We are breaking new ground by taking a global-regional approach to the study of the English grain trade, rather than the more conventional national perspective: as English markets became structurally dependent on imports the English food supply relied in part on political, economic, social and cultural transformations in northern Germany and Poland. The politics of the English grain trade were, in other words, transnational, and the project is exploring the politics of grain Hamburg and Gdańsk across this long period. Many cultural and political developments in England had parallels in these grain exporting areas.
By 1600, England’s agricultural hinterland already included the Baltic, affecting social relations in the zone of production and contributing to the rise of an integrated economic culture in the North Sea and Baltic region. In the late 17th century England became a major grain exporter, but imports rose steeply again from the 1760s, when population density and industrial growth came to depend on much wider movements of raw materials, manufactures and capital. Large quantities of wheat from the upper valleys of the main rivers of northern Germany, Poland and northwestern Russia were channelled to English markets through ports like Gdańsk, Hamburg and Riga.
Other areas of Europe, especially its more commercialized and urbanized regions (for instance around Paris and in the Dutch Republic), saw similar developments to those in England. In the German lands commodification was the subject of a process of negotiation that reflected economic, political and social conditions as well as changing ideas. The port towns on the North Sea and Baltic coasts provide an ideal opportunity for a dual approach: studying the impact of the English grain market on local bread politics, and drawing comparisons between England and this part of the continent. Our research is focussing on two of these towns: Gdańsk and Hamburg. Both have rich archives for the early modern era that provide information on the regulation of local and international grain markets, public grain stocks, and the regulation of baking, milling and bread prices. Records of urban government and judicial institutions reveal evidence of petitioning, litigation and popular protest. Existing research into relevant aspects of the histories of both cities provides rich context.
The Politics of the English Grain Trade, 1314-1815 