called equitable estates, which meant that the landowner
could not mortgage, lease, or sell the land. Common land
could often be used only for traditional uses. There were
enormous impediments to using land in ways that would be
economically desirable. Parliament began to change this,
allowing groups of people to petition Parliament to simplify
and reorganize property rights, alterations that were
subsequently embodied into hundreds of acts of
Parliament.
This reorganization of economic institutions also
manifested itself in the emergence of an agenda to protect
domestic textile production against foreign imports. Not
surprisingly, parliamentarians and their constituents were
not opposed to all entry barriers and monopolies. Those
that would increase their own market and profits would be
welcome. However, crucially, the pluralistic political
institutions—the fact that Parliament represented,
empowered, and listened to a broad segment of society—
meant that these entry barriers would not choke other
industrialists or completely shut out newcomers, as the
Serrata did in Venice (this page–this page). The powerful
woolen manufacturers soon made this discovery.
In 1688 some of the most significant imports into
England were textiles from India, calicoes and muslins,
which comprised about one-quarter of all textile imports.
Also important were silks from China. Calicoes and silks
were imported by the East India Company, which prior to
1688 enjoyed a government-sanctioned monopoly over the
trade with Asia. But the monopoly and the political power of
the East India Company was sustained through heavy
bribes to James II. After 1688 the company was in a
vulnerable position and soon under attack. This took the
form of an intense war of petitions with traders hoping to
trade in the Far East and India demanding that Parliament
sanction competition for the East India Company, while the
company responded with counterpetitions and offers to
lend Parliament money. The company lost, and a new East
India Company to compete with it was founded. But textile
producers did not just want more competition in the trade to
India. They wanted imports of cheap Indian textiles
(calicoes) taxed or even banned. These producers faced
strong competition from these cheap Indian imports. At this