Edward VI Flashcards
Initial problems
- Too young to rule in own right
- Factionalism
- Religious differences
- Depleted crown finances
- Rising inflation & falling income
- Income from monastic lands lost
Henry’s plan for the succession
26 Dec 1546 altered succession -
reintroduced Mary & Elizabeth
Planned for balance regency council
of 16 members
Actual succession
Sir Denny (reform faction)
used dry stamp to alter Henry’s will
strengthen power of regency council
One clause gave council
power to award gifts
Henry indented to make before death
Edward Seymour (Hertford) used to seize power
as Edward’s Protector
& reward own supporters
Hertford took title Duke of Somerset
Key rivalry
Somerset & Northumberland
Northumberland = John Dudley
(Viscount Lisle, Earl of Warwick)
Somerset & Northumberland’s wrestle for control’
- Somerset declares himself Lord Protector
arrogant & dictatorial style of gov made many enemies - Thomas Seymour & Earl of Southampton(Wriothesely)
plotted against Somerset - unsuccessful
discredits Somerset
Seymour executed - Wriothesely betrayed him & readmitted to council
3.1549 rebellions weakened Somerset
Dudley & Southampton plot to remove him
Somerset fled London with Edward
forced surrender Oct 1549 & arrested
returned to council Apr 1550 - not in charge
- Dudley in position of power in council
purged remaining conservatives inc. Southhampton
Feb 1550 promoted Lord President of the Council - 1551 Dudley awarded Duke of Northumberland title
involved Edward more in gov & invited council meetings - Somerset accused plotting to regain power
arrested Oct 1551 & executed Jan 1552
Foreign policy aims - Somerset
- Secure marriage of Edward & Mary Queen of Scots
- Secure alliance with France
- Secure French agreement not intervene Scottish affairs
- Ensure dominance over Scotland
Battle of Pinkie
Sep 1547
Henry II took over French throne - more aggressive
Henry II renewed Auld Alliance
sent fleet of warships & 4000 troops to Scotland
Somerset launched land invasion
22,000 men, 30 warships & 50 supply ships
Scottish army poorly equipped - defeat south of Edinburg
Somerset controlled boarder region - set up forts/garrisons
could not make further gains
Garrisons expensive to maintain
Failed to control strategically important castles - Edinburg/Firth of Fourth
French still able to supply Scottish army
Cost £600,000
Gained some south Scottish land
Mostly strengthen Franco-Scottish relations
Foreign policy aims - Northumberland
- Cut expenditure
- Secure alliances with France & Scotland
Treaty of Boulogne
1550
Peace treaty with French
Terms:
1. England return Boulogne
French pay £133,333 compensation
had been expensive to maintain
2. Remove garrisons & troops from Scotland
3. English-Scottish boarder returned to 1542 position
4. Perpetual peace alliance
5. Marriage of Edward & Henry II’s daughter
Relations with Charles V
Angered by closed English-French relations
Opposed increasingly radical religious reforms
Considered English invasion 1551
Response Northumberland put trade embargo on sale of cloth to Netherlands
By June 1552 Charles improved relations for economic reasons
Financial policy - Somerset
War in Scotland cost £600,000 1547-49
Put immense pressure of Crown finances
£300,000 financial deficit by 1550
Foreign policy paid for by debasement of the coinage
raised £500,000 1547-51
Dissolution of Chantries may have financial motives
Crown effectively insolvent
Taxation policy - Somerset
1548 Subsidy Act
1p tax on each sheep
1/2 p tax on each pound wool exported
had little impact on crown finances
1549 introduced tax on personal property
also unpopular
1549 rebellion partly caused by unpopularity of policies
Social & economic policy - Somerset
1520-1550 food prices doubled
wages were stagnant
exacerbated by debasement of the coinage
Sharp decline in wool trade after 1551 Antwerp crash
bad harvests led to greater hardship
Somerset favoured anti-enclosure polices
appointed Enclosure Commission
to stop/reverse policy
origin of reputation ‘friend of the poor’
1547 Vagrancy Act
stated able bodied people out of work for 3 days
would be branded
children could forced to be sent to work as apprentice
harsh but rarely used
Nature of Somerset’s government
Somerset granted himself quasi-Royal powers 1547
own household officials dominated gov
often by-passed Regency Council
Used Royal Proclamations
to increased own power & reduce factionalism
Issued 71 proclamations
Finance & taxation policy - Northumberland
Sir William Paulet appointed Lord Treasurer 1550
Took advice from experts
William Cecil & Walter Mildmay
Aimed to
reduced expenditure, increased income & clear debts
Planned to issue recoinage 1551
not carried out until 1552 due to Antwerp Crash
Repealed Subsidy Tax of 1548
Poverty policy - Northumberland
1552 New Poor Law
made parishes legally responsible for
raising money to look after
‘deserving’ poor
(each had different approach - inconsistent)
Sponsored Voyage of Discovery from 1552
way of expanding & promoting trade
(high risk - no guarantee of discovery)
Policy to reduce expenditure - Northumberland
Ended costly war
Treaty of Boulogne 1550 received £133,333 from France
Mildmay led Commission
enquire into national finances
(not back until Mary’s reign)
resulted introduction of new accounting methods
(similar to Henry VII’s use of Chamber)
more efficient & less corrupt system collecting revenue
Debts reduced
£300,000 in 1550
£180,000 in 1553
partly funded by selling Chantry buildings
critics called plundering church
Northumberland’s style of government
Sought advice from key councillors
eg. William Cecil
Expanded council to 33 members
Weakened gov to assert own authority
Removed opposition (less balanced)
eg. Earl of Southampton & William Paget
Somerset re-admitted 1551
removed & executed 1552
1550 Treason Act
re-imposed censorship
helped restore law & order
helped end social discontent 1547-49
Religion background
1547 20% people in London Protestant
Government approach to religion
Somerset’s policy was cautious
Archbishop Cranmer was also cautious
Northumberland’s policy was more radical
Causes of religious change
- Role of monarch
- Role of men in gov
- Influence of others
eg. Hooper, Luther, Zwingli & Calvin - Financial motives
Book of Homilies & Paraphrases
July 1547
New book of homilies to be put in every church
One of which based on Luther’s idea of
justification by faith alone
Book written by Erasmus put in every church
In almost every parish church by 1549
Steven Gardiner & Bishop of London
objected & arrested
Royal injunctions
July 1547
All clergy preach in English
& English bible in every church
superstitious images removed from churches (iconoclasm)
Chantries Act
Nov - Dec 1547 meeting of Parliament
Ordered closure of all chantries
3000 chantries, 90 colleges & 110 hospitals closed
Unease & opposition
feared without prayer for souls of dead
remain in purgatory
Act of Six Articles repealed
Nov - Dec 1547 meeting of parliament
Act had re-established some Catholic practises
Effectively left church without official doctrine
Treason Act repealed
Nov - Dec 1547 meeting of parliament
removed old heresy, treason & censorship laws
allowed discussion of religion freely
led to rapid spread of radical ideas
All images to be removed from churches
Feb 1548
Iconoclasm continued
Most visible change for church goers
Royal Proclamations
April - Sep 1548
Only authorised clergy could preach
No new ideas could be preached
unless liturgy approved
First Book of Common Prayer
1549
Services in English
Communion in both ways (ambiguous/transubstantiation)
Kept all but 2 sacraments
Allowed clerical marriage
Worship of saints discouraged
Traditional vestments to be worn in Church
Fasts & holy days remained
Second Book of Common Prayer
Jan 1552
Denied transubstantiation
No traditional vestments to be worn
Stone alters replaced with communion tables
Restriction on music
Act of Uniformity
April 1552
Became offence to not attend CoE services
punishable by fines & imprisonment
Issuing of the 42 Articles
June 1553
Established justification by faith alone
Gave first encounter with Calvinist idea of
Predestination
Radically Protestant
Delayed by council
issued weeks before Edward’s death
immediately removed by Mary
Form basis of Elizabeth’s 39 Articles
Causes of Western Rebellion
April 1548 William Body was murdered
had been tasked with removing images from church
sparked local protest - mostly over iconoclasm
Introduction of Book of Common Prayer in 1549
citied as main reason
religious grievances ran deeper
wanted reversal of all religious reform
Cornish leaders demanded
restoration of Catholic doctrine & practises
Resentment gentry gained land from monasteries closure
Impact of debasement & inflation
Increased enclosure
Farm labourers resented sheep tax
Extent of threat of Western Rebellion
Gathered at Crediton in Devon
before advanced to Exeter & set up camp
Challenged by local JP & dispute escalated
Made no attempt to march beyond Devon
waited for King’s troops to march to them
Somerset underestimate seriousness
Troops stationed in north to defend against Scotland
and along coast
Coincided with Kett Rebellion
divided royal forces further
Lord Russell had to rely on
foreign mercenaries to defeat rebellion
Many lacked central genuine purpose
reflected desperation of poorest classes
Causes of Kett rebellion
Bad harvests
Rapid prices rises
Resentment at gov officials profiteering from absence of strong king
Resentment at poor administration of local landowners - powerful Howard family
Anger at enclosure
Demands for dismissal of inadequate clergy
Extent of threat of Kett Rebellion
Gangs May-June 1549 tore down hedges
to break enclosure
Robert Kett landowner agreed to end enclosure
Did not march to London
instead camped outside Norwich
ran mostly peaceful campaign
Kett claimed 15,000 men would stand if army attacked
Captured Norwich in July
Dudley set out to meet rebels
27 August defeated
army included foreign mercenaries
4,000 dead from both sides
no change to enclosure/local gov
Revealed huge weakness in gov
gave Somerset’s critics opportunity to strike
Succession crisis
Edward died 6 July 1553
Mary next in line to throne
Northumberland & Edward
plotted to place Lady Jane Grey on throne
Lady Jane Grey married Guildford Dudley
Northumberland’s son
June 1553 Edward declared Mary/Elizabeth illegitimate
↓
Edward drafted will signed by 102 nobility
leaving succession to Grey & her heirs
Known as Devyse
↓
Edward died before devyse ratified by parliament
↓
Northumberland proclaimed Grey queen 9 July 1553
↓
Mary gathered catholic supporters & nobility in Norfolk
↓
Northumberland summoned 2000 troops
Members of army/navy proclaimed support for Mary
↓
Council proclaimed Mary queen 19 July 1553
↓
Northumberland proclaimed Mary queen 20 July 1553
↓
Northumberland executed for treason Aug 1553
↓
Grey held prisoner
executed for treason 1554
after later rebellion
