AS. Miles - 4. The extent of change in the control of Wales Flashcards
Tudor Wales background
Societal conditions
It has been estimated that about 250,000 people were living in Wales in 1500. Approximately 85% of the population lived in the southern lowlands and the Welsh lands bordering England. In these fertile areas farmers were able to grow crops of wheat, barley and oats.
Agricultural conditions
In the upland areas, arable farming was much more difficult and so hill farmers concentrated on rearing cattle and sheep. Animals at this time were small when compared to modern animals.
Population and environment
-250,000 people living in Wales in 1500.
-85% of the population living in southern lowlands and Welsh lands
bordering England.
What was farming like in Wales?
-Wheat, barley and oats in southern lowlands.
-Arable farming in the uplands was much more difficult so they concentrated on rearing sheep and cattle.
-Animals were smaller.
-Welsh sheep could only produce poor quality cloth.
-Goats kept for milk – used to make butter and cheese.
What was housing like in Tudor Wales?
-Housing depended on wealth.
-Timber frames used, when/where it was available.
-Walls made of a mixture of clay and straw.
-Roof would be steep and thatched.
-Most houses had two rooms, one for living and one for sleeping.
What do contemporaries (of that time) say about life in Wales?
-There was a clear difference in what the poor and more wealthy yeoman could afford to eat.
-Very little food grown in Wales.
-Crime was rife.
Birth
A shortage of nutritious food combined with damp and overcrowded homes, made the poor vulnerable to infectious diseases. Children were particularly at risk and it has been estimated that 50% of babies born in Wales died before they reached their first birthday.
What social, political and religious problems did Wales present to Henry VIII?
The acts of union
Between 1536 and 1543, a compliant English Parliament passed a series of laws that together became known as the Acts of Union. Wales became a united entity and the Principality lands and the Marcher lands both disappeared. The whole of Wales was divided into shires (counties) and each one had a Justice of the Peace – appointed in England. Under the terms of the Acts of Union, Wales was represented in Parliament but there was an attempt to remove a national identity from Wales.
The legal changes
English. The law courts in Wales only conducted their affairs in English. By doing this, Henry was attempting to ‘make’ all Welsh people English and thus tie them to London in terms of loyalty. If you wanted to make your way in London either politically or socially, as a young Welshman you had to drop any pretence of being Welsh.
Overall
The rich Welsh families who sent their sons to London in an effort to advance themselves, ensured that they only spoke English. The law courts in Wales only conducted their affairs in English.
In essence, the Welsh were, in effect, anglicized in terms of language, culture and society.
How did the Welsh react to this?
The evidence seems to suggest that they took it as a fait accompli. With such a massively powerful neighbour, what else could they do? The example of what Edward I did to Wales was still something the Welsh could not forget and the symbols of English dominance were very plain to see. Also, English control of Wales meant that the border area was no longer the dangerous zone that it had been – which benefited
the Welsh as well as the English.
Opportunism in the act of union for Wales
The union also allowed Wales to join in the prosperity that England seemed to be going through under Henry’s sovereignty. However, whichever way it was looked at, what Henry did was crude and done in such a way that the Welsh could not openly complain even if they wanted to.
Social and Political Conditions of Wales 1529-1553
1485
In 1485, Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth. Henry was a Welshman and the involvement of Welsh soldiers at Bosworth played a significant part in Henry’s victory. After he became king, Henry rewarded many Welsh men with government posts in London.
1509
In 1509, Henry VIII succeeded his father to the throne. Henry did not have the same feel for Wales that his father had. Henry VII had a Welsh dragon and a wolfhound on his heraldic insignia. Henry VIII dropped the wolfhound and replaced it with a lion, thus making the royal insignia less Welsh.
Crime on the boarders
Henry VIII was concerned by the way the Marcher Lords governed their lands. Henry
became convinced that they were not stamping down on criminals who operated seemingly at will along the Welsh and English border. It was also a simple fact that criminals were committing offences in England, near the Welsh border, and then crossing over to Wales thus all but escaping justice. It was reported that one Marcher lord received payment from twenty-three murderers and twenty-five robbers in return for being protected from English justice.
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Henry’s concerns over Wales heightened after his clash with the Roman Catholic Church
after his divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Many Marcher lords were Roman Catholic and Henry was not confident that they would prove loyal after his clash with the pope. He was also concerned that parts of Wales – especially the south-west corner – were open to landings from either French or Spanish forces. The coast of Wales was poorly defended. Because Henry could not guarantee the loyalty of the Marcher lands, he decided to take full control of Wales and remove the power of the Marcher lords.
Crime and disorder
Wales had an unenviable reputation for crime and disorder. In part, this was because there were few villages in much of Wales, and criminals could avoid capture in wild and desolate terrain. The problem was exacerbated by the multiplicity of legal jurisdictions among the Marcher lordships along the borders of southern and eastern Wales.
Lawlessness, and not nationalist discontent, posed the greatest challenge to English government in Wales at the end of the Middle Ages.
Henry VIII’s claim to the Crown
Though Henry VIII’s claim to the Crown was open to challenge, his position was reasonably secure in his native Wales. It was only after the council he established in the North had proved itself successful that he addressed the problems of his home region.
Henry’s interests
Henry VIII was far more concerned with winning glory in France than he was in providing
better government for his subjects. However, the King’s demand for heavy taxation to
finance his foreign adventures in 1523-5 exposed the weakness of royal government in the outlying regions.
xtra
Like its counterpart in the North, the Welsh Council enjoyed a qualified success in improving the provision of justice in its area of jurisdiction, but was unable fully to quell the disorders afflicting the Welsh borderlands.
The Reasons for Union Between Wales and England & The Acts of Union 1536-43