We must know (1) the character of English exports. The exports of a country show in what lines it is strong enough to compete with foreign producers, and are the means by which it buys commodities produced abroad. We shall then consider (2) the advantages which enabled England to produce these wares so efficiently that other countries were glad to buy of her, and (3) the countries in which these wares found a market. On the other side we want to know (4) the imports, the wares which England wanted but could not herself produce to advantage, and (5) the countries from which the imports came. Another factor of importance will be (6) the development of English shipping. Finally we have to consider (7) the government policy by which statesmen sought to further and regulate the development, as manifested in foreign policy and wars, in the customs tariff, and in the colonial system. =239. (1) Analysis of exports.=—The total export to foreign countries of merchandise of English origin (_i.e._, not including goods from other countries transshipped in England) amounted about 1800 to a little over £29,000,000. The most important items were as follows, in millions of pounds: manufactures of wool, 7.7, or over one fourth of the whole; manufactures of cotton, 4.1; manufactures of iron and steel, 2.0; haberdashery, 1.5; linens, 1. These five items include over one half of the total, and no other item amounted to as much as one million. It is noteworthy that all the raw materials together scarcely exceeded one million. When we come to study the internal development of England we must look, evidently, for a great expansion in certain manufacturing industries to explain the position which their products now took in trade. =240. (2) Development of production, explaining the growth of the export trade. Agriculture.=—Turning our attention now, not to the foreign commerce of England but to the conditions at home which made this commerce possible, we find that during the two centuries following 1600 there was a steady development of internal resources. The growth of population stimulated improvement in agriculture; and cultivators managed, by new crops and methods, to increase largely the output in spite of the disadvantages of soil and climate. Root crops (turnips and carrots) and clover were grown on fields which before had been allowed to lie fallow, and the produce, converted into meat and manure, was almost pure gain. By better feeding and breeding the weight of a head of stock was increased twofold or even more. Potatoes and other vegetables were introduced from America and the Continent. Capitalist farmers effected such a revolution in the methods of agriculture, that pasture farming became relatively much less important, and the production of cereals increased so that there was a food supply to maintain a manufacturing population, and sometimes a surplus for export.