t no time and invaded Normandy with an army of 10,000 men. 6 This leads to another cause for The Hundred Years' War. The land along the Channel and Atlantic coasts was England's first line of defense against an invasion. England held claim to this territory from the twelth century through the marriage of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. King Edward III was determined to gain control of the French coastline while providing himself with a bridgehead for future expeditions into France. 7 But the major cause of The Hundred Years' War was the economic interest - the revenues to be gotten from this rich territory. Wine was Gasgony's largest export product and major source of income to the vassal. Wool was England's largest export product and the source of its wealth. English pastures produced fleeces that were the envy of Europe which Flanders depended on for its wool and linen market. 8 English sheep growers sold their long fine wool to weavers in Flanders, across the English Channel. Flemish weavers as well as English sheep growers depended on this trade for their business. In 1336, Philip VI arrested all the English merchants in Flanders and took away all the privileges of the Flemish towns and the craft guilds. Resulting in the Flemings revolting against the French control and making an alliance with England. 9 Consequently, the flourishing market of the industrial cities of Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp and Ypres were naturally coveted by the Kings of France and England. Moreover, the Bordeaux harbor was within the borders of English Gascony and was the center of the shipping and trading industry. Commodities such as grains, dairy products, dyes and salt would be shipped into Bordeaux via the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers and the merchants were charged a customs fee for these products. Also, Bordeaux would receive duties on wine, whether shipped-in or grown on Gascon soil. Consequently, the profits from the tolls and customs made Bordeaux ...
