‘The Tudors were never seriously threatened by popular rebellion.’ How valid is this claim?

Question 1

Intro

Answer 1

• Tudor gov were not threatened because of key factors such as aims, support, organisation and location of rebellions.
• Further helped by constraints e.g. nobles upheld the law and provided the militia.
• The church, treason laws, traditions and customs are important in maintaining order & stability.
E.g. Northumberland & Essex failed.
• BUT - Tudors had no police or standing army
• Communication links poor - nobles could go rogue - instability in the regions.
- Added to valid aims and well organised rebels- some rebellions threatening e.g. Pilgrimage of Grace.

Question 2

Not threatened - Rebellions failed to attract widespread support

Answer 2

• Most people felt that the aims weren’t worth it.
E.g. undermining the crown - Lovell & Stafford’s 1486. Wyatt 1554.
• Most people did not want to fight/ die - too much to lose
E.g. Warbeck 1490s, Northern Earls 1568-70.
• Foreign support put off English rebels
E.g. Simnel 1487, Warbeck 1490s.
• Rebellions were too localised/ regional to gain wider support
E.g. Ireland, West country, Wyatt
- No desire to link up with other disaffected areas or to broaden their appeal.

Question 3

Not threatened - The forces of the crown deterred rebels

Answer 3

• Use of the Law - acts of attainder, treason laws under Henry VIII & Elizabeth I;
• Determination of the crown - use of bonds and recognizances by Henry VII;
• Use of punishment & retribution - HVII & Mary lenient: HVIII, Edward & Elizabeth vindictive.
• HVII – rewarded loyalty. Bound men under surety of good behaviour & imposed bonds. Anxious to appease subjects and avoid excessive reprisals. e.g Simnel spared.
• HVIII – vindictive dealing with PoG - Lots including Aske executed 1537. Harsh on clergy – meant to set example.
• Edward VI – After Western determined to silence western counties. 100 rebels hanged.
• Mary – LJG, Northumberland & close associates executed. LJG and others imprisoned. Wyatt 600 pardoned, 71 executed.
• Liz – Oxfordshire, extensive arrests, no more than 20 men were involved. Leaders imprisoned, tortured & killed.
• Ireland, many punishments excessive and barbaric. Geraldine Rebellion, massacred entire garrison. Head of Earl of Desmond on display in London.

Question 4

Not threatened - Nobility maintained order

Answer 4

• Nobles were the means of control on the ground along with - Lords Lieutenants, Lords Presidents, sheriffs, JPs.
• Monarchs needed to have a good relationship with the nobility – get kinsmen in key positions e.g. Butlers of Ormonde in Ireland, Elizabeth used Hunsdon in the North in the 1570s.
• Nobles could be a controlling influence e.g. Lord Derby during the PoG
- Nobles provided force to suppress rebellion.
However could also be a source of instability - limited powers of nobles.
1487 – Star Chamber Act established additional legal powers to deal with nobles
After 1487 – Act of Livery and Maintenance limits number of servants and private armies

Question 5

Not threatened - Propaganda kept people in their place

Answer 5

• Deference, custom, hierarchy, - great chain of being a very effective suppressor of rebellion.
• Commons unwilling to rise up and fight the crown e.g. Yorks in PoG 1536- reason why they dispersed.
Northumberland failed 1553: Mary the rightful heir.
• Loyalty towards the Tudors explained failure of Oxfordshire 1596, Essex 1601.

Question 6

Were threatened - Nobility did not always maintain order

Answer 6

• Could be a source of instability e.g. Kildare 1534, Percy family, Essex 1601
• Had to be in noble’s interest to contain the unrest. E.g. Amicable Grant 1525
• Some express dissatisfaction through joining rebellion e.g. Essex 1601, Simnel 1487, Northern Earls 1569.
Later - use of Elizabethan Parliament to express dissatisfaction with govt policy esp. on religion
• The Church occasionally encouraged- Catholic rebellions in 1536, 1549, 1569 & in Ireland.