An Analysis Of Wealth Composition Of The Aristocracy In Early Modern England

The English aristocracy changed a lot in early modern period. From the early 16th century to the mid-17th century, the change in wealth conditions of the aristocracy was an important embodiment of the changes of the English aristocracy. Wealth conditions changed in many aspects, among which the wealth composition is not only an important aspect, but also significant to the income level of the aristocracy.The introduction firstly summarizes the studies on wealth conditions of the English aristocracy in early modern period, and explains the point and purpose of this study, which are trying to analyze wealth composition of the aristocracy on the base of the wealth sources, and illustrate its changes and impacts to the wealth conditions of the aristocracy. Secondly, the introduction explains and defines three basic concepts. Among them, the"aristocracy"is the nobility of the Upper House, and"wealth composition"is defined in the sense of wealth sources, and "Early Modern" in this paper refers to the period from the early 16th century to the mid-17th century.The first chapter analyzes the traditional wealth of the aristocracy in early modern England. The traditional wealth consisted of feudal wealth and agricultural wealth. Feudal wealth of the aristocracy came from the feudal rights inherited from the Middle Ages, and agricultural wealth was gained from the farmlands and pasturelands. After the 16th century, the feudal rights of the aristocracy continued to decline, and so did the corresponding feudal wealth. Facing the declination of the feudal wealth, the aristocratic lords began to increase the entry fines of their tenants arbitrarily, and recovered some other feudal dues. Especially in the second half of the 17th century, some aristocrats multiplied the entry fine and made it an important way to increase their incomes. However, the feudal wealth was small for most of the aristocrats, and it was difficult to levy because of the intervention of the Court of Chancery and the poverty of the tenants. So, the aristocrats converted the instable entry fines to the stable rents on purpose. In this way, the feudal wealth went smaller in the course of its conversion. Aristocrats were not conservative in the management of farmlands and pasturelands. They extended farmlands in ways of land-enclosing and fen-draining, improved the agricultural technology, and kept a close check on their estates. What's more, some aristocrats leased out their lands or not according to the price and the rents conditions in order to make much more profits. As a result, the agricultural wealth was always the fundamental wealth composition of the Aristocracy in early modern England.The second chapter analyzes the new wealth. The new wealth of the aristocracy consisted of incomes from mining, incomes from urban estates, and incomes from maritime enterprise. In the second half of 16th century, the rights of landowners over mineral ores were made clear, and the mining developed rapidly. Some aristocrats made a fortune from mining and smelting the ores in their estates. Confined to the bad transportation, the lagging technology, and the high cost, however, the prime time of amassing fortune from mining did not last for a long time. In the beginning of the 17th century, with the continuous development of urban construction, the large estates in London provided a new source of wealth to the aristocracy. The wealth from London estates not only reached a huge amount but also existed stably, and it became an important and stable wealth composition to many aristocrats. In the 16th and 17th century, the exploration and oversea trading also developed greatly. Relying on their prominent positions in the court and their inherent spirits of adventuring, many aristocrats took part in the maritime enterprise. Some of them got a profit. However, they participated in the maritime enterprise with complex purposes, and their attitudes to maritime enterprise were ambivalent. Because the aristocrats did not looked participation in maritime enterprise as a pure form of wealth acquisition, their wealth and income in this area was limited.The third chapter analyzes the grants to the aristocracy from the crown. Different from the traditional wealth and the new wealth, the grants from the crown were extra wealth, which came from the power of the crown, owning to the close relationship to the crown. The power of the crown strengthened significantly during this period, and getting rewards from the crown was the most convenient way for the aristocracy to gain wealth. The grants from the crown consisted of direct rewards and indirect rewards. Direct rewards included grants of land, cash and annuities, and sometimes debt-releasing. Depending on the financial conditions of royal household and the relationship to the crown, different forms of direct rewards were emphasized at different times. Indirect rewards were in the form of licenses to individuals to use the power of the crown, with which the individuals could acquire wealth. Indirect rewards included three main types: granting the crown's rights of taxation, granting the crown'power of regulating economic activities, and granting the crown's power of giving out honor and patronage. However, the crown's grants either reduced the fortune of the royal household, or damaged the public interest directly and indirectly, so in the 17th century, the extra wealth from the crown'grants declined because of the bad royal financial conditions and the public resistance.In the conclusion, through a comprehensive analysis of the traditional wealth, the new wealth and the extra wealth of grants, it is founded that some composition in the traditional wealth was inherited, and that some composition in the new wealth was selected, and that there were preference in the extra wealth of the crown's grants. As a result, the landed income was the fundamental and main wealth composition of the aristocracy in early modern England.