Agrarian discontent: Kett's rebellion 1549 Flashcards
What did many contemporaries blame the growth of poverty and vagrancy on
enclosures
Example of someone who made large profits on sheep farming
Sir William Fermour of Norfolk owned 17,000 sheep
Practices used by landlords that effected the poorest/ most vulnerable (2)
- Rack renting
- Engrossing
Who were the most vulnerable to enclosures (2)
- Copyhold tenants (leases more open to challenges)
- landless (reliant on common land)
attempt of parliament to regulate enclosures
1489
What did the ‘common-wealth man’ think about enclosures
- Saw it as a fundamental source of poverty, unemployment and vagrancy
The Common-wealth men + their professions (3)
- John Hales- government official
- Robert Crowley- writer
- Hugh Latimer- Bishop of Worcester
What did the Common-wealth men preach? (3)
- Need for social reform and need to control enclosures
- Believed that social reform should happen for the good of the commonwealth
- aim to create a Godly commonwealth
Why were the ideas of the common-wealth men important (2)
- Protector Somerset was influenced by their thinking to introduce commissions of enquiry into illegal enclosures
- Although many rebels were illiterate; they could still hear and understand these ideas. Ideas influenced the rebel’s aims and actions in 1549
What was the real cause of poverty in Tudor society
- Population growth
- Caused more pressure on the job market, wages fell and prices rose + inflation
- Enclosures simply exacerbated the problem
How much did the population increase by from 1525 and 1551
2.3 million to 3.0 million
-as population grew it became harder to ensure an adequate food supply
What did the increase in poverty cause parliament to pass
1547 Vagrancy Act
When were there bad harvests
1545 and 1549 - made food shortages worse
What caused landlords to switch to sheep farming rather than arable farming
- European market in wool and cloth were temporarily booming
- Required less labour
What also further exacerbated existing economic problems
the debasement of the coinage
When were the commissions for enclosures
1548 and 1549
Duke of Somerset actions against enclosure (3)
- Commissions for enclosures ‘48 and ‘49
- Passed a private parliamentary bill protecting copyholders against enclosure
- appointed John Hales to oversee gov. reform of social end economic problems
What did the commissions NOT have the power to do?
didn’t have the power to order illegal enclosures to be taken down or punish those in breach with the law
How did Somerset deal with illegal enclosures himself
- Ordered the ploughing up of illegal enclosures
estates of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk ploughed up
and park belonging to John Dudley Earl of Warwick
unintended consequences of the enclosure commissions (2)
- Somerset alienated the landed gentry and the nobility. This was the group who were the first line of defence in a rebellion, and Somerset was reliant on this group for support in the gov.
- Commons of England though Somerset was on their side
How was Somerset seen by the commons
‘The Good Duke’
What initially helped the riots gained momentum
Many on the leading landlords were away from that region due to them being summoned to Windsor Castle on 1 July
Where did Kett’s rebellion begin
Wymondham (Norfolk)
What camp did the rebels set up and when
camp on Mousehold Heath 12th july (Norwich)
Wealth disparity in Norwich + how did effect the rebellion
6% of the population owned 60% of the land and goods
-Sharp divide between the rich and poor, which the rebels could exploit to gain sympathy from the townspeople
Why else was Norwich a good location
- Was an important administrative center
- threatening such a vital city was a good way to get the government’s attention
What did Kett’s camp encourage others to do 2
Encouraged other camps to be set up:
-Downham Market (Norfolk)
-Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk)
What were local gentry surprised by
by the sheer scale and rapidity of the rising
Unlike the PoG what did Kett’s rebels not do
didn’t seek to persuade the gentry to join them
- the landowning elites were the group they were rebelling against
Why did the mayor and the city council cooperate with Kett
- The size of the rebel camp and Kett having the upper hand- no alternative
- helped Kett by organising the collection of food and supplies
What happened on the 21 July 1549
government messanger reached Norwich
-encouraged by this the mayor and the council started to fortify the city against the rebels
What happened on the 22 July and what did this cause
- rebels offered the mayor a truce, but the town council refused
- provoked a successful full scale attack on Norwich by the rebels which led to to the capture of the mayor
What did the offer of a pardon do to the rebels (31st July)
inflamed the rebels, saw themselves as loyal subjects of the crown and not rebels
What army did Somerset initially send
sent an army under William Parr, the Marquess of Northampton
- contained Italian mercenaries
What happened on the 31st of July
- The Marquess offered a pardon for anyone who would surrender
- only 20 surrendered
What happened after the 31st July
- Rebels launched another attack on Norwich
- The Marquess was forced to withdraw and many of the gentry fled
- Norwich remained in the hands of the rebels for another 3 weeks
How many men did the Earl of Warwick’s army have
12,000
When did Warwick’s army reach Norwich+ what did they do
23 August
-offered a pardon to everyone EXCEPT Kett (offer turned down)
What did the REBELS do on 23 August
showed their organisation by raiding carts carrying Warwick’s weaponry and captured guns which they used against Warwick
What did Warwick do on the 24th August
Entered Norwich and arrested and hanged some rebels
How did the rebels fight against Warwick initially
Waged a form of guerrilla warfare using arson and ambushes
What was a turning point in the rebellion and when
the arrival of 1,000 mercenaries on the 26th August
+Warwick succeeded at cutting off the rebel’s line of supply
Where did the camp move to?
Mousehold Heath to Dussindale
What happened on the 27 August
Warwick made a final attempt at negotiations; rebels refused and fired warning shots
Why did the rebels lose against the royal army
Weren’t trained and didn’t have the weapons or skills to defend themselves
How many rebels were killed
3,000 and Kett was tried and executed for treason in December 1549
Sir John Flowerdew was an escheator-
What is an escheator?
- A local official that was responsible in overseeing Crown’s rights over its lands
- post gave local officials opportunity to make money through bribes and intimidation
Example of the rebels resenting the privileges and the abuse of power of the royal gentry
Lord Sheffield was captured and brutally beaten to death
The rebels also demanded better local governance
-what did the rebels do to demand this
- Camp at Mousehold Heath the rebels wanted to show they could administer law and order effectively
- saw themselves as creating a new model of government for their locality
What specific things did the rebels do to show they could run an effective government without the gentry (2)
- Kett adopted a system of writs and commissions to issue orders for supplies of food and drink
- members of the gentry that were captured were put on trial before Kett under the Oak of Reformation
What motivated the rebels (6)
- Enclosure sparked the rebels
- abuse of the practise of foldcourse
- resentment over large landlord’s power
- wanted to end corrupt government
- demanded all bondmen should be made free
- wanted clergymen who were educated and not greedy/corrupt
What did the rebels want for the social heirachy
for social hierarchy to remain but for landed elites to play a very different role in the hierarchy wherein they would be prevented from exploiting the commons
How many were in Mousehold Heath
16,000 men
Why was Kett’s rebellion particularly threatening (2)
- Government resources were already overstretched by the outbreak of the Western Rising- forced Somerset to divide his forces
- government took longer to respond, giving rebels time to organise and strengthen their defences
What member of the nobility was meant to put down the rebellion and why couldn’t he (4)
Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk
-had been arrested for treason since 1546
-Norfolk’s absence from the region created a power vacuum
-local gentry lacked leadership and rebellion was able to gather momentum
Evidence showing the organisation of the rebels
Were able to sustain and supply a large camp of people for 6 weeks
What did local administrators do with the rebels
because the rebels appeared peaceful and well organised, they responded to rebel requests
-E.g the churchwardens of Carlton Colville collected money and sent it to Mousehold
THREAT TO SOCIAL HEIRACHY AND SOCIAL ORDER
What did France do and when
8 August, France declared war on England- put government on more strain
What social group was Robert Kett from and why was this useful
Emerging group of artisans and yeoman farmers
-often held in considerable respect by their local community; thus could gather support and demand obediance
What kind of leader was Kett
- Very idealistic with a strong sense of social justice
- charismatic leader and was able to persuade +organised
- attacked the greed of the gentry
weaknesses of Kett (2)
- Not a military man and lacked tactical awareness to deal with a well trained army
- decision to move to Dussindale was a disaster; wasn’t on a hill and couldn’t protect themselves against cavalry
Why were the rebels able to defeat the Marquess of Northampton?
What was Sommerset’s style of rule like?
dictatorial- tended to bypass Council and relied on his friends and advisors (e.g William Paget) to make key policy decisions
What else did Somerset do that made the commons think he was a friend of the poor
set up a special court in his own house where the poor could seek justice
What were the unintended consequences of Somereset’s actions (2)
-alienated the landed elites, whose support he needed
-sent the rebels the message that he was on their side
How was Somerset’s response to the rebellion criticised?
accused of endangering the social and political order by negotiating with the rebels and offering them concessions
What did Somerset do that further exacerbated the rebels (2)
- A series of letters between Somerset and the rebels that encouraged the rebels
- Somerset made promises that showed that he was sympathetic to their complaints
- promised the rebels that parliament would be moved from October to November to discuss rebel complaints
How did Somerset’s mixed signals make the rebellion worse?
When Somerset resorted to force, the rebels saw this as betrayal
-only hardened their determination to resist
What happened that was initially a failure for the Earl of Wariwick
-incident between rebels and Warwick’s troops, in which a young rebel boy died
-hardened attitudes on both sides
What was Warwick’s leadership helped by (2)
- Arrival of Swiss mercenaries
- gradual reduction of the rebel’s supply lines
How many rebels were killed in Dussindale
3,000 and warwick only lost 40
How many rebels was Warwick prepared to hang in Norwich
49 rebels
How many rebels were ordered to be hung, drawn and quartered at the Oak of reformation
9
What eventually happened to Kett
Hanged in chains from the walls of Norwich castle, where his body was left to rot
How were other parts of the rebellion dealt with peacefully
- other rebel camps in east Anglia were dissolved w/o violence
- used propaganda to to persuade rebels that to rise up and revolt was against the laws of God and England
How many of the rebel demands were economic
18/29
Rebel concern with local government (3)
- Wanted an end of corrupt government by local gentry, in particular roles by escheators and feodary
- these officials accused of lining their pockets at the expense of central government
- demanded that local government officials to be chosen by the local people to ensure that someone honest was chosen (extremely radical demand)
Religious demands of the rebels (3)
- complaints were made about the quality of the clergy
- demand for better preaching in Article 8
- Concerned about the education of local clergy and asked that any clergymen unable to preach properly shouldn’t be allowed
Evidence that shows that religion was not the prime cause for Kett’s rebellion
- Did not want a restoration to Catholicism
- rebels used the Book of Common Prayer 1549 in daily services at camp
- sympathetic to Duke of Somerset’s move towards Protestantism
