Western Rebellion and Kett's Rebellion (Somerset) Flashcards
When was the Western Rebellion?
-June-August 1549
Why was there a rising in Devon and Cornwall? (WR)
-the Western Rebellion has traditionally been called the prayer book rebellion->the rebellion was religiously motivated
-religious tension during the time of the rebellion
Who was William Body and what happened to him? When? (WR)
-a local Archdeacon (senior Clergy position) and Protestant sympathiser
-in 1547 he was attacked
-in 1548 he returned to supervise the destruction of images but he was murdered at Helston
What was the impact of William Body’s murder? (WR)
-10 people were hung which resulted in resentment
Where did riots happen as a result of the prayer book being introduced? (WR)
-prayer book was introduced and riots followed in Bodmin under Arundell
Where did more people rebel after a new service was introduced and where did they join? (WR)
-at Whitsun in Devon people rebelled after a new service was introduced and marched to Crediton where they joined Arundell
Who was sent by Somerset and what was a result of this? (WR)
-Carew sent in by Somerset and made things worse and accidentally burnt barns
What did the rebels do instead of marching to London and how long did they siege it? (WR)
-instead of marching to London the rebels captured Exeter and led to a siege over 6 weeks
Who was Carew replaced with and how much of a force did he have? (WR)
-Carew replaced with Russel who had a force of 100
What happened in August 1549 of the Western Rebellion?
-by August further government forces forces arrived and relieved Exeter
-later in August the royal army then defeated the rebels who had regrouped at Sampford Courtenay
What was the main cause of Western Rebellion?
-they dislike the religious changes being made as they were Catholic
What were the causes of Western Rebellion besides religion?
-destruction Chantries
-inflation
-prices of wheat went up
Why did the Western Rebellion take place? When?
-1549
-people in poverty were angered by the New Common Prayer Book and all the changes made as Cornwall and Devon were very Catholic
What religion were Devon and Cornwall? (WR)
very Catholic
How powerful was the leadership? (WR)
-it was very powerful until the decision about Exeter was organised
-lack of support from nobles->poor leadership->not able to rally support
How widespread was support in England? (WR)
-support of 6,000 but confined to West country
-no support from Exeter
Did the rebels plan have a chance of success? (WR)
-yes if they had marched on London
Was the danger increased by a weak or slow reaction from the government? (WR)
-didn’t move quickly->Carew was replaced by Russell
-Somerset was never going to give in over religion
How was the Earl of Arundel involved in the Rebellion? (idk which rebellion)
-he met the rebels face-to-face at Arundel Castle
-he set up tables at the courtyard, fed the rebels and found out the causes of their grivances
-when he discovered the gentry were at fault he ordered them to mend their ways
-the rebels then dispersed
What were nobility and the gentry like at the beginning of the Western Rebellion?
-either absent or unable to act due to the scale of the unrest
What was the government not aware of at first? (WR)
-the scale of the problem in the West Country
-unaware that the rebels from Sampford Courtenay had joined with the Cornish
Why were forces which were sent diverted and what did this result in? (WR)
-on their way they were diverted to put down disturbances in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire->considerable time before a large force arrived in the West
Did it take one battle or multiple battles to defeat the rebels? (WR)
-it took a number of battles to beat the rebels
When were the rebels defeated? (WR)
-16th August after around 3,000 rebels were killed
When was Kett’s Rebellion?
-July- 27th August 1549
What was lacking in London during the time of Kett’s Rebellion?
-no standing army
What was the Earl of Warwick’s involvement in Kett’s Rebellion? Who was he?
-John Dudley
-was sent to massacre the rebels
What were the causes of Kett’s Rebellion?
-enclosures
-rising rents
-unemployment
-poverty
-inflation
-dislike of the gentry and landowners (class conflict)
-fishing rights
-decline in the cloth industry
-wanted England to be more Protestant
Who was the leader of Kett’s Rebellion?
Robert Kett
Where did Kett’s Rebellion take place?
Norwich, East Anglia (Protestant area)
What did Kett’s Rebellion start as?
-as an enclosure riot in the Norfolk towns in Attleborough and Wymondham
What did Flowerdew do to anger the rebels and who was he? (KR)
-rioters were angered by the local lawyer John Flowerdew->he started to demolish the chantry part of the local abbey church he bought and enclosed other land
What was Flowerdew’s response to the riots and how did it backfire? (KR)
-Kett had also enclosed land-> Flowerdew tried to attempted to turn the protesters against him ->Kett was able to assume leadership of the unrest
How many supporters was Kett able to gain in a short period of time and what did they do (as their first step)? (KR)
-16,000
-marched towards Norwich and set up camp on the outskirts of Mousehold Heath
What did local forces do as a result of the rebels setting up camp on the outskirts of Mousehold Heath? (KR)
-they were unable to disperse the rebels and they offered a pardon twice but that also failed
How many pardons did local forces give the rebels? (KR)
-2
What did the rebels seize? (KR)
-Norwich
How did the government respond to the rebels seizing Norwich and what happened? (KR)
-it forced government to act and they sent 14,000 troops under the Marquis of Northampton->his forces were defeated
How many troops did the government send to try and defeat the rebels due to them seizing Norwich? (KR)
-14,000
Who was sent to try and regain control over Norwich and what did it lead to? (KR)
-Earl of Warwick (John Dudley) was sent->led to the massacre of around 3,000-4,000 rebels at Dussindale
What did the rebels draw up while at camp in Mousehold? (KR)
-a wide-ranging list of 29 demands
What were the rebels agricultural demands? (KR)
-saffron (valuable crop) grown in the area around Saffron Walden
-complaints about gentry manipulation of the foldcourse system (gentry grazed their sheep on the peasants’ fallow and unsown land)->had been exploiting this privilege by extending the time when they can graze their sheep
-common land->gentry had been putting large numbers of sheep onto common land->forced many peasants off common land
-fishing rights->wanting fishing rivers to be open for all->also made demands about coastal fishing industry
What were the rebels economic demands? (KR)
-rising rents->landowners attempt to put them up due to the effects of hyperinflation
What were the religious grievances of the rebels? (KR)
-Protestant demands->new prayer book being in English not Cornish ->wanted moves towards Protestantism to be more fast paced
What were the social grievances of the rebels? (KR)
-the rebels attacked the nobles and gentry as landlords but they also attacked the running of local government->criticising the officers of the Court and Wards and local officials who would use their position to make gains in the land market
-the rebels were very conservative in their demands->accepting the rights of the gentry to keep doves and rabbits but complained when people below the gentry in the social order did
How were the rebels conservative in their demands? (KR)
-the rebels were very conservative in their demands->accepting the rights of the gentry to keep doves and rabbits but complained when people below the gentry in the social order did
How did this view of conservatism be challenged by an article? (KR)
-appears to call for the ending of serfdom which still practised in some of the Duke of Norfolk’s estates
What social divisions did the rebels have? (KR)
-unlike the Western rebels it appears the rebels demands reflected their grievances-> supported their actions=show similar dislike for the gentry
-dislike of the gentry and those running the local government was reflected in the establishment of an alternative system on the Mousehold Heath
How did leaders show their maintenance of discipline? (KR)
-leaders showed through their maintenance of discipline at a series of camps in East Anglia->maintain order and prevent mob rule
In what way where the rebellions causes similar?
-caused primarily by religious changes, economic developments and enclosures
-in both rebellions 2 leaders were sent to try and stop the rebellion
How was Kett’s Rebellion different from Western Rebellion?
-it became more violent
-demands were more Protestant
->they wanted the Edwardian reformation to move faster
How powerful and effective was the leadership of Kett’s Rebellion?
-somewhat effective leadership-> Kett was forced to rush decisions leaving the well-defended camp at Mousehold to Dussindale
How widespread was support in England for Kett’s Rebellion?
-16,000 rebels->more support than Western Rebellion
-lack of support from the gentry
-held power in Norwich for 3 days
Did the rebels plan had a chance of success (KR)?
-yes if Kett hadn’t left Mousehold
Was the danger increased by weak of slow reaction from the government (KR)?
-government had to send a large force of 12,000 men and the Earl of Warwick->led to 3,000 rebels killed
How were the rebels punished? (KR)
-Kett was hung and 49 other rebels were executed
How threatening were the rebellions overall?
-they were quite threatening
-they threatened key changes that the government had made
-government used force twice in both rebellions and resulted in killing rebels
-were offered a pardon twice and it didn’t stop them
How many areas of unrest were there in 1549?
-25
How many rebellions were there in 1549?
2
What is the difference between unrest and rebellion?
-a rebellion is where the government responds
What was Somerset’s reputation like?
-poor as he wasn’t helping people who needed it
-both rebellions were due to changes he had made which caused him to loose popularity
Why did the rebellions in 1549 fail and were they a threat to the government?
-class hostility increased
-other disturbances were easily put down by the local gentry or nobility but Kett and Western rebellions led to full scale rebellions
-the government was already vulnerable due to war with Scotland and France so forces were on standby or in battle->not enough forces to help put down the rebellions
Why did the Western rebels receive harsher treatments than Kett’s?
-the larger number of uprisings stretched the government’s capacity
-the government was forced to abandon its policy in Scotland and to use full scale military force against its own people->attempt to disperse the rebels by offering pardons but when that didn’t work they had to use force
How much of a threat were both rebellions?
-had the potential to cause serious problems for the government but the amount of forces they had was no match for the rebels
Which rebellion was more threatening?
-Kett’s rebellion because the government had to use more force when trying to put it down
-the rebels had multiple bases which shows that they were organised whereas the Western rebels were unable to take London and Exeter
-the Western rebellion failed to cooperate with other risings which meant they didn’t have much support whereas Kett’s rebellion did
