15. Edward- Sommerset (Edward Seymour) Flashcards
give context about King ED?
- son of Jane Seymour
- king at aged 9
- within his early teens he began to have significant influence on the councils decisions, mainly religious change
- 1553: died of tuberculosis
explain hoe Somerset gained control?
- Henry VIII’s will made sure that a council would implement decisions for Edward
- Henry’s death was a secret for 3 days, to enable Somerset to ensure the councils support
- elected as Lord protectorate of ED, gaining the title of ‘Duke of Somerset’
explain problems in religious reform?
- he had sympathy with key protestant ideas and Somerset wanted to take a cautious approach. as a result:
- as soon as people heard about Henry’s death, exiled protestants returned, where radical thoughts clashed with locals
- relaxation in press, led to increase in number of writings against catholicism
give examples of religious reform?
1549: act of uniformity- to impose a single standard of worship across England in order to end religious confusion= bread and wine/ english masses
+Prayer Book
-privy council hoped these moderate reforms would satisfy the reformers
-these were implemented successfully BUT… contributed to the causes of rebellions
explain foreign policy?
- bound by Henry’s want for a marriage between Edward and MQofS, Scotland didn’t want this
- Somerset resorted to military action with a land and naval invasion=scots defeated at the Battle on Pinkie 1547
- applied pressure to Scottish boarders with military garrisons to pressure Scottish government to accept marriage offer
- French troops began to arrive in Scotland to unite and MQofS was moved to France to marry Dauphin Francis II
- Somerset’s costly (£600,000) foreign policy had cemented links with Scotland and France
- he had to remove troops to defend` south of England and rebellions within
explain economic problems under Somerset?
- ‘the good duke’ due to his want to help people effected by enclosures
- many poor families had lost land due to enclosures
- 1548= tax raised on sheep and cloth= angry landowners
- rises in prices and population = economic and social problems among poorer classes= paired with religion problems=rebellions
explain the western rebellion?
The Western rebellion
- The implementation of the prayer book (1549) is seen as one reason for the western rebellion to turn from opposition to a REBELLION!
- some argue it was William body a commissioner investigating church property killed by a mob who didn’t want him to remove catholic statues from church
- Came under leadership of Humphrey Arundell- the gentry had lost their grip on the countries
- they wanted religion to be left alone
explain response to the western rebellion?
- Somerset only had limited resources and urged a catholic member of the council to find a peaceful settlement (showed weakness and a lack of concern, although should have been dealt with quickly to focus on the boarder threats)
- (Simultaneously he was attempting to deal with boarder issues with Scotland and French aggression)
- Could only provide a small army
- Army was able to push rebels back, and defeat was amounted as French had declared war on England 16th July
- Leader of rebellion was hanged, and displayed with catholic ornaments around him= to make a statement
- The government had acted illegally as they executed w/out trials= didn’t insight confidence in Somerset’s role as lord protectorate
explain Kett’s rebellion?
Kett’s rebellion
- Kett owned land and enclosed it for own benefit as he could graze sheep and sell wool. Very little was done by the government to stop this.
- However locals found it scare to find food and survive so they rebelled (1549), Kett them became leader of their cause
- Marched to Norwich
- 16,000 followers
explain response to Kett’s rebellion?
-Northampton was sent to quell riot but failed meaning the earl of Warrick (Northumberland) replaced him (somerset allowed himself to be vulnerable and again downplayed the situation)
- He was blamed by many for provoking the rebellion and for being too weak and slow to suppress it. Warwick’s success made him the obvious leader to challenge Somerset, and his army could be used to topple Somerset.
-This happened, bloodlessly, on 5th October. But the rising was not aimed at bringing Somerset down- more at supporting him against local gentry.
Northumberland and 12,000 cut off the campaign
-He was captured and hung for treason
explain the fall of Somerset?
- Somerset’s response to both rebellions was slow to the point of paralysis
- neither revolt had forced a change in policy, but both shook the government and they began to resent his style of leadership
- after being freed to rejoin the privy council, rumours spread that he was trying to take back control of the council aided by the manipulation of the Earl of Warwick
- charged with treason= executed 1552
