Size, support and frequency

Question 1

What did the rebellions range from?

Answer 1

As small as four rebels in the 1596 Oxfordshire rising to as many as 40,000 in the 1536 Pilgrimage of Grace

Question 2

What happened to the size of the Cornish rebels?

Answer 2

Grew in size from a few thousand to 15,000 as they travelled east

By the time they reached Blackheath 5000 rebels had deserted

Question 3

What happened to the size of the Pilgrimage of Grace?

Answer 3

Some of the 30,000 rebels in Lincoln joined the Yorkshire movement

Different groups targeted particular towns, numbers ranging from 3000 at Hull to 20,000 at York

40,000 rebels once the groups converged on Pontefract

Question 4

What happened after 1536 and give examples:

Answer 4

Rebellions were smaller affairs

16,000 protestors at Norwich in 1549

Wyatt had 3000 supporters

6000 followed the northern earls

Essex mustered no more than 300 men

Question 5

What was O’Neill’s uprising and why?

Answer 5

A surprise that he was able to rally 6000 troops

Irish rebellions comprised a few hundred men at most

Question 6

What were the most serious revolts and why?

Answer 6

Those that attracted noble and foreign interest

Nobles were the natural leaders in society; could call on servants and tenants, had finances to fund an army, and had access to military equipment

Troops sent by foreign leaders were battle-hardened mercenaries and the English could not be sure when and where they might strike

Question 7

What happened fortunately in most cases?

Answer 7

Promises of foreign assistance failed to materialise

Question 8

When did rebellions of this nature occur?

Answer 8

At the beginning and end of the Tudor period

Question 9

What happened in the Lovel and Stafford rebellion?

Answer 9

They were unable to get enough support from their retainers before Henry suppressed their conspiracies

Question 10

What happened in the Simnel rebellion?

Answer 10

Had greater support, which ranged from Irish nobles and bishops to English nobles and clerics and German mercenaries, who were funded by Margaret

Question 11

What happened in Warbeck’s rebellion?

Answer 11

Support came from disaffected Yorkists keen to remove Henry, merchants unhappy at trade embargoes, and renegade Scottish, Irish, and Flemish adventurers

Included Lord Fitzwater, steward of the royal household, and Sir William Stanley, lord chamberlain

When Warbeck landed in Cornwall, he gathered 6000 men - none was a noble or a gentleman

Question 12

What was the involvement of the nobles in Northumberland’s rebellion?

Answer 12

Had the support of aristocrats like the earls of Oxford and Huntingdon, and lords Grey and Clinton

More nobles rallied to her defence

His army of 2000 deserted

Question 13

What was the involvement of the nobles and foreigners in Wyatt’s rebellion?

Answer 13

Had expected the Duke of Suffolk, James Croft, Peter Carew, and French troops to support his uprising but none transpired

Relied on the county militia and gentry, like Henry Isley, George Harper, and Thomas Culpepper, and a host of minor gentry and their tenants

Only two leading Kentishmen, Lord Abergavenny and Robert Southwell, were openly loyal to the government

Question 14

What was the involvement of the nobles and foreigners in the northern earl’s rebellion?

Answer 14

Failed to attract any major noble family

None rose in Lancashire, Cheshire, or Cumberland

Some of Neville’s tenants were reluctant to get involved

Relied on disaffected gentry

Spanish support never materialised

Question 15

What was the involvement of the nobles and foreigners in Essex’s rebellion?

Answer 15

Had more noble support than any other rebellion

The earls of Southampton, Sussex, and Rutland, lords Cromwell, Mounteagle, and Sandes, and twelve deputy lieutenants gathered with their servants

Received no help from Scotland and Ireland

Didn’t get any support from the mayor, sheriff, and City of London

Question 16

Where did most of an Irish earl or clan claimant’s support come from?

Answer 16

Their tenants and Catholic clergy, who were loyal to their landlord and faith and opposed to all things English

Question 17

What happened in 1580 and 1601?

Answer 17

Spanish tried to exploit the situation in Irish by sending troops to assist revolts in Munster

Question 18

What was the situation with demonstrations against government policies

Answer 18

Often attracted support from a range of lower social groups

Fewer attracted noble or gentry interest

Question 19

What rebellions solely consisted of commoners?

Answer 19

The Amicable Grant and Oxfordshire rising

Question 20

What was the case with the Amicable Grant and how does this compare to the Oxfordshire rising?

Answer 20

4000 peasants, artisans, and unemployed people gathered in Suffolk

Royal councillors and the Archbishop of Canterbury sympathised with the complaints

Oxfordshire rising had neither sympathy nor support, and without their financial backing or involvement, had no hope of success

Question 21

What happened with the Oxfordshire rebellion?

Answer 21

Most of the servants of the gentry lost their nerve when the uprising began

30 men were rounded up and all were local workers and tradesmen

Question 22

What support did the Cornish rebellion have?

Answer 22

A peer, a lawyer, and a blacksmith

Had 44 parish priests, several abbots, monks, and local gentry

When it reached Somerset, 22 gentry, four sheriffs, three MPs, and four abbots were among the 4000 rebels who enlisted

Majority were urban artisans and peasant farmers

Question 23

What support did the Western rebellion have?

Answer 23

Eight priests, several JPs, two mayors, gentry such as Arundell and Winslade, and a large number of farmers, labourers, artisans, and itinerant unemployed people

Attracted no noble support

Question 24

What support did Kett’s rebellion have?

Answer 24

No major landowner

Support came from small tenant farmers, lesser gentry, rural workers, and and unemployed craftsmen

Question 25

What rebellion reflected the greater degree of social variety and why?

Answer 25

The Pilgrimage of Grace

Among the leading nobles were Sir Ingram and Sir Thomas Percy, Lords Darcy and Hussey, George Lumley, John Neville, and Lord Latimer

Question 26

What happened regarding leadership of the POG and give an example?

Answer 26

Revolts were started in 1536 by lower orders and parish clergy but leadership and control soon passed to the gentry and important families

Dymokes and Willoughbys led the Lincolnshire rising but it began at the hands of ‘Captain Cobbler’ and the local clergy

Question 27

What made the POG unique?

Answer 27

The high-profile involvement of the commons, clergy, gentry, and lesser nobles at every stage of the revolt

Many became captains

Question 28

What gentry claimed they were threatened but what did most have?

Answer 28

Sir Christopher Hilyard, John Hallam, and Robert Bowes

Ulterior motives for their involvement

Question 29

What were the motives of the leading gentry?

Answer 29

The Willoughbys resented the Duke of Suffolks’s acquisition of family lands

Sir Ingram Percy had been disinherited

Lord Darcy of Pontefract was out of favur with the king

Question 30

When did most rebellions occur and why?

Answer 30

At the beginning of the period

The Tudor dynasty was very vulnerable

Question 31

Why was the summer of 1497 a critical time and what did the Spanish ambassador remark?

Answer 31

England was at war with Scotland

Battle of Blackheath

Warbeck was laying claim to the throne

‘had the king lost the battle he would have been finished off and beheaded’

Question 32

What did politically important groups do and where did issues of major concern come to be aired?

Answer 32

Saw the benefits of allying with the ruling family and turned away from rebellion as a means of solving their problems

Court, in council, and in parliament

Question 33

What gave Elizabeth a lot of trouble?

Answer 33

Ireland

Question 34

What were most of the disturbances that faced Henry VIII, Edward VI, and mary I?

Answer 34

A reaction to their religious and economic policies

Question 35

How many serious rebellions did Mary I and Elizabeth I face?

Answer 35

Two, one of which enabled her to secure the throne

1 in the north

Question 36

Why did rebellions decline in frequency?

Answer 36

Dynastic and political factors lost their impetus as the Tudors removed pretenders and claimants

The Elizabethan Church settlement of 1559 was a moderate policy that satisfied most groups. Terms not strictly enforced

Socioeconomic problems peaked in the 1540s

Question 37

What happened during the reigns of Mary I and Elizabeth I?

Answer 37

Poor and unemployed people were helped rather than punished

JPs and lord lieutenants kept a closer eye on local tensions and tried to overcome potential difficulties before they got out of hand

People were encouraged to resolve their problems by peaceful means