Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-06T19:22:55.487Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

9 - Hinterland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2013

Mavis E. Mate
Affiliation:
University of Oregon
Get access

Summary

TOWN and country lived in a symbiotic relationship, with the country supplying needed raw materials and the town in its turn providing necessary manufactured goods. If the inhabitants of the rural hinterland increased their wealth, then they might spend more on urban products and expect a greater variety of goods. By the mid sixteenth century, grocers and drapers, not just in major urban centers but in small towns like Appledore and Small Hythe, stocked wares such as white pepper, saffron, prunes, sugar, silk, and Holland cloth. Conversely, if a town grew in size, then its increased demand for foodstuffs and fuel could stimulate production in the countryside and encourage the use of more intensive methods. The expansion in ale consumption and the manufacture of beer encouraged the planting of barley. New tastes led to greater diversification in agriculture. Animals — cattle, sheep, rabbits — were being raised for their meat. In parts of the region, hemp and saffron were grown alongside the more traditional grain crops, and fruit trees were valued for their crops as well as the beauty of their flowers. Bruce Campbell, following on from the ideas of J. H. von Thunen, stressed that it was the market that determined the ‘character and intensity’ of production.

With the disappearance of demesne accounts, as lords increasingly leased their estates, it is very difficult to find out what was happening on the ground. Legal sources, such as wills and indictments before the law courts, can, however, sometimes provide clues. By looking at all available information, it is possible to come up with a partial picture of agricultural and industrial developments in the hinterlands of a few towns and in a few areas that supplied goods and services to more than one town.

Type
Chapter
Information
Trade and Economic Developments, 1450–1550
The Experience of Kent, Surrey and Sussex
, pp. 169 - 192
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Hinterland
  • Mavis E. Mate, University of Oregon
  • Book: Trade and Economic Developments, 1450–1550
  • Online publication: 05 February 2013
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Hinterland
  • Mavis E. Mate, University of Oregon
  • Book: Trade and Economic Developments, 1450–1550
  • Online publication: 05 February 2013
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Hinterland
  • Mavis E. Mate, University of Oregon
  • Book: Trade and Economic Developments, 1450–1550
  • Online publication: 05 February 2013
Available formats
×