the first calico act was passed, and what did it say? in 1700.
the first calico act was passed, and what did it say? in 1700.
when was the first calico act passed, and what did it say?
1700
the english east india company introduced britain to cheap calico and chintz cloth after the restoration of the monarchy in the 1660s. initially imported as a novelty side line, from its spice trading posts in asia, the cheap colourful cloth proved popular and overtook the eic's spice trade by value in the late 17th century. the eic embraced the demand, particularly for calico, by expanding its factories in asia and producing and importing cloth in bulk, creating competition for domestic woollen and linen textile producers. the impacted weavers, spinners, dyers, shepherds and farmers objected, with parliament petitioned, the eic offices stormed by a mob, the fashion conscious assaulted for wearing imported cloth, making the calico question one of the major issues of national politics between the 1680s and the 1730s. parliament began to see a decline in domestic textile sales, and an increase in imported textiles from places like china and india. seeing the east india company and their textile importation as a threat to domestic textile businesses, parliament passed the 1700 calico act, blocking the importation of cotton cloth. as there was no punishment for continuing to sell cotton cloth, smuggling of the popular material became commonplace. so, dissatisfied with the outcome of the first act, in 1721 parliament passed a stricter addition, this time, prohibiting the sale of most cottons, imported and domestic (exempting only thread fustian and raw cotton). the exemption of raw cotton from the prohibition initially saw 2 thousand bales of raw cotton imported annually, to become the basis of a new indigenous industry, initially producing fustian for the domestic market, though more importantly triggering the development of a series of mechanised spinning and weaving technologies, to process the material. this mechanised production was concentrated in new cotton mills, which slowly expanded till by the beginning of the 1770s seven thousand bales of cotton were imported annually, and pressure was put on parliament, by the new mill owners, to remove the prohibition on the production and sale of pure cotton cloth, as they wished to compete with the eic for the british cotton market.
calico acts
cotton's rise to global importance came about as a result of the cultural transformation of europe and britain's trading empire. calico and chintz, types of cotton fabrics, became popular in europe, and by 1664 the east india company was importing a quarter of a million pieces into britain. by the 18th century, the middle class had become more concerned with cleanliness and fashion, and there was a demand for easily washable and colourful fabric. wool continued to dominate the european markets, but cotton prints were introduced to britain by the east india company in the 1690s. imports of calicoes, cheap cotton fabrics from kozhikode, then known as "calicut", in india, found a mass market among the poor. by 1721 these calicoes threatened british manufacturers, and parliament passed the calico act that banned calicoes for clothing or domestic purposes. in 1774 the act was repealed with the invention of machines that allowed for british manufacturers to compete with eastern fabrics.
history of cotton