The Scottish Staple was a medieval and early modern trading system that required Scottish merchants to conduct foreign trade, particularly in goods like wool and hides, through designated staple ports—most notably in the Low Countries—to regulate commerce and secure royal revenues. There were some similarities with the Staple that ran in England.
History In the 15th century, Bruges was the Scottish staple port. The arrangement was made following the marriage of Wolfert VI of Borselen and Mary Stewart, Countess of Buchan in 1444.
As the harbour at Bruges silted up, the focus of Scots trade moved north to the Dutch ports of Middelburg and Veere, with Veere gaining staple status in 1541, when the merchant Andrew Mowbray (III) travelled to Middelburg as commissioner for the city of Edinburgh to negotiate a trade agreement with Maximilian II of Burgundy.Denys Hay, Letters of James V (Edinburgh: HMSO, 1954), p. 423: James Yair, Account of Scottish Trade in the Netherlands (London, 1776), pp. 107, 110.
There is some evidence of Dordrecht being used in 1670.
Conservator of Privileges
At the Staple towns, Scottish interests were served by an officer called the Conservator of Privileges, or Conservator of the Scottish Staple. The Conservator held a judicial court reckoned as an inferior jurisdiction under the authority of the Parliament of Scotland. A Conservator of Privileges was established at Bruges on 12 September 1408 by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland."Scottish Trade with Flanders", The Scottish Antiquary, 2 (Edinburgh, 1888), p. 35: James Yair, Account of Scottish Trade in the Netherlands (London, 1776), p. 39.
The Conservators include Stevin Anguys and Anselm Adornes (died 1483) in Bruges;Niels Fieremans, Law, Leverage, and Litigation in Late Medieval Bruges: Foreign Merchants in a City of Justice (Edinburgh, 2025), pp. 87–89. Andrew Halyburton (died 1507);Alexander Fleming and Roger Mason, Scotland and the Flemish People (Birlinn, 2019), p. 62. George Gordon, George Hacket (died 1589) who bought books for James VI in 1578,Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, 13 (Edinburgh: HMSO, 1978), p. 189. and carried letters from Philip Sidney to the Master of Gray;Roger Kuin, The Correspondence of Sir Philip Sidney, 1 (Oxford, 2012), p. 1266. Robert Denniston (appointed 1589); Thomas Cunningham senior, Deputy-Conservator (died 1623); Patrick Drummond; Thomas Cunningham; Johannes Klencke; William Davidson of Curriehill; James Kennedy; Andrew Kennedy of Clowburn, who worked at Rotterdam, and was said to have first imported tea to Scotland; and John Hume.Robert William Cochran-Patrick, Early Records Relating to Mining in Scotland (Edinburgh, 1878), pp. 50–51.Victor Enthoven, "Thomas Cunningham", Irish and Scottish Mercantile Networks in Europe and Overseas in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (Gent: Academia Press, 2007), p. 45.
In May 1581, William Broun and other merchants in Edinburgh complained that the Conservator in Flanders made them sell their exported goods at Veere rather than allow them to transport their goods for sale in other markets in Flanders, as was usual in some circumstances. The burgh council wrote to the Conservator upholding Broun's requests.Extracts from the records of the burgh of Edinburgh, 1573–1589 (Edinburgh, 1882), pp. 558–59.
Robert Denniston Robert Denniston or Danielstoun of Mountjoy (died 1625) was appointed as Conservator of Privileges in 1589, preferred by James VI for the role instead of George Kincaid. The burgh towns of Scotland resisted his appointment at first, until Denniston negotiated with their commisioners. His submission addressed the issue raised in 1581 by William Broun, allowing trade in other towns than Veere. Denniston later served as a Privy Councillor.John Davidson and Alexander Gray, The Scottish Staple at Veere: A study in the economic history of Scotland (London, 1909), pp. 186–188.Matthijs P. Rooseboom, The Scottish staple in the Netherlands, an account of the trade relations between Scotland and the Low Countries from 1292 till 1676 (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1910), pp. 110–111.Sybil M. Jack, "The 'Douce Burghers' of Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Scotland", Journal of the Sydney Society for Scottish History, 4 (1996), p. 26 In 1592, he corresponded with Lord Menmuir, the master of metals in Scotland, about the prospector Eustachius Roche. Denniston offered to assist Menmuir's business interests.Robert Cochran Patrick, Early Records Relating to Mining in Scotland, p. 48, 51–2.
Denniston's deputy was Gilbert Baty.HMC Report on the Manuscripts of Lord de L'Isle & Dudley Preserved at Penshurst Place, 3 (London, 1936), p. 69: Records of the Convention of the Royal Burghs of Scotland, 2 (Edinburgh, 1870), p. 229. On 13 August 1594, Denniston was at Leith with Adrian Damman to welcome the Dutch ambassadors Walraven III van Brederode and Jacob Valcke. They came to Scotland for the baptism of Prince Henry.Esther Mijers, 'Diplomatic Visit', Steven J. Reid, Rethinking the Renaissance and Reformation in Scotland (Boydell, 2024), p. 268. By February 1595, King James accredited Denniston as his ambassador to the States General.HMC Manuscripts of the Marquis of Salisbury, 5 (London, 1892), p. 112.
Denniston was related to two goldsmiths in Edinburgh, James and Robert Denniston.Henry Steuart Fotheringham and Jean Munro, Edinburgh Goldsmith's Minutes, 1525–1700 (Edinburgh: SRS, 2006), pp. 37, 39, as "Denneistoun". He married Helen Myreton (died 1608), a daughter of the laird of Cambo near Kingsbarns.George MacDonald, "Post-Reformation tombstones in the cathedral churchyard, St Andrews",PSAS, 70 (1936), p. 114 no. 78. His brother-in-law John Myreton studied abroad with a classmate Thomas Morison, and returned to Scotland as a Jesuit in March 1595 carrying a jewel depicting the crucifixion.Maureen M. Meikle, "Once a Dane, Always Always a Dane? Queen Anna of Denmark's Foreign Relations and Intercessions as a Queen Consort of Scotland and England, 1588–1619", Sara Ayres, The Court Historian, 24:2 (August 2019), p. 174: Maureen M. Meikle & Helen M. Payne, "From Lutheranism to Catholicism: The Faith of Anna of Denmark (1574–1619)", Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 64:1 (2013), p. 52. Denniston got in trouble in September 1596 after allowing the exiled Catholic Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll to escape from his custody. Denniston was summoned by the Privy Council in November 1596 and suspended from his duties as Conservator for a time. After a period of sickness, Denniston came to Edinburgh and was forgiven and reinstated as Conservator by James VI at Holyrood Palace on 31 January 1597.David Masson, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, 1592–1599, 5 (Edinburgh, 1882), pp. 314–315, 361: Robert Steele, Tudor and Stuart Proclamations: Scotland and Ireland, 2 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1910), p. 260.Matthijs P. Rooseboom, The Scottish staple in the Netherlands, an account of the trade relations between Scotland and the Low Countries from 1292 till 1676 (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1910), p. 121.
Denniston's second wife was Catherine Gibson, the widow of Anne of Denmark's physician Martin Schöner.Henry Paton, Register of Marriages for the Parish of Edinburgh, 1595–1700 (Edinburgh: SRS, 1895), pp. 260, 605. Denniston died on 15 June 1625 and was buried at Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh, where there is a monument. The Latin inscription refers obliquely to his dealings with exiled Catholics for King James. Denniston left 1,200 merks to complete the monument. His will mentions a gilt cup with his enamelled coat of arms, he left his cloak and best suit of clothes to his stepson James Schöner, and £100 to Margaret Schöner for her bridal gown.John Maitland Thomson, Register of the Great Seal of Scotland: 1620-1633 (Edinburgh, 1894), p. 392 no. 1117: An Inventory of Monuments in Edinburgh (Edinburgh, 1951), pp. 49–50 & fn: James Brown, The Epitaphs and Monumental Inscriptions in Greyfriars Churchyard, Edinburgh (Edinburgh: Moodie Miller, 1867), pp. 7–8: National Records of Scotland, will of Robert Danielstoun, CC8/8/53, p. 289.Joe Rock, 'Monument of Sir Robert Denniston of Mountjoy, Greyfriars' Churchyard, Edinburgh', National Galleries of ScotlandThe Dennistoun Memorial: FOGK
References
External links The Scottish Staple at Veere