Calico Acts
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 organized political pressure. Parliament petitioned against the influx while mobs stormed the East India Company offices. Fashion conscious individuals faced assault 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 act blocking the importation of cotton cloth.
So dissatisfied with the outcome of the first act, in 1721 Parliament passed a stricter addition known as the Calico Act. This time they prohibited the sale of most cottons, imported and domestic excepting only thread Fustian and raw cotton. An Act to Preserve and Encourage the Woollen and Silk Manufactures of this Kingdom banned the use and wear of all printed, painted, stained or dyed Callicoes in apparel, household stuff, furniture, or otherwise after the twenty fifth Day of December one thousand seven hundred and two. The law imposed penalties on persons having or selling any of them, including forfeiture and fines of two hundred pounds.
The exemption of raw cotton from the prohibition initially saw 2,000 bales of raw cotton imported annually. These imports became the basis of a new indigenous industry, initially producing Fustian for the domestic market. More importantly, this strategy triggered 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. Pressure was put on Parliament by the new mill owners to remove the prohibition on the production and sale of pure cotton cloth.
According to the Indian historian Prasannan Parthasarathi, mechanisation and the factory system allowed the British cotton producers to out-produce not just the quantity but the quality of Indian textiles. The textile work in England was paid with a higher salary than that paid in India. The acts were repealed in 1774 triggering a wave of investment in mill based cotton spinning and production. This doubled the demand for raw cotton within a couple of years and doubled it again every decade till the 1840s. New factories began to rival the established Indian dominance in global markets.
The Calico Acts of 1700 and 1721 served as a precursor to the Industrial Revolution when Britain eventually surpassed India as the world's leading textile manufacturer in the 19th century. The repeal of restrictions triggered massive investment in mills establishing Great Britain as the global leader in textile manufacturing. By the early 1770s seven thousand bales of cotton were imported annually through these new channels. The shift from import bans to domestic production created a self-sustaining industrial engine that would define the next two centuries of economic history.
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Common questions
What were the Calico Acts of 1700 and 1721?
The Calico Acts of 1700 and 1721 were laws passed by Parliament to block the importation and sale of cotton cloth. The first act blocked imports while the second stricter addition prohibited the use and wear of all printed, painted, stained or dyed Callicoes in apparel and household stuff after the twenty fifth Day of December one thousand seven hundred and two.
When did the English East India Company start importing calico cloth?
The English East India Company introduced Britain to cheap calico and chintz cloth after the restoration of the monarchy in the 1660s. This trade eventually overtook the EIC's spice trade by value in the late 17th century as the company expanded its factories in Asia to produce and import cloth in bulk.
Why did Parliament pass the Calico Act in 1721?
Parliament passed a stricter addition known as the Calico Act in 1721 because they were dissatisfied with the outcome of the first act. They sought to prohibit the sale of most cottons imported and domestic excepting only thread Fustian and raw cotton to protect domestic woollen and linen textile producers from competition.
How many bales of raw cotton were imported annually before the repeal of the Calico Acts?
By the beginning of the 1770s seven thousand bales of cotton were imported annually through new channels established by mechanised production. The exemption of raw cotton from the initial prohibition initially saw 2,000 bales of raw cotton imported annually which became the basis for a new indigenous industry.
When was the Calico Act repealed and what happened next?
The acts were repealed in 1774 triggering a wave of investment in mill based cotton spinning and production. This repeal doubled the demand for raw cotton within a couple of years and doubled it again every decade till the 1840s while New factories began to rival the established Indian dominance in global markets.