What was the main economic reason Queen Elizabeth I rejected Lee's request for a patent?
Answer
Fear that it would displace existing hand knitters, causing unemployment and unrest
The Queen and her advisors worried that the speed and output of the stocking frame would cause widespread job loss among the established hand-knitting workforce.
Related Questions
Where were precursors to modern knitting first evidenced in textile fragments?What was William Lee's primary profession before inventing the stocking frame?Approximately when was William Lee's stocking frame, the first successful mechanical knitting machine, completed?What action did the needles of Lee's stocking frame mechanize?What was the main economic reason Queen Elizabeth I rejected Lee's request for a patent?Where did William Lee relocate to establish his knitting industry after his petition failed in England?In which location did the industry established by Lee's design eventually concentrate, becoming an epicenter for framework knitting?Approximately when did William Lee pass away while residing in France?Which relative reportedly brought the frame designs back to England following Lee's death abroad?What factor solidifies William Lee's reputation as the 'father of industrial knitting'?How is the original purpose of the initial stocking frames generally described?