\paperw5085 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \pard\tx3255\tx6525\tx9780\ATXts240\ATXbrdr0 \f1 \fs22 Until the second half of the 13th century, the textile industry of weste
rn Europe was centred in Flanders. Flemish merchants would come to England each year to buy the best available raw wool. However, economic and agricultural change soon made English wool a rare and more expensive commodity. Moreover, by the end of the
13th century \ATXnt901 the export of \ATXnt0 raw wool was being discouraged by taxation, so that English weavers could enjoy advantages denied to their Flemish counterparts. Many out-of-work Flemish weavers emigrated to England, where technical improvem
ents in the equipment used meant that more cloth could be produced with no increase in labour. By the 15th century \ATXnt902 cloth\ATXnt0 was EnglandÆs greatest \ATXnt903 export\ATXnt0 , bringing considerable wealth to merchants. English cloth reached
markets in Scandinavia, north Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and France.
