ABSTRACT
This chapter shows how the development of the wool export trade exercised its influence upon the establishment of contacts between towns in Castile, a territory where there were numerous major obstacles in the way of goods transport, because of the high mountains between the central plateau and the coasts. Fine wool was the main export commodity of Castile from the fifteenth to the beginning of the nineteenth century. There was a strong demand for this product in many European countries, like the Low Countries, France, Italy, and even England. With money obtained from the sale of wool, many manufactured products, especially textiles, were imported. The growth of this trade had a direct influence upon the development of many towns, especially seaports like Bilbao, Santander, and San Sebastian in the Cantabrian Sea and Alicante and Cartagena in the Mediterranean Sea. It will be shown that the export wool trade influenced the shaping of the urban landscape of these coastal towns, where infrastructure for storage had to be built. Other towns affected by the growth of this trade will also be discussed: first, towns of the regions where fine wool was produced, namely the regions where transhumant sheep flocks were sheared. Second, the main places will be identified where wools were washed and put into sacks. Towns like Burgos, Segovia, and Soria where strong washing infrastructure was established will be studied in more detail, focusing on the influence that the growth of this activity had upon the urban landscape and the urban labour market. Finally, attention will be paid to the means of transport that used to connect different urban centres playing a role in the wool export trade.
