3.2 Edward VI - Foreign Policy and Economy

Question 1

what was going on with Scotland when Edward VI inherited the throne?

Answer 1

• the rough wooing on the border: Henry’s death wish was to have a marriage alliance between MQS and Edward
• Francis I dies around the same time as Henry
• the new king is Henri II who is young and keen so renews Auld alliance with Scotland and sends over 4000 troops and proposes a marriage alliance with MQS
• Somerset sends up 16000 men, 4000 cavalry and a fleet of 30 warships as well as cannons
• the Scots were defeated in 1547 at the battle of Pinkie, giving England control of the border regions of Scotland
• they failed to properly block the firth of forth and the French manage to sail up it and take MQS back to France and married to the dauphin Francis II
• this cost England $600,000 in war just to not gain much

Question 2

what was Northumberland’s approach to foreign policy?

Answer 2

• he decides to limit it a lot due to lack of cash and domestic issues
• signs a peace treaty with France in 1550 called the Treaty of Boulogne
• this returns Boulogne to the French in return for $133,333 and agrees a marriage alliance between Edward and Elizabeth, daughter of Henri II

Question 3

what advances were there in trade and exploration?

Answer 3

• all under Northumberland
• in 1553 English ships got to the Gold Coast in Africa
• in 1552 a company of merchants were set up to fund expeditions led by Sebastian Cabot
• they fund Willoughby who tries to find a passage to China and dies on the way
• another crew does reach Arkangel which is in present day Russia and they set up trading links with the Tsar of Muscovy

Question 4

what was one of the main pressures on society under Edward VI?

Answer 4

the ever-growing population

Question 5

how was inflation an issue under Somerset?

Answer 5

• occurred as a result of Henry’s debasing of coinage that was worsened by Somerset both to pay for foreign policy
• this resulted in a decline of real wages which affected everyone in society

Question 6

what agrarian issues did Somerset face?

Answer 6

• there was harvest failure in 1548 that caused an increase in grain prices throughout the 1550s

Question 7

how did Somerset deal with enclosure

Answer 7

• he set up an enclosure commission to investigate
• from this he gained the nickname ‘the good duke’
• the enclosure commission did not achieve much as it had little real power
• from 1548-49 Somerset raised the tax on sheep and cloth to make enclosure unattractive but its success was once again limited

Question 8

what major event happened as a result of economic problems?

Answer 8

Kett’s Rebellion of 1549

• happened in East Anglia and the South West
• they experiencd economic problems due to resentment of taxation, issues to do with enclosure, social grievances and the impact of harvest failures
• there was a strong feeling government ministers were profiting in the absence of a strong king
• rebels began by pulling down enclosure fences and hedges
• Robert Kett was a landowner who sympathised with the rebels and led them
• they set up a camp of Mousehold Heath near Norwich
• the campaign started peacefully then rebels started firing on Norwich
• first the Earl of Northampton is sent in but he fails to recapture Norwich
• the Earl of Northumberland is then sent in and was successful
• this led to the fall of Somerset

Question 9

how did Northumberland deal with economic problems?

Answer 9

• suffered many of the same problems as Somerset
• he repealed the sheep tax imposed by Somerset
• in 1550 he reimposes the treasons act to enhance social order and stop rebellions
• in 1552 he passed a poverty law that made parish churches provide relief to the deserving poor, suggesting a desperate situation