Merchants of the Staple

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Merchants of the Staple, also known as the Merchant Staplers, was a English company which controlled the export of wool to the continent during the late medieval period.

From 1314, the Crown required all wool for export to be traded at a designated market, called 'the staple'. This allowed the Crown to monitor the trade and levy tax on exports. Calais was the staple from 1363, when a group of twenty-six traders was incorporated as the Company of the Staple at Calais. In exchange for its cooperation in the payment of taxes, the company was granted a total monopoly on wool exports from England. The company was important to the English crown, both as a source of revenue, and through its role in the defence of Calais against the French.

As domestic cloth production increased, raw wool exports were less important, diminishing the power of the Merchants. In 1558, with the loss of Calais to the French, the staple was transferred to Bruges where the Merchant Staplers continued to enjoy their monopoly on exports. However, in 1617, export of raw wool was banned entirely and wool was traded only in domestic staples. The Merchant Staplers continued to exist, but only in these markets.