In European historiography, the term "staple" refers to the entire medieval system of trade and its taxation; its French equivalent is ''étape'', and its German equivalent ''stapeln'', words deriving from Late Latin ' with the same meaning, derived from '' stabulum''. designating a system that

Hadrianus Junius Hadrianus Junius (1511–1575), also known as Adriaen de Jonghe, was a Dutch physician, classical scholar, translator, lexicographer, antiquarian, historiographer, emblematist, school rector, and Latin poet. He is not to be confused with several ...

considered to be of

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

ish origin. Under this system, the government or the ruler required that all overseas trade in certain goods be transacted at specific designated

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

s or

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

s, referred to as the "

staple port The staple right, also translated stacking right or storage right, both from the Dutch ''stapelrecht'', was a medieval right accorded to certain ports, the staple ports. It required merchant barges or ships to unload their goods at the port and to ...

s". The antiquary

John Weever John Weever (1576–1632) was an English antiquary and poet. He is best known for his ''Epigrammes in the Oldest Cut, and Newest Fashion'' (1599), containing epigrams on Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and other poets of his day, and for his ''Ancient ...

, quoting the 16th-century Tuscan merchant

Lodovico Guicciardini Lodovico Guicciardini (19 August 1521 – 22 March 1589) was an Italian writer and merchant from Florence who lived primarily in Antwerp from 1542 or earlier. He was the nephew of historian and diplomat Francesco Guicciardini. ''Description of ...

, defined a staple town "to be a place, to which by the prince's authority and privilege wool, hides of beasts, wine, corn or grain, and other exotic or foreign merchandize are transferred, carried or conveyed to be sold". At these specified privileged places, which were invariably towns, accredited

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

s, later to become organized in England as Merchants of the Staple, were required to submit their goods to inspection. In England they were obliged to pay a levy to the Crown on goods for

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is a ...

to the continent of Europe. The system made it easy for local and regional governments to monitor the overseas trade and to levy taxes and derive income and revenue from it.

Scotland

Map of Veere, known in Scotland as Campvere, the staple port for Scotland between 1541 and 1799 Joan Blaeu, 1652In the 15th century,

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

was the Scottish staple port. As the harbour at Bruges silted up, the focus of Scots trade moved north to the Dutch ports of Middleburg and

Veere Veere (; zea, label= Zeelandic, Ter Veere) is a municipality with a population of 22,000 and a town with a population of 1,500 in the southwestern Netherlands, in the region of Walcheren in the province of Zeeland. History The name ''Veere ...

, with Veere gaining staple status in 1541. There is some evidence of

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after ...

being used in 1670.

England

Under the Staple, the designated port was often overseas. It was at

in 1338, and at

in 1343. For a time after 1353, staple ports were established in England, under the

Statute of the Staple The Ordinance of the Staple was an ordinance issued in the Great Council in October 1353. It aimed to regularise the status of staple ports in England, Wales, and Ireland. In particular, it designated particular ports where specific goods could ...

: thus various English localities named " Stapleton" or " Stapleford". However, from 1363,

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

was designated the staple port for wool and leather exports. All wool sold overseas was taken first to Calais, then under English control. Under this system, Calais itself was called "the Staple". The trade was dominated by the Merchants of the Staple who, from 1363, had been granted the exclusive right to trade raw wool in Calais. The English system remained in place for nearly two centuries, though it would decline in importance as exports of finished cloth were substituted for exports of raw wool. With the fall of Calais to the French, in 1558, the staple moved again to Bruges. From 1617, wool exports were stopped entirely, and only domestic staples would remain in England.

References

External links

The origin, the organisation and the location of The Staple of EnglandFinance and trade under Edward III - The estate of merchants, 1336-1365, IV - 1355-65
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staple Right Medieval economics Medieval law Economic history of England

Scotland

England

See also

References

External links