AUTHOR
Hugh Chevis
The University of Western Australia
Despite opposing political affiliations, and despite general economic disruption, a small group of closely related families with significant and dependent interests in the West Country textile industry of Wiltshire, Somerset and Gloucestershire continued trade through the English Civil War. This study shows some of the means by which they maintained that trade. The study also shows how the unique features of the organisation of the Spanish cloth industry contributed to its durability in the face of war. The study also seeks to explain why that industry was well placed to expand after hostilities ceased.