needed to rebuild the economy.

Really, really well done.

Now we need to put what we've learned into practise.

I've got five statements for you and I need you to tell me whether each of these statements is true or false.

So pause the video now.

Give yourself about five minutes to read through each of the statements and then tell me whether they're true, you'll put a T or false, you'll put an F.

Brilliant, now let's have a look at what your completed table should have looked like.

So the first statement, Norman rulers encouraged migration from the low countries.

We know that's true.

The second, the Normans did not need greater political protection.

We know that that's false.

They did in fact need greater political protection because they were worried that Anglo-Saxon workers would start a rebellion.

Number three, mediaeval migrants worked outside of the wool trade.

We know that that's true, in candle making and blacksmithing as well as other things.

Italian weavers migrated to support the wool trade, reducing the cost of shipping wool.

We know that that's false 'cause it was in fact Flemish weavers.

It was Italian bankers who came to replace Jewish money lenders.

And finally, number five, the black death led to increasing hostility towards migrants as England faced overpopulation, we know that this is in fact false because the black death killed 1/3 of the English population and therefore drastically increased the need for workers.

Really well done in this first part of the lesson.

Now, I hope you were listening because what I'd like you to do in the next part of this task is to rewrite the false sentences as correct statements.

So hopefully you are listening to my feedback just now because I was giving you all the tips, kind of everything you needed to get this task done.

So pause the video now and have a go at correcting these three incorrect statements, rewriting them as correct statements.

Really well done.

Hopefully your three statements looked like this, that Norman's needed greater political protection against Anglo-Saxon Rebels, that Flemish weavers migrated to support the wool trade, reducing the cost of shipping wool, not Italian weavers.

And the Black Death led to decreasing hostility towards migrants as England faced a huge shortage of workers.

Really, really well done.

Now we can move on to look at the experiences of merchants and craftspeople in mediaeval England.

Now, the experiences of merchants and craftspeople changed throughout the period.

While they were welcomed in the 1200s, certain events in Europe led to significant changes.

Under Henry II, who ranged from 1154 to 89 and his descendants, England was part of the Angevin Empire, and we can see a map of that empire here.

Henry had been born in the French country of Angel, which is where the name from his empire came from.

As a result, movement between England and France was much easier, and so migration from France was both welcomed and encouraged.

Subsequently, Henry III, who reigned from 1216 to 1272, invited Flemish weavers to England in 1217 as he hoped to make more money from the expert weavers.

However, as tension between Flanders and Angevin Empire increased, Henry III responded by expelling all Flemish weavers only a month after initially inviting them, just one month.

Although a few loyal weavers were protected, and it was often those who had a close relationship with authorities such as high ranking nobleman or clergyman.

Now, the 1300s saw more positive experiences for migrant merchants and craftspeople as the 1303 Charter of Merchants was signed by King Edward I.

He ranged from 1272 to 1307, the charter offered legal rights and protection to foreign merchants in England, improving their legal status as they now had protection under the law.

In addition to this, in the late 1300s, letters of denization were offered to migrants.

Now, these letters meant that migrants could swear an oath of loyalty to the English monarch and become a subject of the crown, receiving the same rights and protection as someone born in England.

However, as there was a fee to pay for these letters, this essentially only really benefited wealthier migrants.

So we can see changing experiences of merchants and craftspeople over the later mediaeval period.

They were welcomed and expelled, then welcomed again, and some offered greater protection.

Now, before we go in to put this work into practise, we're gonna stop and check our understanding with a couple of quick questions.

So first, I'd like you to have another discussion.

It's always really good to try and explain some of these key ideas out loud.

So I'd like you to try and explain either out loud if you're doing this lesson by yourself or in pairs if you're doing it in class or with another person, why the experience of Flemish weavers changed throughout the 1200s.

So pause the video now.

Give yourself a few minutes to either articulate a response out loud or have a discussion with the person next to you, and then come back and press play when you're done.

Hopefully in your discussion you mention some of the following.

The Angevin Empire led to Henry III encouraging migration from France to England, that in 1270 Henry III invited Flemish weavers to settle in England.

And then a month later they were expelled as tension, and then a month later they were expelled as tensions increased between Flanders and the Angevin Empire.

Now I'd like you to have a go at answering this question for me.

Which two of the following explains why migrant experiences improved in the 1300s? Was it because the charter of merchants offered legal rights and protection to merchants, because large loans were given out to migrants to compensate for the hostile treatment they faced in the 1200s or because letters of Denization offered migrants the opportunity to become a citizen with the same legal protection? Pause the video now, make a decision and then come back and press play when you're done.

Brilliant, so hopefully you said A and C, that the Charter of Merchants offered legal rights and protection to merchants, and that letters of denization offered migrants the opportunity to become a citizen with the same legal protection.

Really well done.

Now we're gonna have a gut putting this into practise by explaining why the experience of merchants and craftspeople changed in the 13th and 14th centuries, making sure to include the following in your response, the Angevin Empire, Henry III, Charter of Merchants Letters of Denization.

So pause the video now and give yourself about 10 minutes to complete this task.

So hopefully your answer looked a little something like this.

At first, major events in Europe shaped the experiences of migrants, where England's placed the Angevin Empire eventually led to Flemish migrants being welcomed.

Authorities' attitudes towards them soon turned hostile.

This was due to increased tensions between Flanders and the Angevin Empire.

This eventually led to King Henry III expelling Flemish migrants in 1270, just one month after they were first invited, with the exception of a few weavers who had close relations with authorities.

The experiences of migrants in the 14th century would continue to change as new laws were introduced that brought them greater freedoms and protection.

The 1303 Charter of Merchants offered legal rights and protection to migrants, improving their legal status as they now had protection under the law.

Then in the late 1300s, letters of Denization were offered to the migrants, which provided them with the same legal protection given to English subjects, although it only benefited wealthier migrants as you had to pay for this.

So really well done.

If there's any key ideas that you weren't quite able to get down, just pause the video now and add them to your answer.

Now in the third and final part of our lesson, we are going to be looking at the impact of merchants and craftspeople in mediaeval England.

Now as a result of their migration being largely driven by the need to rebuild the English economy, the impact of merchants and craftspeople in mediaeval England was almost entirely economic, where England had previously made most of its money from the wool trade, the work of merchants and craftspeople, particularly Flemish weavers, meant that this trade grew and allowed England to become a major exporter of cloth and other manufactured goods rather than just raw wool.

And if we have a look at the slide here, we'll see an engraving of Flemish weavers in the 1300s.

So it was as a result of the migration of these weavers and other merchants that England could expand the wool trade and now export valuable cloth, not just raw wool.

And as many Flemish weavers settled in Colchester, Essex, the town became a wealthy centre of trade.

This would only continue as weavers in Colchester created a new type of course cloth made of wool known as the Colchester russet.

This material was cheaper to make and could therefore generate even more profit.

The subsequent boom in the English economy hugely benefited both ordinary people who worked in these trades and the crowd who profited from taxes imposed on all the successful merchant migrants and craftspeople.

So we know that essentially the main impact of these merchants and craftspeople was on the economy.

Now, before we go on to our final practise task of today, we're going to pause and check our understanding one last time.

So last discussion of today, I'd like you to explain why merchant and craftspeople helped the English wool trade.

So pause the video now, give yourself a few minutes to have that discussion, making sure that everyone is able to contribute.

Brilliant, so hopefully in your discussions, you essentially explained that skilled weavers in England meant that merchants can now export valuable cloth, not just raw wool.

Really well done.

Last question for today before our final practise task.

What was the name of the new type of cloth produced by Flemish weavers in Essex? Was it the Essex Russet, the Colchester Russet, or the Colchester Cloth? Pause the video now, make a decision and then come back and press play when you're done.

Brilliant, we know that the answer is the Colchester Russett.

Now for our final task, I'd like you to read Lucas's account of the impact of the merchants and craftspeople in England and identify five errors.

So he says, "The impact of merchants and craftspeople was most obvious on politics.

As a result of the work of merchants and craftspeople, England was able to expand their steel trade.

This was because skilled weavers meant that they could now export raw tobacco and woven cloth as well as other manufactured goods.

Colchester, Suffolk benefited from the new weaving industry as the Essex Russet helped expand the cloth trade." Now, you've probably already picked out a few, but there are five errors here.

So I'd like you to pause the video, identify the five errors, and then come back and press play when you're done.

Brilliant work, hopefully you've picked out these five errors.

He says that the impact was most obvious on politics.

He talks about England being able to expand their steel trade as a result of the work of merchants and craftspeople.

Lucas also talks about exporting raw tobacco, and woven cloth.

He says that Colchester is in Suffolk.

He also says that the new weaving industry benefited from Essex Russet, which apparently helped expand the cloth trade.

Interesting, interesting work there, Lucas.

So now what I'd like you to do is correct the five errors in his statement.

So as I was reading through, you've probably already started making some mental corrections.

Now I'd like you to do it on paper.

So give yourself about five, 10 minutes to rewrite this paragraph as a correct account of the impact of merchants and craftspeople.

Pause the video now and come back here when you're done.

So hopefully your paragraph looks a little something like this.

The impact of merchants and craftspeople was most obvious on the economy.

As a result of the work of merchants and craftspeople, England was able to expand their wool trade.

This was because skilled weavers meant that they could now export raw wool and woven cloth, as well as other manufactured goods.

Colchester in Essex benefited from the new weaving industry as the Colchester Russet helped expand the cloth trade.

So really, really well done.

I'm so impressed with your work this lesson.

You've done some brilliant work writing paragraphs about the experiences of merchants and craftspeople over time, correcting Lucas's work on the economy, as well as completing your table earlier.

So before we finish for today, we are just going to look at a quick summary of what we've learned.

So in looking at merchants and craftspeople in mediaeval England, we learned that from as early as the Norman Conquest, rulers of England looked to grow the economy using European workers and wider events such as the Black Death led to a demand for more migrant merchants and craftspeople.

We also learned the actions of rulers throughout the mediaeval period directly impacted the experiences of merchants and craftspeople, especially Flemish weavers.

We learned that although sometimes welcomed by the authorities, many migrants faced increasing hostility from local merchants.

And finally, that merchants and craftspeople had a significant impact on the economy, especially the wool trade.

So really, really well done for your work today.

So impressed, you should be too.