A Study On The Commercial Credit Activities Of England Merchants In The Late Medieval Period

The late middle ages was an important period for the development of commercial credit in England.Undoubtedly,there were several famines and plagues in the country,which caused the remarkable decrease in population.These disasters objectively reduced the number of population who could use commercial credit.In addition,the frequent wars represented by the Hundred Years' s War became the obstacle of the commercial trade between Britain and the Continent,which hindered the expansion of commercial credit in space.However,these crises did not halt the development of credit in England.On the contrary,there were also opportunities for credit in a crisis condition.Firstly,famines and plagues did cause the decrease in population,but these disasters also led to a significant decline in the prices of goods in the early 14 th century.Moreover,labor shortages caused the increase in wages.All of these helped to provide people with a high standard of living and promote a higher level of consumption.Secondly,the shortage of coin was always an important problem in terms of commerce in the late Middle Ages.There were three main factors that caused the shortage: mineral exploitation was running out;the precious metal was artificially hoarded;there was a serious deficit in trade with the east.Although the currency was not absolutely replaced by the credit,the situation of money shortage had become the objective force of credit expansion.In the process of competition with foreign merchants,English merchants were powerful increasingly,which became a vital force of the import and export trading.In this context,English merchants widely engaged in a range of commercial credit activities.At present,it is agreed by most of medieval historians that English merchants' credit activities covered a lot of commercial activities,ranging from the daily necessities to the higher level of imported luxury goods.This fact can be demonstrated by different kinds of courts,such as the Central Court of Common Pleas and the local Merchant's Courts.These records of courts showed that English merchants would use credit to sell a variety of daily necessities—basic foods such as ale and bread,linen clothing,and tools including iron and harness.Meanwhile,as wages had risen and prices had fallen,more ordinary people could be able to consume higher-level imports.Therefore,English merchants would import those commodities that were popularized by the commons,such as various types of wines that were produced in France and Mediterranean regions.Commodities from eastern countries were also favored by the Englishmen during this period,with silk and its manufactured products and a wide variety of spices being the most representative.Moreover,the credit activities of English merchants in the late Middle Ages not only involved the goods closely related to people's lives,but also included the bulk export commodities with large transaction amount.It should be emphasized that England's export of bulk commodities changed significantly from wool raw materials to wool manufactured goods in the medieval period.Those merchants engaged in international trade played a significant role in these commercial activities.Why the credit could play an important role in commercial activities was that it was guaranteed by the institution.Due to the influence of economic environment,monetary supply and other factors,those merchants who engaged in trade by means of credit may not be able to fulfill their contracts on time so as to cause the debt disputes between creditors and debtors.To deal with these disputes,the parliament issued an official debt resolution mechanism through the Statute of Acton Burnell in 1283.The mechanism was mainly concerned with the relationships among creditor,debtor,guarantee and law-executor,which promoted the legalization of debt issue.In the process of practical application,the debt mechanism revealed some pressing problems.To solve these problems,the parliament issued a series of statutes successfully,which helped to realize the legalization of the debt mechanism.The role of credit in the commercial activities of English merchants is two-sided.On the one hand,credit has played a positive role in trades,which is mainly reflected in two dimensions: first,credit helps to make ensure the stability of merchants' trade activities.In the late Middle Ages,there are many factors restricting the development of commerce,the most typical of which is the shortage of coin.In this context,credit can delay the date of cash payment,which guarantees that commercial activities are not subject to the shackles of cash shortage as far as possible,so that the development of commerce can be gained stably.Second,the positive impact of credit can also be shown in terms of the convenience and safety of capital transactions.Credit is an important means of payment in trade,which can break through the limitation of time and space of the transaction,and adopt the pattern of payment in different places,to avoid the inconvenience and accidents of coins in the process of transportation.However,while the credit offers convenience to commercial activities,it also has adverse effects,which is highlighted in the default caused by overdue debt.This condition causes losses to merchants in different degrees.