Warfare, Currency Confusion and Falling Credit, 1295–1299

Abstract

This chapter shows what happened to credit in 1295–1299. These were years of severe political and monetary crises in which Edward I spent about £750,000, mostly extracted from English taxpayers, and wool exporters, to finance warfare in France, a rebellion in Wales, campaigns in Scotland, and then another in Flanders, which also  required huge sums to subsidise his allies. The burden on taxpayers was made worse by bad harvests in three successive years, 1293–1295. The outflow of sterling encouraged a further flood of illegal imitations which caused monetary instability, and undermined the confidence needed for credit. The chapter charts the effects these developments had on credit in the leading counties.