Changes and Expansion in the English Cloth Trade in the Seventeenth Century : Alderman Cockayne's Project

In 1614, William Cockayne, an Alderman of the city of London and the governor of the Eastland Company of English merchants, convinced James that it would be advantageous to dye and dress English cloth before export, arguing that England would benefit from new jobs and skills and profit by increased revenues.

The Alderman Cockayne Plan was dismal failure, but this attempt to reform the English woolen cloth industry set in motion, a series of commercial changes far beyond what Cockayne had anticipated.