Fortunes woven in wool

The shaky beginning of the wool industry was a little like the arrival of the motor car. Wool's coming was a human sensation, just as, for different reasons, was the car. Since the first horseless carriage, refinements haven't stopped. Once news spread of the importance of wool to man, many nations turned to wool growing and developing the breeds of sheep.

The Phoenicians, arch-merchants of course, were among the first to trade in wool. They enjoyed the opportunities and rewards which went with it. The Greeks, Italians, and the Spanish became deeply involved in breeding sheep. Soon they were leading producers in the new wool-conscious world.

Wool fever thundered through Europe like a rare form of gold fever. The difference was, it was everlasting and, not only did it make many men rich, it fed and clothed whole populations. Unlike most industries, wool suffered very few setbacks. In fact, the desire for sheep and wool only grew.

Luck also played an important part. In the 12th Century, the industry was flourishing in Italy when providence gave it an unexpected boost. Normans invading Greece sent a hundred new slaves back to Palermo. The slaves were soon revealed to be weavers.

But these were no ordinary artisans, and for that matter, no ordinary apprentice slaves. They were master craftsmen and their work so exquisite, it was immediately copied - wholesale! Variations of the filched weaving techniques spread quickly through Italy, and the demand for wool increased considerably.

From the beginning, Spain, famous for its fighting bull and Andalusian horse, favoured its own breed of merino, and used it as the main contributor to its burgeoning industry. During the occupation of the Moors in the 8th Century, real refinement of the breed began. This, many experts say, was responsible for making it today's top wool producer.

Sheep earned huge fortunes. Columbus' voyages were paid for by Spain's wool industry, as were the questionable expeditions of the Conquistadors throughout South America.

The humble sheep was seen as such a goldmine, and Spain banned any exports of the animal. The price for smuggling out even a pair of sheep was death. This attitude remained until the 1780s, a little before the French Revolution, when ill-fated Louis XVI was allowed to import nearly 400 merinos. They were crossed with sheep on the royal estate at Rambouillet, and their offspring began a successful breed which remains popular today. Their owner, on the other hand, found Madam Guillotine waiting in the wings not long after.

Rambouillets, descended from Spain and France, is one of forty recognised breeds of sheep, which produce about 200 varying types of wool. The major producers are Australia, Argentina, China and South Africa.