Agrarian discontent: Kett's Rebellion Flashcards
Who was Kett’s rebellion against?
The power and influence of the landed elite
What was enclosure blamed for?
Growth in poverty and vagrancy
What did many leave behind for sheep farming?
Arable farming
Why did many turn to sheep farming? (2)
- Cloth trade brought high revenue
- Under pressure from rising prices, which meant that they needed to increase their income
How many sheep did Sir William Fermour of Norfolk own?
17,000
Reasons for enclosures: (2)
- Profit - Sheep farming due to the great demand for wool
- A response to Depopulation Where tenants had left or died and had not been replaced
Why was the common land important to those who did not own land? (2)
- Common grazing provided manure for the village crops; without this it became harder to grow enough food to survive
- Graze animals for subsistence farming
Why were copyhold tenants vulnerable to being forced out of their homes and into poverty?
Their leases were open to challenge so easily forced off their land
How did the landless suffer from enclosure
They were reliant on the common land for survival
1553 Sheep and Farms Act:
- Tried to restrict the number of sheep kept per farmer to 2400
- Engrossing was allowed, but only to a maximum of two farms
What was introduced from March to November 1549? And why? (2)
A tax on sheep was introduced in an attempt
- To restrict the size of flocks
- Discourage landlords from turning to sheep farming
What did Protector Somerset introduce, inspired by the thinking of commonwealth-men?
Introduce commissions of enquiry into illegal enclosures
What was the population of England in 1525 and 1551
- 1525 - 2.3 million
- 1551 - 3 million
Why were the poorest in society badly affected by the rise in population and greater demand for food? (4)
- Greater demand for food led to rapid food price rises
- Led to pressure on land to grow more crops
- Which led to pressure on the amount of land in each village available for tillage
- Price rises led landlords to turn to enclosure, which made the lives of the rural poor even harder
Why did the growing population cause unemployment?
More competition for jobs
What kind of help was available for the poor?
Charity, or limited poor relief from the government
1547 Vagrancy Act:
First offence - Vagrant branded with a ‘v’ and forced to work as a slave for 2 years for the person who’d informed against them
What happened in 1545 and 1549 which exacerbated the problem of food shortages, rising prices and growing bagrancy?
Poor harvests
Why did enclosure increase unemployment?
Sheep farming required less labour than arable farming
What is debasement?
Gold and silver in the coinage was melted down and mixed with less expensive metals, used to make an increased number of coins
How did debasement cause price to rise further in the later 1540s?
Reduced confidence in the currency, led to merchants putting up their prices, which added to the problem of inflation
Why was debasement used?
To meet the costs of war with France and Scotland in the 1540s
Why was the Duke of Somerset attracted to the idea of creating a Christian commonwealth?
He was a committed Protestant
What did Somerset appoint John Hales to do?
Hales was appointed to oversee government reform of social and economic problems
Why did Hales’ first series of bills, encouraging social and economic reform, all fail to pass?
Parliament tended to represent the interests of the landed elites, who profited most from enclosure and sheep farming
What did Hales manage to successfully introduce in 1549?
A tax on sheep
What was Hales’ and Somerset’s commissions set up to do?
To inquire into illegal enclosures and report evidence back to the government
What did the commissions not have the power to do? (2)
- Order illegal enclosures to be taken down
- Punish those found to be in breach of the law
What did the one commission, that actually went ahead, find in the Midlands?
Little evidence of illegal enclosures
What did Hales claim about the commission findings?
The local landlords had been obstructive, by refusing to co-operate with his commissioners
What direct action did Somerset and Hales take after the failure of the 1548 commissions?
They took direct action against illegal enclosures by ordering the ploughing up of illegally enclosed land
Which two high-profile men had their land affected as a result of Hales’ actions?
- Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk
- John Dudley, Earl of Warwick
What did Somerset tell commissioners to do this second time around and why was this illegal?
Commissioners were told illegal enclosures should be destroyed
What unintended consequences did the second Commission by Somerset have? (2)
- Somerset alienated the landed gentry and nobility
- The commons of England thought that Somerset was on their side
Why was it a mistake for Somerset to alienate the landed gentry and nobility? (2)
- The landed gentry were the first line of defence against the rebellion
- Somerset relied on this group for support in the government of the country
Why were these actions by the ‘Good Duke’ dangerous for England?
The commons of England thought that Somerset was on their side
Where and when did riots against illegal enclosure of common land break out?
Essex and moved to East Anglia
In July 1549, where and why were local nobility and gentry summoned?
Windsor Castle to discuss the serious rebellion in the West country
What were the causes of the Western Rising?
Resentment over the new English Book of Common Prayer
Reasons why Somerset found it difficult to put down the Western Rising: (2)
- Government forces were already overstretched, dealing with enclosure riots across the Midlands and the South East
- Poor communication and a reluctance by Somerset to take the rising seriously
Which town did the Rebels in the Western Rising beseige?
The county town of Exeter
In which battle were the rebels finally defeated?
The Battle of Sampford Courtenay
When was the Battle of Sampford Courtenay?
16th August 1549
How many rebels were killed on the Battle of Sampford Courtenay?
4,000
Where did Kett’s rebellion begin?
Wymondham in Norfolk
Which landowner had his enclosed land destroyed by rebels and why?
- Sir John Flowerdew
- In dispute with the people of Wymondham over the fate of the local abbey. Flowerdew had started to demolish part of the abbey, even though the townspeople had purchased it
How did Sir John Flowerdew try to turn rioters against Kett?
Kett also followed the practice of Enclosing land
How was Kett similar to Robert Aske?
He was able to turn discontent from the commons into an organised and serious uprising against the government
What ideology was Kett?
Idealist
Where did Kett set up his rebel camp?
Mousehold Heath, a hill that overlooks Norwich
When was the camp established by Kett?
July 12th 1549
Why was Norwich an ideal place for Kett and the rebels? (2)
- Second largest city in England with a sharp divide by rich and poor
- It was an important administrative town so a good way to guarantee the government’s attention
What percent of the population owned what percentage of the population?
6% of the population owned 60% of the land and goods
What did Kett’s arrival encourage some of the inhabitants of Norwich to do?
It encouraged some inhabitants of Norwich to throw down enclosures on the outskirts of the city
Where, in East Anglia, were two other rebel camps set up?
- Downham Market (Norfolk)
- Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk)
Why did Kett’s rebels not seek to persuade the gentry to join them?
The landowning elites were the group they were going against and would have contradicted their stated aims
How many rebels were in Kett’s camp?
16,000
What did the rebels do to show they could administer local government peacefully and effectively, without the local gentry?
Government writs and commissions to issue orders for supplies of food and drink were used
What did the rebels do to show they could administer Law & Order peacefully and effectively, without the local gentry?
Members of the gentry who were captured were put on trial before Kett under a tree, which the rebels called the Oak of reformation
What was the royal army forced to do?
Raise a second army under John Dudley, Earl of Warwick
For how long did Norwich remain in rebel hands?
3 weeks
Whom did Somerset send in to lead the second royal army against the rebels?
John Dudley, Earl of Warwick
How many men were in the second army?
12,000
What tactics did the rebels use to continue their resistance?
Guerrilla warfare of arson and ambush
Whose arrival proved the turning point in the rebellion? And when?
1000 mercenaries on 26 August
How many mercenaries arrived on the 26th of August?
1000
How many rebels were killed?
3000
What happened to Kett?
He was captured and executed for treason in December 1549
What happened to the 9 rebels at the Oak of Reformation in a symbolic act of revenge?
They were hung, drawn and quartered from the tree
How were these men’s bodies used as a deterrent to other locals?
Their heads were displayed on the city walls of Norwich, and their bodies sent to local communities involved in the rebellion
How did the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, help to discourage further rebellions?
He preached against rebellion and the ideas encouraged by those who believed in the Godly commonwealth
