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             VI. However, they would exploit the situation and King Edward III lost no
             time and invaded Normandy with an army of 10,000
             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
             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 receiv...