I wanted to write an article on this subject and got to the bottom of page 1 and gave up! (I think that is lucky for you!)
It all came about by me remembering the following blog that I have known about for some time: https://churchmousec.wordpress.com/2015/08/25/huguenots-and-englands-lace-ma king-industry/ This is an excellent article looking at the pros and cons of the "migration" theory of lace coming to England. If you have the vaguest interest in this topic, it is a Must Read. I need to say that in general terms I accept Yallops thesis (H J Yallop in The History of the Honiton Lace Industry. 1992 Exeter University Press.) that it was the efforts of English Businessmen that made Lace an industry as opposed to migration theory. I also generally accept that these same businessmen used and exploited the lace makers for their own ends. From my point of view, Yallop does not convince me about the origins of lace in England. If I am fair to him he does not really try to prove that point. I think the point that I want to make and ask you about is that I think the answer to so many problems in history and indeed in modern times is a matter of that there is truth on both sides of the argument, be it the influx of European lacemakers or the activities of English businessmen and investors. There is little doubt in my mind that the settlers must have made a real contribution to English lace making wherever they settled, and so too did the English businessmen make it a combined and profitable English business. As to the origin of lace in that 1590s ( plus or minus), I leave that point to be argued by others who know better than me. PS I have just read what I have written and it seems to me that they are covering two separate things: 1. The introduction and spread of lace making in England and 2. the Converting of this into a national business. I suspect that by trying to combine these two facets we are not doing history much of a favour. Brian _____ I am using the Free version of SPAMfighter <http://www.spamfighter.com/len> . SPAMfighter has removed 151 of my spam emails to date. Do you have a slow PC? <http://www.spamfighter.com/SLOW-PCfighter?cid=sigen> Try a free scan! - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
