A2 FP1 : Edward VI Economic policies Flashcards
Conceptual Awareness
What was England’s economic situation like in 1547?
- Poor
- Henry VIII had spent on war causing high levels of inflation
- Growth in population
- Increasing enclosure
- Fall in demand for English Cloth Exports in the 1540s
Success
How much did Somerset raise through continuing the policy of debassement?
£537,000
Failures
What were the downfalls of Somerset continuing debassement?
It added to inflation and increased social distress.
Failures
When was the tax on sheep imposed?
March 1549
Failures
When was the proclomation against enclosure (under Somerset) - when combined with the Sheep tax why was this a massive failure?
June 1548
It attempted to help those who had been harmed by enclosure but instead put pressure on small farmers in upland areas who had little choice but to rely on sheep for substinence.
Failures
When was the Vagrancy Act Passed?
What did it attempt to do?
1547
Attempted harsh restrictions against vagrancy - including selling vagrants into slavery and branding them with a V - never went into effect but did take a step towards poor relief.
Conceptual Awareness
What kind of economic situation did Northumberland inherit?
Due to the expenses of Somerset’s war, Northumberland’ss government had no money and had to borrow.
* The population had continued to grow, there was pressure on food supplies and a poor harvest in 1552.
* Social unrest from the revolts of 1549
* Cloth trade was poor
Successes
How did Northumberland raise money through trade?
- Expansion of trading routes, by 1553 England was trading in the Gold-Coast in West Africa
- Exploration developed with Richard Chancellor reaching port Archangel and establishing the Muscovy company with Tsar Muscovy.
Successes
How did Northumberland make money domestically?
He sold crownlands and chantrylands to make money.
Successes
What was Northumberland’s greatest economic success?
The antwerp debt was cleared in 2 years.
Failures
What was Northumberland’s policy concerning the debassement of coinage?
The decision to end the debassement of coinage was in 1551 - some coins were recalled but not all, it didn’t fully go into effect until 1560 - caused economic distress.
+ the collapse of Antwerp Markets in 1551-52 caused further economic distress.
Impact of Economic Changes
What was the state of England’s debts in 1550 - how much had this lowered to by 1553?
1550 : £300,000
1553 : £180,000
Impact of Economic changes
How much was raised by the sale of Crown and Chantry lands?
£100,000 and £110,468 respectively
Conceptual Awareness
Describe the change from Somerset to Northumberland - Economically.
Northumberland learnt from Somerset’s mistakes and introduced measures to try and restore social and economic stability.
Privy Council and the government were re-organised
Finances reformed and debts created by the war began to be paid off.
New poor law introduced to help the poorest sections of society.
Successes
Describe Northumberland’s poor law.
The poor law - 1552 - created a new local officer in each parish - known as the collector of alms - who kept a register of all its licensed poor eligible for relief.
