Edward VI Flashcards
How were prices affected in the 1540’s?
The 1540’s were a time of accrue price inflation
How was the population size developing?
The population was increasing more quickly than agricultural production
How much did real wages fall by in the 1540’s?
Real wages fell by 50% in the 1540s
What were the effects of debasement of coinage?
Debasement continued to fund the war against Scotland
It raised £537,000
Added to social distress
What was the state of cloth exports?
Cloth exports were sluggish, perhaps due to the impact/disruption caused by war
When was Somerset’s anti-enclosure commission?
1548
Was there any social legislation?
1547 brief-lived poor law mandated slavery as a punishment for vagrants who refused employment
When was Somerset’s sheep tax introduced?
1548-9 aimed at deterring enclosure - angered landowners
What title did Sebastian Cabot received under Edward?
Sebastian Cabot was appointed Governor to Company of Merchant Adventurers
What happened to the sterling exchange rate?
The debasement of coinage led to the exchange rate of the sterling falling.
Northumberland attempted to repair the damage in 1551 with limited success
How did Northumberland boost the economy?
He abandoned Somerset’s garrison policy on the Scottish border
What was the English population?
Almost 3 million by 1550
How were the nobility treated?
Society remained under aristocratic domination
There was a judicious use of patronage as Somerset and Northumberland could not afford to alienate the nobility or gentry
