KETTS REBELLION Flashcards
What was enclosure and why was it a source of discontent
-enclosure involved landlords enclosing common land for personal use (often sheep farming), this restricted acess to land for poor tenants leading to poverty and vagrancy
-it reduced acess to land for grazing animals and made it harder to grow crops due to lack of manure
-landlors engaged in enclosure as they sought higher profits from wool trade (the prices were rising), leading them to enclose land and evict tenants
how did the government respond to the problem of enclosure
government action was generally ineffective as landlords often ignored regulations and enforcement was weak (allowed enclosure to continue to fuel social and economic tensions)…
1489- Act of parliament attempted to regulate enclosure
1517- wolsey issued a commission to investigate illegal enclosures
1533- Sheep and Farms act (limited sheep per farmer to 2,400 and allowed engrossing- merging farms- but only for 2 farms
1545- sheep tax introduced to discouragelandlords from expanding flocks
what was rack-renting and why was it controversial
-landlords rapidly increased rents to make it unaffortable to tenants (LEAD TO EVICTION AND RURAL POVERTY)
what were entry dines and why did they cause discontent
-fees tenants paid when renewing land leases
-landlords used them to increase profits, placing economic strain on poorer tenants
how did enclosure effect east anglia differently from other regions
complains varied per region..
SHEEP-CORN FARMING AREAS
(NW suffolk north Norfolk)
-landlords relied on tenants land for grazing sheep under foldcourse rights, so tenants went to enclosure land for protection
-tenants enclosed land to protect it from landlords sheep
WOOD PASTURE REGIONS
(central suffolk, ne norfolk)
-landlords enclosed common land which prevented tenants from farming/ grazing
-economic distress
how did tensions about enclosure contribute to ketts rebellion
-rebels saw enclosure as a direct cause of economic hardship and sought to restore acess to common land
-sheep farming was dominant in east anglia so land disputes were a key source of socio-economic tension (rebels wanted to limit landlords control over grazing rights and land acess)
who were the commonwealth men and why were they significant
-politicians, clergymen with belief that encloure caused poverty, unemployment, and vagrancy
-e.g…
JOHN HALES- gov official who wanted social reform
ROBERT CROWLEY- writer crticised landlord greed
HUGH LITIMER- bishop of Worcester who preached about duty to adress poverty
-their ideas influenced protectoor somerset leading him to investigate illigal enclosure
-their messages spread to common people which influenced the aims of 1549 rebels
what was the primary cause of poverty in Tudor England
-huge population growth between 1525-51 rose from 2.3 m to 3m increasing pressure on food supplies and jobs
how did enclosure worsen economic issues
-landlords enclosed land for sheep farming and reduced land available to tenants
-sheepfarming needed fewer workers (rising unemployment)
-poor lost acess tp common land making survival harder
what key economic crisises effected tudor england in 1540s
-poor harvests (1545 and 1549), food shortages and rising prices
-Boom in wool trade (encouraged lanlords to enclose sheep for sheepfarming as wool trade was more competitive)
-debasement of the coinage (led to severe inflation
how did debasement of coinage worsen economic hardship
-gov melted coins and mixed them with cheap metals to fund wars
-reduced the value of money leading to inflation
-poor people suffered
how did somersets gov try to deal with enclosure
-increased land for tillage (crop farming)
-introduced 1549 sheep tax (discoue=raged landlords from switching to sheep farming)
how did economic and social issues lead to rebellion
-economic harship and unemployment led to resentment against landlords
-enclosure took common land
-commonweakth men’s ideas encouraged rebels to demand fairer land use
-somersets failed policies (sheep tax and vagrancy act) worsened discontent
-lead to rbell=s demanding an end of enclosure and restoration of common land rights in 1549
what were somersets views on enclosure and how did he personally act agains it
VIEWS
-was a protestant so believed social reform was necessary to help the poor
ACTION
-passed private parliamentary bill to protect copyholders on his own estates
-appointed john hales to oversee gov reforms on socio-economic issues
john hales key attemps at reform
-tried to pass bill 1548-49 encouraging socio-economic reform, but failed due to opposition from landed elites in parliament
-only success: introduced a new tax on sheep 1549
what were somersets enclosure commissions and why did they fail (and somersets response)
-made them to investigate illegal enclosure
-1548 COMMISSION FAILED..
-only one commision (midlands) went ahead
-found little evidence of illegal enclosure (due to landlord obstruction)
-landowners refused to cooperate
in response somerset took up direct action and ordered the ploughing up of illegal enclosure (targetting land owned by Thomas Howard, duke of norfolk, and John Dudley, Earl of Warwick)
1549 commissions by somerset
-ordered illegal enclosures to be destroyed BUT this wasn’t legally allowed
how did somersets enclosure commissions provoke gentry and nobility
-many nobles and gentry opposed somersets actions as they profitted from enclosure
-they became the first line of defence against rebellion (which was bad for somerset as he relied on them for support in gov so he became vunerable
How did somerset’s policies encourage rebellion
-commons thought somerset were on their side as he was supportimg poor against landlord greed, seen as the ‘good duke’
-hardship in 1540s increased resentment to landlords
-somersets enclosure commissions sent a message that local action against enclosure was condoned (encouraging rebellion)
main causes of ketts rebellion
-economuc and social crisises of the late 1540s
-enclosure riots (in essex and east anglia)
-gov instability (in 1549 many gentry and nobility were summoned to windsor castle, leaving regions vulnerable)
-got inspiration from somersets enclosure commissions, which gave rebels the impression they had gov support
John Flowerdew role in starting rebellion
-was a landowner who enclosed common land and demolished part of wydondham abbey (despite town opposition)
-rioters attacked his property first (he then tried to redirect them to robert kett but this backfired)
why did Robert kett become the leader of the rebellion (and where did they establish their base)
KETT LEADERSHIP
-admitted to enclosing land and ordered his own hedges to be torn down
-gained trust of rebels and took leadership
-led an anti-enclosure movement that soon escalated
BASE
-kett annd rebels established base at Mousehold heath overlooking Norwich (became a centre for rebel organisation)
ketts march on Norwich (why and reaction)
WHY DID THEY MARCH ON NORWICH
-second largest city after London
-there was a huge economic divide (6% of the population controlled 60% of land and goods), rebels could exploit resentment
PUBLIC REACTION
-many locals supported by destroying enclosures
-other rebel camps were created in norfolk and suffolk
-local gentry were overwhelmed
why did the mayor and council of Norwich initially cooperate with kett
-rebels outnumbered them
-council tried to maintain peace by supplying food to rebels
-truce lasted until 21st July when gov messanger arrived