Changes In Tudor Society Flashcards
Introduction
1525– 2.26 million, 1591–3.89 million
– Improvement in living standards led to earlier marriages, a rise in birth rates. higher fertility rates and lower death rates
– in the Elizabeth period there was a more rapid upward trend in population
– Population increase put pressure on local and national resources so poverty increased.
– there was more pressure on food resources which led to price inflation.
– there was also pressure on the job market especially in the countryside which led to rural urban migration
The dissolution of the monasteries (POSITIVES)
CROWN
- Gained £1.3 million worth of land
– By the 1540s 2/3 of the land had been sold to fund Henry’s wars (£800,000)
NOBILITY/GENTRY
– MAJORITY OF LAND WAS BOUGHT BY THE GENTRY AND NOBILITY AND THIS WAS THEN CONVERTED INTO COMMERCIAL FARMING.
– RUSSELL FAMILY BOUGHT AND USED THE LAND TO ESTABLISH THEMSELVES AS IMPORTANT LAND OWNERS
POSITIONS IN THE CHURCH
- Abotts and priors given pensions or found another role within the church
- Monks given smaller pensions and found other jobs
- Henry founded 6 new bishoprics and cathedral churches and colleges at Oxford and Cambridge
Enclosure (POSITIVES)
– Enclosures were carried out by landowners, the gentry and nobles.
- Driven by the need to increase their income as they were under pressure from inflation.
– change in land use was from arable farming to sheep farming to exploit larger profits from the land because of the value of the cloth trade and because it needed less labour
– Landlords also engrossed land (buying and merging farms)
Towns/Urbanisation (POSITIVES)
– London saw the largest growth but smaller towns also grew due to the expansion of the cloth industry, New trade routes and the influx of migrant workers. This caused a growth of artisans of small traders and merchants (entrepreneurial class)
– Kent, Norwich and Colchester also benefited from the migration of skilled workers. Other towns also began to grow specialising in certain industries:
Newcastle – coal mining
Birmingham – iron industry
Manchester – linen industry.
