Caxton was the first English printer and a translator and
importer of books into England. Caxton was born in around 1422
in Kent. He went to London at the age of 16 to become an
apprentice to a merchant, later moving to Bruges, the centre of
the wool trade, where he became a successful and important
member of the merchant community. From 1462 to 1470 he served as
governor of the 'English Nation of Merchant Adventurers', which
allowed him to represent his fellow merchants, as well as act as
a diplomat for the king. Caxton affiliated himself with the
household of Margaret, the duchess of Burgundy, sister of the
English king Edward IV. She became one of his most important
patrons and encouraged him with his translation of 'The Recuyell
of the Histories of Troye' from French to English. In the early
1470s Caxton spent time in Cologne learning the art of printing.
He returned to Bruges in 1472 where he and Colard Mansion, a
Flemish calligrapher, set up a press. Caxton's own translation
of 'The Recuyell of the Hist