Society Flashcards
what was the border relationship between wales and England until 1536
Before 1538 wales was a separate territory from England, though in practice it was under English control
what changed after 1536 with wales
Wales became a single unified administration and had a formal political link with England
what act joined wales and england politically
Laws in Wales Act 1536
what did the laws in wales act do
Divided wales into shire countries which operated on the same basis as their english counterparts
Gave welsh shires direct representation in the House of Commons
Brought wales under the same legal framework as England
what did the Laws in Wales act mean for wales
It meant that wales became incorporated into England with little of a separate identity except for the use of the Welsh language in some parts of the country
why was the border with scotland difficult to police
Much of it was remote
why was the council in the north established
Because the north posed problems of governance as it was far away from London, this was demonstrated particularly strongly with the huge number of supporters of the pilgrimage of grace 1536
where was the council of the north based in
York
functions of the council of the north
Legal and administrative functions
how did the council of the north show itself to be useful
It showed its worth by helping to keep the north quiet during the summer of rebellions in 1549
why was there large social discontent
Henry broke with rome and became head of the church and there was little popular support for the changes
who was executed for denying royal supremacy
Thomas More
why did the dissolution cause major discontent
Monasteries were an important feature of the pre-reformation church. Cromwell’s dissolution began in 1536 and his royal injunctions of 1536, attacked many of the traditional practices of catholicism such as pilgrimages. This lead to fears that these reforms might be accompanied by an attack on parish church
social impact of religious upheaval - crown lands
- A huge amount of land was removed from the church and taken by the Crown. This theoretically should have made the king more powerful. However, the expensive foreign policy led to the widespread sale of monastic land at knockdown prices to pay for war, thereby increasing both the size and wealth of land holding gentry.
how much of the monastic land had been sold off and by when
by 1547, almost two thirds of the monastic land acquired by the crown had been sold off
social impact of religious upheaval - functions lost
Many monasteries had bee noted for their educational provision, with the dissolution the education provision was lost
social impact of dissolution - unemployment
Nuns and monks were unemployed. Nuns suffered the most as priests received pensions
social impact of dissolution - community
Some monasteries played a very considerable role in the communities in which they were situated, they provided education, employment and business opportunities such as Durham
what did some communities do in response to dissolution
Dissolution was seen as a disaster and some communities went to considerable lenghts to try to protect their monasteries
example of a community going to great lengths in response to dissolution
At Hexham, Northumberland, royal commissioners were prevented from beginning the process of dissolution by a gathering of armed men
arguments that dissolution did not cause social change
Modern historians think it did not though it depends on the historian’s religious view.
Only 1500 out of 8000 monks failed to find jobs in local churches
The situation for the poor was already bad, the dissolution didn’t cause any significant issues
Gentry and JPs did well from the sale of land which improved their social status
Rebellions under Henry VIII
Amicable Grant Rebellion 1525
Lincolnshire rising and Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion 1536
motives for the amicable grant rebellion
Resistance to taxes to pay for foreign wars
where did opposition to the Amicable grant start
Opposition was geographically widespread but the strongest resistance occurred in North Essex and South Suffolk
how many people gathered for the Amicable grant and where
1000 people gathered at the Essex-Suffolk border, determined to resist payment
how many more people did the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk face
4000 resisters
what group in particular resisted the Amicable Grant
Unemployed cloth workers who found it hard to pay the levy
the outcome of the Amicable grant rebellion
The king backed down due to Wolsey’s plea for pardon
what did the amicable grant rebellion demonstrate
The rebellion demonstrated that Henry could not operate in defiance of the tax-paying classes
what did Henry do as a result of the Amicable grant rebellion - war
When he attempted to invade France he supplemented the war with ordinary revenue and cash from the sale of monastic land
what has the Lincolnshire rising and pilgrimage of grace been described as
The single biggest rebellion in the history of the Tudors
where did the POG start
It started in Lincolnshire in October 1536
how did the POG spread
After starting in Linc, it spread over the Humber into the East Riding of Yorkshire. Another militant rebellion started in Ripon and spread into Cumberland, Westmoreland and North Lancashire
what was the difference between the rebels in Ripon and those in Lincolnshire
The rebels in ripon were more radical and hostile towards the gentry
what did the rebels in Ripon demonstrate
Class antagonism
how did the rebels in Ripon demonstrate class antagonism
They resented their landlords and they sent out letters in the Name of captain poverty
general cause of the POG
huge resentment about radical religious change that most ordinary people could not sympathise with or understand
what can the motives of the POG be divided into
Religious
Secular - Economic, Social Political
evidence that the POG had religious motives - 6
- The name alone suggests that the rebellion had religious roots in Henry VIII’s Reformation
- Dissolution of the monasteries - dissolution had a number of effects which many people found undesirable - the loss of educational and charitable functions, the loss of gold plates and jewels, the loss of parish churches which may have been on monastic land
- Their leader, Robert Aske was a convinced supporter of the monasteries
- Worried about the control over the King by religious heretics
- The rebels wore banners which depicted the 5 wounds of Christ
- The importance of the monasteries to the rebels can be seen in their attempts to restore some of the suppressed houses
evidence that the POG had religious motives - fear for traditional religious practices
The 1536 injunctions drawn up by Cromwell were seen as an attack on traditional religious practices such as the celebration of locally important saints like St Wilfrid in parts of Yorkshire had been discouraged and pilgrimages had been discouraged
Rumours that church plate would be confiscated
Worried about the control of religious heretics like Cromwell and Richard Rich
why was Cromwell the focus of popular anger
The 1536 injunctions attacked many traditional religious practices
secular motives
- Ordinary people were generally more motivated by economic grievances including the resentment of taxes and enclosure than their leaders. Cromwell had passed the subsidy act demanding the collection of £80,000 to pay for the war, they also faced poor harvest the year before
- Crown’s attempts to impose the Duke of Suffolk - a southerner as a magnate of Lincolnshire may have started the rebellion in Linc
- Elton argues that the rebellion may have started as a court conspiracy prompted by councillors who were supporters of Catherine of Aragon, they wanted to restore Mary as heir - these courtiers were able to exploit the religious and financial concerns of the rebels to put pressure on the King
- The extension of the rebellion into Cumberland and Westmoreland has been linked to tenants’ grievances about rent increases
- A couple of the demands were social like the need for independence and the dislike of the gentry
- Rebels demanded a parliament in the north
- Rebels demanded the removal of Cromwell and Cranmer as they were seen as protestant heretics wrongly advising the king
- Fear of the North being improvised due to monastic land falling into the hand southerners.
why is it difficult to pinpoint a singular motive for the rebellion
It was geographically widespread
arguments against the idea that the rebellion was motivated by secular (economic) issues
Though they resented enclosure there was no widespread pulling down of fences
Fewer than 10% of the rebels were directly affected by Cromwell’s subsidy act as you had to be worth more than £20 to pay it, it was not a complete tax on the peasants
what was the rebels articles of protest called
Pontefract Articles
key demands from the Pontefract articles
Article 4 - ‘the suppressed abbeys to be restored to their houses, lands and goods’
Article 9 - lands should be by tenant rights
Article 13 - statute for enclosure should be put in execution
Article 14 - to be discharged of the taxes granted by parliament
Level of threat
40,000 rebels bigger than the royal army
Had the rebellion not been quashed quickly they would have gotten support from nobles sympathetic to the cause which would have led to a civil war
Got support from a key noble - Lord Darcy - lord of the Pontefract castle
The rebellion was geographically widespread, had lots of disparity in issues, and had no single united front which weakened it
Being geographically widespread could mean lots of threats from different places that could not be easily controlled - far from control
Due to henry’s shrewdness, the threat was negated
why did the Linc rebellion collapse quickly
Duke of Suffolk dealt with them aggresively
what caused great alarm to the King and his ministers
When the rebels occupied York, hull and captured the Pontefract castle
who was sent out to suppress the rebels and what did he meet
An army was sent out under the Duke of Norfolk when he reached doncaster he was highly outnumbered
what did Norfolk do to defuse the rebels
He promised that the rebels would be pardoned, the dissolved monasteries would be restored and a free parliament would be established, though the king had no intention of honouring those promises however it did mean that most of the rebels were dispersed due to those promises
why did the Duke of Norfolk go back on his promises
He went back on his promise when rebellion renewed in the East Riding and Cumberland in Feb 1537.
what was done by the crown in response to the renewed rebellion
The Duke of Norfolk quickly suppressed them, declared martial law and hung 74 rebels, though after the initial harshness he behaved mercifully and he acted with a concern for legal process
what happened to the rebel leaders
The leaders Hussey, Darcy and Aske were brought to London, tried and executed
political sucess of the POG
Though parliament in york was never called the council in the north was revived and it included former rebels. They had the authority to hear legal cases and it gave the north a sense of legal and political independence
limitations of the POG
The king agreed to a parliament in York to hear the rebels’ grievances but it was never called
Council in the north included mostly gentry and nobility with few ordinary rebels
Henry remained head of the church
Dissolution continued
Attacks on catholic practices continued like the ban on pilgrimages
POG did not slow down the pace of religious changes in fact it accelerated it
why was Henry fortunate in relation to the suppression of rebels
He was fortunate that the Duke of Norfolk showed common sense and flexibility
