7) Mid-Tudor crisis: Rebellion and unrest Flashcards
- Causes and nature of rebellion and unrest - the rebellions of 1549 (Western and Kett), 1553 (Lady Jane Grey) and 1554 (Wyatt) - social and economic developments, including inflation, poverty, price rise and enclosure and their link to unrest.
What social and economic developments affected England?
Population rise:
* 1st time since the black death the population was rising. Between 1525 and 1551 the population rose from 2.3 mil to 3 mil. Argiculture was unable to keep up and the price of food rose and so did its scarcity
* England now felt a greater impact by poor harvests- or which there were many
* Grain prices rose faster than other food as it was the staple diet
* the structure of the population also changed as the population was young, with too many young people- too young to work- too many consumers and not enough producers
Agricultural problems and enclosure:
- Hard to increase production- no fertilisers and did not understand crop rotation, also many farmers were shifting from arable to sheep farming- causing unemployment as sheep farmers required fewer labourers
- Problem of enclosure
Price rises:
- due to rising population and inept agricultural system
- Compared to 1508 prices had rise 114% in 1549
- The debasememnt of the currency to fight France and Scotland only made this worse. It meant more money was in circulation but not more food causing inflation
- This was again made worse by 6 bad harvests from 1547- 1558
Poverty and Vagrancy:
- Enclosure had decreased the number needed in the workplace and a slump in the cloth trade added to unemployment
- Price rise increased the number of poor
- in 1547 the govt introduced the vagrancy act which condemned vagrants to slavery
What is the timeline of the rebellions in 1549?
1548
- Apr: Murder of William Body, Helston, Cornwall
- Jun: Commission to investigate enclosure in the Midlands
- Summer: Rural riots in England; Council voices opposition to Somerset’s policies and Hales’ commission
1549
- May: Unrest in Hampshire, Somerset, Wiltshire
- Jun: Introduction of Prayer Book; Western/Prayer Book rebellion in South West
- Jul: Kett’s rebellion in East Anglia; Uprisings in Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire
- Aug: Exeter relieved by Lord John Russell; Western rebels defeated at Sampford Courtenay; defeat of Kett at Dussindale
- Oct: Fall of Somerset
What were the political causes of the western rebellion?
- In Cornwall, resentment sprang from the activities of the hated figure of William Body, a commissioner investigating church property in the country in 1547- his arrogance and the investigation into the chantries created a swirl of rumours about the confiscation of church goods. The destruction of church images by Body the following year led a group in Helston to murder him. Devon gentlemen quickly dealt with the uprising, but the deep-seated antagonism remained. The final straw was the introduction of a new Prayer Book on June 10th 1549
- In Devon, in Stampford Courtenay, the people were also provoked into rebellion by their priest’s use of the new prayer book on Whitsunday 1549.
What were the religious causes of the western rebellion?
- Religion at the centre of the rebellion- list of 6 articles demanded the re-introduction of Catholicism: Latin, communion in one kind, praying for the dead, mass every Sunday. However, this is perhaps not surprising, they were probably drawn up by Catholic priests.
- Unfamiliarity of the new practices and the introduction of the new Prayer Book service, provoked a response- left the community in no doubt as to how religion changed under Somerset
- The rising soon spread: by 20 June rebels from
Devon and Cornwall had joined forces at Crediton. - In some parts of Cornwall, there was a desire for
independence from England & people were reluctant to accept new laws made in London. The dissolution of the monasteries had brought an end
to the scholarship of the monks that had sustained the Cornish cultural identity. The rebels’ demands included the complaint that some Cornish people did not understand the new English services.
What were the socio-economic causes of the western rebellion?
- Ealy stages of the rebellion complaints about taxes in sheep and cloth generated rumours about further taxation on animals
- In initial list of demands there were complaints about food prices and taxes.
- The second list of demands was hijacked by a small group of clery led by Robert Welsh and moved the rebellion towards religion
Earlier in 1549, a significant number of peasants had gathered at Bodmin, the county town of Cornwall, to protest against the imposition or the Act of
Uniformity.
- During the siege of Exeter (the capital of the south- west), the mayor was concerned that the poor within the city would hand it over to the rebels,
- This prompted wealthier citizens to organise a
continual guard, provide poor relief, sell firewood
cheaply and distribute lood at a low cost or freely to the poor. These actions helped to prevent the rebels from gaining control of the city.
- Throughout the rising the actions of the rebels
makes it clear that they considered the gentry their
enemies. The Cornish rebels attacked and robbed the gentry at St Michael’s Mount and shouted Kill the Gentlemen’ at Bodmin. In Devon, the rebels killed William Hellvons, a member of the gentry who resisted them, and attacked and plundered
Trematon Castle.
What was the scale and breadth of the western Rebellion?
- In Cornwall, protestors assembled in Bodmin, and came under the leadership of Humphrey Arundell. A list of articles was complied. The crowd marched to Devon.
- In Stampford Courtenay, the rebels persuaded the priest to deliver a traditional Catholic mass and then moved on to join the forces from Cornwall at Crediton on 20 June.
- The Gentry quickly lost their grip on the local counties. A gentleman called hellier (who attempted to calm rebels in Devon) was hacke to pieces
- Sir Peter Carew (the leading gentleman in Devon) rode to meet the forces at Crediton on June 21st. Carew only made the situation worse as he was a known Protestant and his meeting with the rebels nearly erupted in violence when one of his servants set fire to a barn- he fled back to Exeter and then to London.
- The rebel army moved up to the walls of Exeter and then to Clyst St Mary on 23 June. 2 men made a further unsuccessful attempt to conciliate the rebels by agreeing that religion should remain as it was during Henry VIII’s reign until Edward was old enough.
- 7000 men, over 3000 rebels
What was the social profile of the rebels?
- Cornwall town members. Country relied heavily on the profits made from tin mining, from Bodmin- the largest town in Cornwall, 1000 inhabitants.
How radical were the western rebels?
- Wanted the Act of 6 articles dissolved, wants mass in Latin, eucharist in one kind, Sunday services, refuse new English services, only upper class can read bible
- Not particularly radical- want to revert back to Catholic ways of living. Nothing that hasn’t been changed before in England under Henry VIII
What were the successes of the rebels?
- Little success, no laws changed, caused unrest but eventually dealt with
- Timing was crucial as many other threats being posed simultaneously on England, but no major damage done
How did the govt solve the issue
- 1st govt response: 29th June Somerset, acting on insufficient information and resources, urged Lord Russell (a Catholic member of the Council) to find a peace settlement and wrote a conciliatory response to the rebel demands.
- Somerset simultaneously was attempting to suppress enclosure riots in the Midlands, maintain adequate forces on the Scottish border and watch for any French aggression- therefore, he could provide the cautious Russell with only a small army. Russell avoided confronting the enemy.
- 12 July reinforcements under Lord Grey were delayed by another uprising in Oxfordshire
- On 28th July in response to pressure from Somerset, Russell began his advance against the rebels, aided by the forces Lord Grey who arrived on August 3rd.
- Govt suppression: Confrontation took place under Russell at Fenny Bridges, Clyst St Mary and Clyst Heath, each time the rebels were pushed further back
- August 6th Russell relieved Exeter and govt forces under Sir William Herbert arrive- time was running out for the rebels. Somerset heaped more pressure on Russell to finish the job as the French had declared war on England on August 8th
- August 16th Russell advanced on and defeated the rebel forces at Stampford Courtenay.
- After the victory Russell had to deal with rearguard action and pockets of resistance until around 3000 people had been killed. Robert Welsh, the vicar of st Thomas and probably the leader of the rebellion, was hanged on the gallows erected on his church towers and mocked- this opened the govt up to further hostility as govt forces had acted illegally, executing without trials and confiscasting and re-distributing property.
Give an overall conclusion of the Western rebellion
- Caused by unrest on Somerset’s religious policies and wanted to re-inforce Catholicism, and taxation on sheep and wool.
- Not very serious as very small numbers of rebels- most important cause was the religious upset
- However, difficult to end and lasted a couple weeks, also crossed over with other rebellions and invasions, meaning the govt forces were quite stretched and therefore did exert pressure on the govt even though no official accomplishments came from it
What were the events of the Kett rebellion?
Robert Kett - yeoman farmer from Norfolk (East Anglia)
* Started as enclosure riot in Attleborough & Wymondham (Norfolk towns)
* Rioters angry with John Flowerdew (lawyer who had bought local abbey church,
started to demolish it & enclosed other land)
* Kett had also enclosed land, so Flowerdew attempted to turn protestors v. Kett, but
Kett able to turn the tables & took leadership of the unrest
* Kett quickly assembled 16,000 - marched towards Norwich, set up camp
on outskirts at Mousehold Heath; drew up list of 29 demands
* Local forces unable to disperse rebels - offer of a pardon also failed
* Seized Norwich, England’s second largest city > forced gov’t to act
* Gov’t sent 14,000 under Marquis of Northampton, but was defeated
* Earl of Warwick then sent: massacre of 4000 rebels and royal army at Dussindale, outside
Norwich
What were the political causes of the Kett rebellion?
- Character and policies of Somerset. Made ashonishing series of concessions to the July 1549 insurgents
- Somerset promised to bring forward the calling of parliament by a month, so that rebel grievencaes could be discussed, but lied
- Oppose new prayer book
- 4/29 demands about religion
- Ket encouraged priests in Mousehold Heath to use new prayer book
What were the religious causes of Kett rebellion?
- Not caused by religion, supported the protestant religious changes that were opposed under the western rebellion
- Kett encouraged Protestant ministers to preach to the rebels once at Mousehold Heath
What were the socio-economic causes of the Kett rebellion?
- Uprisings triggered by unrest over enclosures, high rents, and unsympathetic landlords like Sir John Flowerdew ( a lawyer who bought church property in the area)
- Flowerdew was in dispute over land with Robert Kett (a small land owner who enclosed much common land)
- Inflation- demand exceeds supply, due to population growth 2.5 million to 3 million people
- Wanted to return to economic situation under Henry VII
- Social tension esp. apparent in Norwich, where 6% owned 60% of goods & decline in cloth industry had caused unemployment
- Grievances about the social structure & breakdown of local government
Attacked nobles & gentry as landlords - Also attacked them for running of local
government - criticised: Officers of the Court of Wards (who collected feudal dues), Local officials who used positions to gain land e.g. the teodary (who looked for new royal wards) &escheator (who seized land for king when people died without heirs)
Main cause of the rebellion was the role of ‘enclosure’
- Caused high prices of grain, depopulation, unemployment and starvation. Occurred through mutual agreement between landlords and tenants- Midlands and South-east particularly vulnerable
- Included hedging and cultivating waste ground, consolidating the arable strips of the large open fields and dividing common pasture. Also included the extinction of common right over a piece of land by hedging or fencing.
What was the scale and breadth of the Kett rebellion?
- Norwich was the second largest town after London, and a major textile centre
- Flowerdew tried to turn the rioters against Kett, but he retaliated by offering to act as spokesperson for the rioters
- Kett showed showed the most organisational skill and decisive leadership out of all peasant uprising leaders
- Kett gathered an army of 16,000 men, set up camp for 6 weeks on Mousehold Heath and in July captured Norwich
- The Protector might have gotten away with the invasion, if the Marquis of Northhampton had not blundered when he led his expeditionary force from London into Norfolk
What was the social profile of the rebels in the Kett rebellion?
- Primarily a rising of the commons. Kett a well-to-do tanner, just below level of those in local government; owned significant amount of land; prominent member of local church.
- Rebels were socially conservative. Believed had the support of the government, saw selves as guardians of tradition and custom. Language of demands: ‘We pray …’ not the words of revolutionaries.
