Mid- Tudor crisis: Rebellion and unrest 1547-58

Question 1

What specific social and economic problems were there especially for commoners?

Answer 1

Population rise –> put pressure on resources.
Between 1525 to 1551 the pop rose from 2.3 m to 3m

Inflation and rising prices
–> worsened due to debasement of coinage under Henry in order to finance wars.

Influenza

Poor harvests–> drove the price of food up

Problem worsened by enclosures

• ->less land available for crops so less food being produced
• -> less people needed to look after the sheep so worsened unemployment rate

Poverty –> dissolution of the monasteries meant there was no one to take care of the poor.

Question 2

What is an enclosure?

Answer 2

The putting up of a fence or hedge around common land.

Many of the peasants saw the rich people as taking the common land away and using it for their sheep instead of crops which led to unemployment.

Question 3

1547 Vagrancy Act

Answer 3

Condemned vagrants to slavery for 2 years for a first offense and for life for a second offense.

Question 4

What actions did the elites take to try to deal with these social and economic problems?

Answer 4

–> Somerset’s decision to look into the problem into the enclosure’s should have showed the peasants the gov was acting

–> However, the peasants questioned why they didn’t just take immediate action against enclosures rather than just waiting for a report

Question 5

What was the Western Rebellion, what caused it and why did it fail?

Answer 5

Western rebellion 1549

• Protest against religious policies
• -> Restoration of the old prayer book, belief in purgatory to be restored and transubstantiation

–> Often the demands were drawn up by the clergy, so it appears as though the rebellion was about religion

• However, it was likely more to do with social and economic issues
• Fighting against the sheep and cloth tax which would have hit places like Cornwall particularly hard.
• • They had their own identity and own language (cornish)

 Maybe it was more about class warfare 
--> Cornish rebels attacked and robbed the gentry at Bodmin.

Question 6

Arguments that suggest that perhaps the Western rebellion was religiously motivated?

Answer 6

• In 1548 a protestant sympathiser had been killed as he was supervising the destruction of images.
• In 1549 in a country town in cornwall protestors protested against the Act of Uniformity.
• In Devon locals objected to the use of the new Prayer Book and insisted priest said mass according to the old custom.

Question 7

What caused Kett’s rebellion?

Answer 7

• Began due to enclosures
• Rising rents
• Gentrys manipulation of local government for personal gain
• unemployment –> worsened by the decline in the cloth industry
• They also wanted better protestant preachers and further reform.

Question 8

Evidence Ketts Rebellion Was serious:

Answer 8

Rebels were able to defeat Northumberland.

There was a large number of rebels 16,000

Over 3000 rebels were killed

Troops had to be brought back from Scotland to control the rebels

Question 9

Evidence Ketts Rebellion Was not serious:

Answer 9

There aim was not to remove the monarch

Rebels did not march on London

They lacked support from nobility or gentry.

Question 10

Evidence Western Rebellion was serious:

Answer 10

They had aggressive demands

Over 3000 rebels were killed

Troops had to be brought back from Scotland

Question 11

Evidence Western Rebellion was not serious:

Answer 11

They did not aim to remove Edward.

Rebels did not advance on London

They failed to take the regional capital (Exeter)

They lacked support from nobles and gentry.

There was a failure to cooperate with other risings.

Question 12

How serious was the threat from Northumberland and Lady Jane Grey to Mary?

Answer 12

Lady Jane Grey did manage to become Queen, however, the legitimate monarch did prevail.

Question 13

What caused Wyatt’s rebellion?

Answer 13

• The impending marriage of Mary and Philip
• Hatred of foreigners
• People were scared court would be dominated by spaniards.
• People were scared Mary would be dominated by her husband and Philip would drag England into the Habsburg wars.

Question 14

How serious was Wyatt’s rebellion?

Answer 14

Wyatt was able to reach the gates of London and had his plans not been delayed perhaps Mary would not have had the time to raise her own forces

Question 15

How did Wyatt win support?

Answer 15

He played on peoples fears of the arrival of the Spanish

Question 16

Marys speech

Answer 16

Mary made a speech in London during Wyatt’s rebellion in 1554.

Mary was able to use her gender to her advantage, saying she loved her subjects and country like a mother loves her children and that she was married to England.

Question 17

How was John Proctor influenced in his writings about Wyatt’s rebellion?

Answer 17

He wrote a contemporary account of the rising, however, he wanted to portray the rising as religiously motivated and diverted attention away from the unpopularity of the marriage.