Chapter 2 - The nature of rebellions

Question 1

Did Tudor rebellions threaten the government?

Answer 1

• Size and support
• Leadership
• Objectives
• Location
• Government response
• Ireland

Question 2

How did a rebellions size and support threaten the government?

Answer 2

The size and support a rebellion received could prove too large for the government to confront directly and, if it had the backing of English nobles or foreign princes, the threat was very serious.

• The Cornish, Amicable Grant, Pilgrimage of Grace, Western, Kett, and Northern Earls all raised forces larger than the government, and could not be easily dispersed.
• Simnel and Warbeck gathered fewer troops but acquired the support of foreign rulers and, in the case of Simnel, several English and Irish nobles.
• This rebellion was probably the most threatening because the king had to fight a battle in person to keep the crown.
• Also without noble support: most likely to fail, in the 1486 rebellions, Lovell and the Stafford brothers were unable to get enough support from their retainers before Henry suppressed their conspiracies.
• Essex’s rebellion shows importance of foreign support, as he had more noble support than any other rebellion. Essex received no external help, and resulted in failure.

Question 3

How did a rebellions leadership threaten the government?

Answer 3

• Dynastic revolts needed to be led by a suitable Royal claimant: Simnel claimed to be the Earl of Warwick, Warbeck claimed he was the Duke of York and LJG was a great granddaughter of Henry VII.
• Legitimacy was important. Henry VII found it difficult dealing with pretenders because of his weak claim to the throne.
• Northumberland was always likely to fail as Mary Tudor was the legitimate daughter of Henry VIII.
• Any protest that claimed authority needed noble as its leader: The Cornish in 1497 looked to Lord Audley, and the Yorkist rebels (1536) besieged Lord Darcy in his castle at Pontefract to enlist his support
• As the period advanced, the Tudor nobility became less inclined to indulge in treasonous activities and rebel leaders came from the gentry, lawyers or clergy: The revolts in Lincolnshire and the Pilgrimage of Grace were notable for the large number of county gentry who either supported or led rebel groups and in Norfolk, Robert Kett, a minor landowner, assumed control.

Question 4

How did a rebellions objective threaten the government?

Answer 4

A rebellion’s objective largely determined its potential threat.

• Politically motivated disturbances, such as Simnel, Warbeck, Wyatt, Northern Earls and Essex, were dangerous because they planned to overthrow the monarch - could not allow to be successful
• Economic & in particular taxation grievances stood a greater chance of success e.g. Yorkshire 1489, Cornish 1497 and Amicable Grant 1525.
• Rebels telling monarchs what they must do e.g. demands of Western & Kett rebellion in 1549, Northern Earls 1569 & Essex 1601 were unlikely to be successful.
• Religious rebellions were largely unsuccessful.
• Most rebellions were local affairs intent on registering a protest against government policies and ministers rather than seeking to overthrow the monarch.
• Governments were never seriously challenged if they stayed calm.

Question 5

How did a rebellions location threaten the government?

Answer 5

• Most disturbances and rebellions occurred in the more distant parts of the kingdom: the northern and south-western counties, East Anglia and the provinces of Ulster and Munster in Ireland.
• In the early years of Tudor rule, Yorkist areas were likely to present difficulties, and Lovel in Yorkshire and the Stafford brothers in Worcester in 1586 tried to rouse these areas against the king.
• The south-western counties simply resented government interference in their daily life
• Cornwall had a strong cultural tradition and resisted intrusions into its political affairs.
• Should a rebellion approach London – as in the Cornish, Wyatt and Essex revolts – the safety of the government was threatened.
• However, London proved consistently loyal and, providing the government held its nerve, the citizens were likely to support it.
• Neither Wyatt nor Essex could rally the people against two potentially vulnerable rulers, and Mary Tudor secured the throne because London has backed her against Lady Jane Grey.
• Irish rebellions could rumble on for some time but were not a direct challenge to the regime because of the distance from London.

Question 6

How did Government response reduce a rebellions threat?

Answer 6

• A mixture of propaganda, persuasion and threats usually kept the nobility and clergy on side, and the rebels either lost interest in a protest or went home confident that changes would follow.
• All governments played for time until they were in a position of strength.
• Once they felt strong enough to exact reprisals, they isolated rebel groups and picked off the leaders.
• If they made a bargain or offered concessions, it was because they felt temporarily vulnerable but they had little intention of keeping promises made under duress.
• Measures taken by Mary and Elizabeth meant the poor and unemployed were helped rather than punished
• JPs and Lords Lieutenant kept a closer eye on local tensions and endeavoured to overcome potential difficulties before they got out of hand, and people were encouraged to resolve their problems by peaceful means rather than by acts of lawlessness and violence.

Question 7

How did rebellion in Ireland threaten the government?

Answer 7

Only in Ireland did the Tudors have some difficulty in suppressing disturbances.

• The absence of permanent garrisons
• The harsh terrain which made fighting very tough
• The growing unpopularity of government policies contributed to an increase of ill feeling between the native Irish and the English administration and settlers.
• Irish rebellions did not present a serious threat to the government or the monarch.
• However, Irish nobles and clergy could destabilise political affairs in Ireland.
• They invaded England in Henry VII’s reign to support Simnel, and some Irish received support from Catholic Spain in Elizabeth reign.
• Only in the 1590s did the Tudors view the Irish as a serious threat, partly because of the size and widespread support in Ireland for O’Neill’s rebellion, but mainly because its potential to receive assistance in Spain threatened national security.
• The Irish Channel protected England and Wales from disturbances across the water and ensured that what was “out of sight” stayed largely “out of mind”.

Question 8

Were dynastic rebellions successful?

Answer 8

None of the dynastic rebellions achieve their goals and only Mary succeeded in removing a government in situ. Indeed, these rebellions were always going to fail as long as the government held its nerve.

Question 9

Were economic and social rebellions successful?

Answer 9

• The withdrawal of the Amicable Grant was a successful result and this was because several councillors alerted the king to the likely consequences if he did not comply.
• The Yorkshire and Cornish tax rebellions discouraged Henry VII from making any further novel demands.
• The Edwardian government also made concessions. It responded to the 1549 rebellions by repealing the Subsidy Act, passing Enclosure and Tillage Acts, and enacting poor law legislation, all of which was designed to assist the Commons.
• Concern raised by the Oxford rebels in 1596 saw the privy Council restore land under tillage and initiate prosecutions against illegal enclosures.

Question 10

Were Religious rebellions successful?

Answer 10

• Protests against religious changes in 1536 (the Pilgrimage of Grace) may have deterred Henry VIII from implementing further Protestant reforms, however they also arguably motivated him to begin the dissolution of larger monasteries
• The repeal of the Statute of Usage, which was one of the pilgrims’ requests, occurred in 1540.

Question 11

Were political rebellions successful?

Answer 11

• Complaints by northern rebels in 1536 and 1569 (Northern Earls’ rebellion) led to changes in the composition of the Council of the North
  • Only one rebellion resulted in the overthrow of a leading politician. Ironically, it was the Duke of Somerset who, of all the Tudor ministers, wanted so desperately to help the rank and file in times of social and economic crises.
  • However, his overthrow was more the result of privy councillors reacting to his neck policies and failure to suppress widespread revolts.