Why Early Modern English Clothiers Started Using Spanish Wool

Abstract

English clothiers began using Spanish merino wool in the late sixteenth century. A small, closely related group of clothier, merchant and mariner families in the west of England drove this initiative. Why they did so is debated. This paper analyses the factors driving the clothiers’ decision. Production, supply and price can be discounted as there was an adequate supply of both English and Spanish wools and the preferred Spanish Segovia wool became more expensive than the best English wools around 1600. The relative and changing quality of Spanish and English carding wools was the crucial issue. The clothiers competed in the domestic and international markets for luxury woollens and sought the best quality wool. Spanish wool’s improvement meant that, once secure supply chains for raw materials and the technological hurdles in weaving a lightweight cloth with short-fibred merino wool had been overcome, the future of Spanish wools in England was assured.