Edward Flashcards
Which two rebellions took place during Edward’s reign?
Western Rebellion + Kent’s Rebellion
When did the Western Rebellion take place?
June 1549
What were the two main causes of the Western Rebellion?
Religion + Economy
What were the religious causes of the Western Rebellion?
Protestantism
Abolition of prayers for the dead
Destruction of Church images
Act Of Six Articles repealed
Services in English
New Prayer Book (catalyst event)
Why was the aboution of prayers for the dead a big deal for Catholics?
Crucial Catholic belief - Souls were now in peril
Who destroyed Church images?
William Body (hated figure)
What was the Act of Six Articles?
The Church’s official doctrine
When was the New Prayer Book introduced?
June 10th 1549
What economic factors caused the Western Rebellion?
Taxes on sheep and cloth - generated rumours about other taxes
Food prices
Info on taxes on sheep
Introduced in 1548
Portrayed gvmt as uncaring + ignorant
When were economic factors most important in the Western Rebellion?
Early stage of rebellion - featured in first set of demands
What were the trigger events behind the Western Rebellion?
William Body (commissioner investigating church property in the country in 1547) destroyed church images and was murdered for it. Important - built up resentment (even though Devon gentry quashed the uprising)
Introduction of New Prayer Book on June 10th 1549 ( Whitsunday) - People in Sampford Courtenay (tiny village in Devon) provoked by their priest’s use of the Prayer Book on Whitsunday
What were the initial events of the Western Rebellion?
Protestors assembled in Bodmin, Cornwall under the leadership of Humphrey Arundell (local gentleman)
Compiled first list of demands (with greater emphasis on economic demands)
Joined forces with Sampford Courtenay on June 20th after marching to Devon
How did the gvmt try to deal with the Western Rebellion?
Initially left the rebellion in the hands of local gentry (common practise for minor rebellions) - many tried but all eg. 10th Sir Hugh Pollard, 12th Hellyons (beaten to death), 21th Sir Peter Carew (Protestant)
Somerset was too busy to deal with the rebellion himself as he was already:
- Suppressing enclosure in the Midlands
- Maintaining forces on the Scottish border
- Watching out for the French
Lord Russell sent by Somerset to reach a peaceful settlement on June 29th BUT only given a small army so avoided confrontation.
Russell makes last attempt to reach a settlement on July 8th before approaching violently after pressure from Somerset.
Somerset piles on even more pressure on Russell to finish the job after France declared war on England on August 8th
Russell defeats rebels + Arundell on August 16th
What were the results of the Western Rebellion?
~3000 casualties
Robert Welsh, vicar of church of St Thomas + probably ringleader hanged
Deepened hostility towards gvmt who:
- Executed without trial (Illegal)
- Confiscated + redistributed property
Why was the Western Rebellion NOT a threat to the monarchy?
Not a direct threat - Main goals were to force the gvmt into reversing religious reforms. No plan to overthrow the monarchy
No foreign support and lacked nationwide support as almost all support was gathered from the West Country
Why WAS the Western Rebellion a threat to the monarchy?
Strong leadership - Arundell was a strong leader and good tactician. He was organised and divided the rebels into military groups
Relatively large rebellion - by June rebels numbered 6,000
Slow reaction from gvmt who were preoccupied with religious reforms, foreign matters (France + Scotland ), economic issues, and enclosure riots in the Midlands
When did Kett’s Rebellion take place?
Summer 1549
What were the general causes of Kett’s Rebellion?
Economic
Political
Social
Religious
What were the economic causes of Kett’s Rebellion?
Increasing rent
Rising food prices
Inflation
Enclosure
Why did rents trigger Kett’s Rebellion?
Landlords tackled inflation with rack-renting. Rents increased to extortionate levels for tenant farmers and were enforced through threat of eviction
Why did rising food prices trigger Kett’s Rebellion?
Grain prices increased particularly, which was notable because it was important for making bread and was a staple part of the diets of the masses
Caused starvation in towns and the countryside - trigger for violence
Why did inflation trigger Kett’s Rebellion?
By the middle of the century inflation had doubled - result of heavy taxation under Henry VIII to pay for wars
Value of people’s wages was less so they could afford less food (particularly detrimental coupled with rising food prices
Why did enclosure trigger Kett’s Rebellion?
Fewer jobs - less people needed to look after sheep than till the Iand
Common land now couldn’t be used for people to graze their own animals or supplement their diets by trapping rabbits and picking berries
What were the political triggers for Kett’s Rebellion?
Rebels saw Somerset as being on their side due to his policies against enclosure - gave people confidence to rebel as they believed they had the protector’s support
Bad government in East Anglia - Inability to resolve local problems so rebels appealed directly to the central gvmt
Rebellion led by people just outside the governing class - ambitious for power?
What were the social triggers for Kett’s Rebellion?
‘Class war’ between landowning gentry class and their tenants - gentry blamed for the suffering of their tenants (enclosure + rack-renting) which resulted in depopulated villages, unemployment, vagrancy, and hunger
Hatred of particular individuals - First fences and hedges to be uprooted were those of John Flowerdew (lawyer and landowner known for his greed who oversaw the demolition of Wymondham Abbey)
What were the religious triggers for Kett’s Rebellion?
Calls for more competent and involved clergy
- Concern over poor quality of priests and failure to fulfil their duties
- Requests that they do more to educate the poor + act as priests for the whole community, not just the gentry
Rebels had Protestant beliefs
- Encouraged by writings of Ridley+ Latimer (who wanted fairness for the commons)
- Demand for congregations to choose their own clergy
Why was Kett’s Rebellion NOT a threat to the monarchy?
Not aiming to overthrow the monarchy or march on London - protesting against the gentry class and actually believed the monarchy was on their side
As the rebellion was Protestant it supported the religious change under Edward
No foreign support
Why WAS Kett’s Rebellion a threat to the monarchy?
Kett was a strong leader - rebellion was well-organised
Widespread support, 16,000 rebels
Slow gvmt reaction due to preoccupation with foreign countries eg. Scotland
What was the government’s response to Kett’s Rebellion?
21st June: York Herald offered a a full pardon to those who dispersed - many wanted to accept but Kett rejected it, insisting they had committed no crime
30th July: Somerset sent small army of ~1800 under the command of the Marquis of Northampton. They occupied Norwich and (unsuccessfully) attempted negotiating with the rebels, but Kett fought back and recaptured Norwich.
Northampton’s interference had actually worsened the rebellion and created a crisis - point where the protest turned into a rebellion.
23rd August: Northumberland (Earl of Warwick at the time) arrived outside Norwich with 12,000 men
27th August: Northumberland (supported by an extra 1,000 foreign mercenaries) slaughtered 3000 rebels and arrested Kett
What significance did geographical location have in the outbreak of Kett’s rebellion?
East Anglia was the most densely populated and highly industrialised part of the country. After London, Norwich was the 2nd biggest city in the country and a major textile centre.
A collapse in the textile industry had, however, thrown large numbers of cloth workers out of work, and many independent small farmers were being badly affected by the enclosure of wooded pastoral areas by gentry and yeoman farmers
What effect did the rebellions of 1549 have on Somerset’s fall from power?
The coup which removed Protector Somerset was made directly possible by Somerset’s handling of the rebellions - Failure to quickly crush the rebellions + Somerset’s support of anti-enclosure measures had (disastrously) earned him the reputation of ‘friend of the commons’
Northumberland’s successful military suppression of Kett’s Rebellion added to his own political credibility and status, which he used to gain extra support for his bid to become ruler in January 1550
Why, in general, were the rebellions of 1549 NOT a threat to the gvmt?
Virtually no attempt at cooperation or synchronisation between the isolated uprisings - Some uniting of forces within regions (eg. Devon + Cornwall joined forces) but no attempts at cross-regional cooperation
Not directed at the gvmt or monarch + no attempt to march on London
Gvmt was always in control of its forces and was never in danger
Significant lack of aristocratic and gentry leadership
Why, in general, WERE the rebellions of 1549 a threat to the gvmt?
In some cases (notably Norfolk, Devon + Cornwall), local gentry failed to deal with the uprisings and the central government had to intervene
Gvmt struggled to raise troops (difficult+ expensive). Russell had to raise troops from distant counties and the gvmt had to employ foreign mercenaries
Somerset had to bring troops back from Scotland to assist in the crisis - marked the end of his policy of guarding the Northern border to protect against Scotland
Overall, how significant were the uprisings of 1549?
Pushed England into a difficult position in regard to foreign policy - Need for troops forced Somerset to tone down his policy of garrisoning (defending) the Scottish border + France took advantage of England’s internal domestic turmoil by declaring war in the summer
Resulted in the overthrowing of Somerset, a well-established ruler.
Significant loss of life - around 10,000
Mobilised tens of thousands of angry commoners across the country and took the gvmt’s resources near to breaking point
BUT, rebellions weren’t threatening in a political way and didn’t aim to overthrow any member of the gvmt or ruling family
