Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 1).djvu/449



Liverpool then first became known as a place of maritime trade, although it continued to be ranked as a "village," attached to the parish of Walton, till as late as 1699. Brunswick was invited to have commercial dealings with England, and protection was afforded to its citizens. In Henry's reign, too, there were built at Yarmouth, Winchelsea, and other ports, many vessels of a superior description to any that England had hitherto produced. During the same period an association of English merchants obtained privileges from the Earl of Flanders ( 1248), and established in the Netherlands depôts of English wool, lead, and tin. These adventurers were long known as the merchants of the staples of England. Previous to the reign of Henry III. all foreign merchants had been compelled to sell their goods on board their vessels; but in considertion of a payment of 100l. (cash) towards a supply of fresh water for the city of London, and of fifty marks to the lord mayor (annually), the merchants of Amiens, Nele, and Corbie, and of Normandy, were then allowed to land and store their cargoes.

The formation of the Hanseatic Association was, however, the most important commercial event of Henry's reign. Though its origin, like that of many other great communities, cannot be precisely ascertained, it seems probable that it arose out of an agreement, entered into in the year 1241 between the merchants of Hamburg and Lubeck, to establish a guard for the mutual protection of their merchandise