The Social and Economic Reasons for Rebellion Flashcards
What was enclosure blamed for by contemporaries?
The growth of poverty and vagrancy in Tudor society
Why was the practice of enclosure common in the South East and the Midlands?
Because it could be used for arable or sheep farming
What was the common land used for?
It was shared by all for the growth of crops and the grazing of animals
What did the practice of enclosure aim to do?
To create larger profits from the land, rearing sheep for the cloth trade could bring financial opportunities made necessary by rising inflation
Why was sheep farming attractive?
It needed little man power and could bring large profits an lead to large scale enterprises
How did enclosure affect commoners?
They were reliant on the land for their animals and their crops and could no longer grow enough food to survive
What was engrossing?
Merging two or more farms together
What was rack renting?
Where landlords rapidly increased rents so that tenants were unable to pay in order to evict them
Who was most vulnerable to enclosure?
Copy hold tenants - leases open to challenge and the landless who needed the land to survive
What legislation was put in place in 1489 to counter enclosure?
1489 - Act of Parliament to regulate enclosure
What did Thomas Wolsey do in 1517 concerning enclosure?
Issued a commission of inquiry into illegal enclosures
What did the 1533 Sheep Farms Act do?
Tried to restrict the number of sheep kept per farmer to 2400, engrossing was allowed but only of 2 farms
What was introduced in 1549 to further regulate sheep farming?
A tax on sheep to restrict the size of flocks and discourage landlords from turning to sheep farming
What were entry fines?
Placed economic pressure on tenants, improved landlord profit margins
Were these economic concerns new?
No, rebels in the Pilgrimage of Grace had complained about enclosure, rack renting and entry fines
Could enclosure be beneficial for tenants?
Yes, dependend on the region’s rural economy, East Anglia was dominated by sheep farming meaning it negatively impacted commoners
Why was enclosure a benefit in the East and North West of Suffolk and the North of Norfolk?
Sheep farming provided the necessary manure for crops to be fertilised with as the soil was light meaning plants struggled to grow
Why did foldcourse make the situation more complex in the East and North West of Suffolk and the North of Norfolk?
Tensions arose when landlords challenged their tenants rights to enclose as landlords used foldcourse to graze their sheep on the tenants’ land
How did concerns differ in Central Suffolk and South East of Norfolk?
The area was more densely wooded and the soil was heavier making it hard to find suitable areas to grow crops - enclosure seen as a nuisance
Why did the commonwealth men criticise enclosure and who were they?
Politicans, clergymen and intellectuals - strong reformer faith - saw enclosure as a public nuisance and a fundamental source of poverty
How did the commonwealth men express their dislike for enclosure?
Gov official John Hales, writer Robert Crowley and Hugh Latimer - Bishop of Worcester preached about the need for social reform and the need to control enclosure
How did the commonwealth men influence the Duke of Somerset?
He introduced commissions of illegal enquiry
How did the commonwealth men influence commoners?
They could hear about and understand the idea about the need for a more just society and the greed of landlords; influenced rebel aims and actions in 1549
Why were the commonwealth incorrect about the real causes of poverty?
Population growth - pressure on the job market, wages fell and prices rose, as demand and inflation increased, enclosure made it worse but wasn’t the cause
What economic crises did England face in the 1540s?
1525-1551 population grew from 2.3 million to 3 million - became harder to ensure an adequate food supply = high prices = hit poorest = pressure on land = enclosure
What did a larger population mean in terms of unemployment?
Increased competition for jobs and increased unemployment, led to vagrancy and begging
What exacerbated these problems in the 1540s?
Poor harvests in 1545 and 1549 made food shortages worse
What did the Duke of Somerset do?
He was the protector and passed a private parliamentary bill to protect copyholders on his own estates from enclsoure
Who did Somerset appoint and why?
John Hales to oversee gov reform of socila and economic problems
What did Hales do?
Tried to introduce a series of bills encouraging social and economic reform - all failed because parliament represented the interests of the landed elites
What did Hales and Somerset do together?
Introduced a series of commissions that were to inquire into illegal enclosures and report the evidence back to the government
What was a weakness of Hales and Somerset’s commissions?
They did not have the power to order illegal enclosures to be taken down or to punish those found to be in breach of the law
How did the 1548 failure of the commissions not deter Somerset from taking action?
They took direct action against illegal enclosures by ordering the ploughing up of the land e.g Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk’s land and a park belonging to the Earl of Warwick, John Dudley
What did Somerset introduce in 1549?
New enclosure commissions where they were told that illegal enclosures could be destroyed but this was illegal
What consequences did the enclosure commissions have?
It alienated the landed gentry and nobility who were the targets and meant that they wouldn’t support Somerset in a rebellion but it got the commons on Somerset’s side
What suggests that enclosure wasn’t actually to blame?
Only a 2% increase in 1500-1600, by Elizabeth’s reign, only 9% of land was enclosed
