Hull's Experience of Subsistence Crises, 1580s-1590s
Project overview
By the sixteenth century England had become accustomed to the difficulties and the distresses caused by severe weather events and harvests. Episodic interruptions of dearth and subsistence crises were brought about by changes in climate (The Little Ice Age) and exacerbated by the pressures of demographic and economic factors. Authoritarian measures - dearth orders and proclamations - were issued to ensure England secured grain accessibility and security within the national grain market.
Hull played an important role within the sixteenth century market network; acting as a hub for domestic interchange, trade and communication, and its status as one of the most important ports on the east coast and the interventions of its mercantile organisations meant that Hull was provisioned by foreign corn which relieved local subsistence crises. This research details the account of Hull’s experience of grain shortage and how the dearth years of the 1580s and 1590s were managed by the Corporation of Kingston-Upon-Hull.
The narrative of national and local subsistence crises is revealed through the archival material held at Hull History Centre, Hull’s Corporation’s Bench Books and miscellaneous letters add details to our understanding of the historical episodes of dearth which have previously been overlooked by historical research. This original piece of work discloses how governmental measures were undertaken by Hull’s local authority and how the town’s market and merchants overcame the dearth, whilst also providing a glimpse of how Hull’s inhabitants reacted to subsistence crises.
Resources used and available onsite at HHC:
- [C BRG/2] Bench Book IV: Minutes of formal meetings of the Mayor and Aldermen of Hull, 1555-1609
- [C BRG/3] Bench Book V: Minutes of formal meetings of the Mayor and Aldermen of Hull, 1609-1650
- [C BRE/5] Ordinances of Trade Guild, 1489 -1714
- [U DX28/7] Transcription of Bench Book IV
- [C SRL/T/1-5] Transcription of Bench Book IV
- [U DX5/8] Transcription of Bench Book V
- Stanewell Index to the Borough Records of the Corporation of Hull: A series of miscellaneous letters, documents and papers concerning complaints, petitions etc.
Project aims
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To re-evaluate contemporary situations of climate change, concerns over the threat to food accessibility and management of valued natural commodities through an exploration of our past,. This research aims to add a new perspective allowing for lost narratives of dearth to inform our future responses to subsistence crises.
- To engage with the local community and to encourage an interest in the socio-environmental history of Hull through an innovative approach - pairing archival material, academic scholarship and public knowledge.
Project outcomes
Blog post one - Hull's economic importance as a port in periods of dearth and famine in Early Modern England
Blog post two - Market integration and how dearth impacted Hull's early modern grain market
Blog post three - How Hull's monitorisation of assize of bread and ale can bear witness to social behaviour during the 1580s and 1590s subsistence crises
Blog post four - Tolls, taxes and monopolising: How Hull's authorities manipulated the market during subsistence crises
Paper - Felicity Wood, 'Save ye markitt as need shall require & thende darth maye be avoided': How Hull's merchants stabilised the city's grain market in the subsistence crises of the 1580s and 1590s (2024)
Lunchtime Club talk - 'Save ye markitt as need shall require & thende darth maye be avoided': How Hull's merchants stabilised the city's grain market in the subsistence crises of the 1580s and 1590s
Bibliography - Useful secondary reading
About the researcher
This research project was undertaken by PhD student Felicity Wood as part of the University of Hull’s Leverhulme doctoral scholarship programme, Water Cultures. Felicity’s wider research explores how famine and dearth are presented in early modern literature, exploring the late dearth years of 1590s. Through an interdisciplinary process her research - mainly routed in history and literature - reveals the interwoven narratives of personal and societal responses to dearth.