Gerard de Malynes facts for kids

Gerard de Malynes (born around 1585, died around 1627) was an important person in England's history of trade and money. He was a merchant who traded with other countries, a government helper in the Spanish Netherlands, and an advisor to the government on trade. He also worked at the Royal Mint, which is where coins are made, as an expert who checked the quality of metals. We don't know exactly when he was born or when he died.

His Life and Work

Malynes said his family came from Lancashire, a county in England. His father was also involved with making coins and might have moved to Antwerp (now in Belgium) around 1552. Gerard was born there. His family likely returned to England when Queen Elizabeth I improved the country's money system in 1561, getting help from skilled workers from Flanders.

Malynes understood that if too much precious metal (like gold and silver) left a country, prices for goods inside the country could fall, and prices for goods abroad could rise. This was a big idea for his time. He thought that England should charge higher taxes on goods coming into the country (called import tariffs). He also believed it was important to stop gold and silver from leaving England. He felt that a country became richer by collecting more precious metals.

Around 1586, Malynes was chosen to be one of the trade advisors in the Low Countries (which included parts of modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands). In 1587, he was back in England. He bought some valuable pearls from Sir Francis Drake, who had brought them from Cartagena. The King's special council, called the privy council, often asked Malynes for his advice on trade matters.

In 1600, he was part of a group that tried to figure out the correct value for exchanging money with other countries. He also shared his ideas with a committee in the House of Commons about a bill for merchants' insurance in 1601. He also prepared a report for the privy council about the size and weight of different types of woollen cloth.

During the time of King James I, Malynes was involved in plans to use England's natural resources. For example, in 1606, he tried to open lead mines in Yorkshire and silver mines in County Durham. He even brought skilled workers from Germany at his own cost. Lord Eure and some London merchants joined him, but the project did not succeed. Malynes was most interested in money matters and worked as an expert at the Royal Mint.

In 1609, Malynes became a commissioner for mint affairs. This group included important people like Thomas Knyvet, 1st Baron Knyvet and Sir Richard Martin. Soon after, he worked on a plan to create more small coins, like farthing tokens. At that time, some private traders were illegally making their own small lead coins.

A plan, likely inspired by Malynes, was put forward in 1612 to fix this problem. The idea was approved, and John Harington, 2nd Baron Harington of Exton received the right to make the new coins in 1613. He then gave this right to Malynes and William Cockayne. Later, John Couchman joined Malynes. However, the people making the coins faced many problems from the start.

The new farthings, which were called "Haringtons," were not popular. People in some areas, like Staffordshire and Derbyshire, refused to accept them. Even where they were accepted, people didn't want many of them. In six months, less than £600 worth of these coins were made. When Lord Harington died in 1614, new problems arose. Other people started making illegal coins again.

In 1619, Malynes wrote a letter to the king from the Fleet Prison, saying that his business partners had ruined him by paying him in his own unpopular farthings. But he seemed to overcome these problems. In 1622, he spoke about the state of the country's coins to a special commission on trade.

Malynes was concerned about how moneylenders (called usurers) affected poor people. He suggested a system where people could get loans at fair interest rates, similar to a pawnbroking system run by the government. He hoped this would help poor people get money when they needed it.

In 1622, Malynes and another merchant, Edward Misselden, had a famous debate about free trade.

His Books

Malynes wrote several books about trade and money:

• A Treatise of the Canker of Englands Common Wealth (1601)
• St George for England, allegorically described (1601)
• England's View in the Unmasking of two Paradoxes (1603)
• The Maintenance of Free Trade, According to the Three Essentiall Parts of Traffique; Namely Commodities, Moneys and Exchange of Moneys, by Bills of Exchanges for other Countries. Or answer to a Treatise of Free Trade, or the meanes to make Trade floushish, lately Published. (1622)
• Consuetudo, vel, Lex Mercatoria: or, The Law Merchant: Divided into three parts, according to the Essential Parts of Traffick Necessary for All Statesmen, Judges, Magistrates, Temporal and Civil Lawyers, Mint-Men, Merchants, Mariners and Others Negotiating in all Places of the World. (1622)
• The Center of the Circle of Commerce (1623)

His Economic Ideas

Gerard de Malynes supported ideas that were similar to mercantilism. This was an economic theory that believed a country's power came from having a lot of gold and silver. Mercantilists thought that governments should control trade to make sure more money came into the country than left it.

See also

In Spanish: Gerard de Malynes para niños