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
Background/Overview
Henry VIII was concerned that the marcher Lords were not following law and order. It was argued that criminals were breaking the law in England and then escaping to Wales. One report claimed that a Welsh official was receiving payment from twenty-three murderers and twenty-five thieves in return for protecting them from English justice.
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Henry’s fears about the power of the Marcher Lords grew after his break with the Catholic church in 1534. Some of these Marcher Lords were supporters of the Pope and Henry was worried that they might rebel against him. Henry was also warned that Catholic monarchs in France and Spain might try to invade England by landing their soldiers on the poorly defended coasts of Wales. To protect himself against this possibility. Henry decided to take control of the whole of Wales.
Terms of the of union
Under the terms of the Act of Union, Wales was granted permission to be represented in Parliament. In 1542, twenty seven people in Wales were elected to sit in the House of Commons. Most of these elections were not contested and the person sent to the House of Commons was usually selected by a few wealthy families in the area.
Reasons for the act of union between England and Wales
-Fear of invasion
-Extend Henry’s Control/Ensure control over Wales
-Money
Cause 1 – Fear of Invasion
-The Break from Rome meant England had new enemies.
-France and Spain – Catholic countries.
-Foreign troops could land in Wales – thinly populated. Used successfully as a landing place by Henry VII.
-Wales could assist in an invasion from Ireland if allowed to.
Cause 2 – Extend Henry’s Control/Ensure control over Wales
-Break from Rome.
-Welsh sympathetic to Queen Catherine and Irish Rebels.
-Henry/Cromwell needed to ensure the enforcement of the new religious settlement.
-Extend Henry’s authority over outlying parts of his domain – attempt to create a single unified and effective sovereign entity.
Cause 3 - Money
-Financial needs of the crown.
-Thomas Cromwell promised to make Henry VIII richest king in Christendom.
-Needed Wales to achieve this.
-Had to contribute to taxation from 1st November 1536.
The Act of Union 1536
In 1536 Henry VIII’s government enacted a measure that made important changes
in the government of Wales. Whereas the Statute of Wales (1284) had annexed
Wales to the crown of England, the new act declared the king’s wish to incorporate
Wales within the realm. One of its main effects was to secure “the shiring of the
Marches,” bringing the numerous marcher lordships within a comprehensive system of counties. The March was divided into seven counties.
…
Welshmen were to enjoy the same political status as Englishmen, and the common law of England, rather than Welsh law, was to be used in the courts. Wales also secured parliamentary representation by the election of members for shires and boroughs.
English was to be the only language of the courts of Wales, and those using the
Welsh language were not to receive public office in the territories of the king of
England.
The Second Act of Union 1543
The implementation of the act was set aside until more detailed provision was made by a second act in 1543. Statutory recognition was now given to the Council of Wales and the Marches, which exercised a jurisdiction over both Wales and four border counties of England.
Impact of the acts of union 1536-1543
For the first time ever, it defined the territorial boundaries of the country. Considerable areas with
a Welsh-speaking population and several parishes belonging to Welsh dioceses were now included
in England. Monmouthshire (Welsh speech and traditions) was included in England.
The Act created unity of jurisdiction and administration for the first time. Removed the division between the Principality and the Marches that had been present since 1284 when Edward I
annexed Wales to England.
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Creation of Shires meant that a single, uniform system of law, authority and justice could be
introduced. They remained until 1974.
Two bodies entrusted with supervising the working of shire institutions and their officers (Council in
the Marches and the Court of Great Sessions), were peculiar to Wales. Could therefore be said to have given some measure of constitutional autonomy to the country. Insignificant to most.
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Making the Welsh citizens of the realm it gave them equality under the law with English subjects. In
reality, the Act had done little more than given them statutory confirmation of rights which they
already held in practice.
The Act introduced into Wales coherent law, justice and administration.
historical interpretations on extent of change in Wales.
Acts of union
[Owen Morgan Edwards, an academic historian and specialist in Welsh history, writing in a history
textbook, A Short History of Wales (1906)]
The Tudors betrayed their countrymen, for in their policies lay the destruction of the nation. The
relationship between England and Wales before the Union was that of a master and servant but
after the Union it changed into one between an owner and a slave.
[John Bowie, Henry VIII (1964)]
In 1536 Henry had created new shires and boroughs, all now represented in the English parliament. English law had superseded tribal custom… those unable to speak English were excluded from the office… most of the people accepted these measures since they were intensely loyal to the Tudor dynasty and felt that Henry had their interests at heart.
The increased threat after 1568
Mary Queen of Scots
Relations between Elizabeth and MQoS were linked with the issue of Religion and the succession.
The Catholic Mary had incurred the wrath of both the Protestant lords and the English through her marriage to the Earl of Darnley – led to her fleeing to England in 1567/68.
From the time she fled south until her execution in 1587, she posed a continuous problem to Elizabeth, since some English Catholics saw her as the rightful monarch and she became the focus of plots to
overthrow Elizabeth.
