Wyatt's Rebellion

Question 1

when was Wyatt’s Rebellion?

Answer 1

-1554 after Mary’s Marriage Treaty was announced on the 14th January

Question 2

Who was the leader of the rebellion?

Answer 2

-Sir Thomas Wyatt who was from a prominent family in Shire

Question 3

What were the causes of Wyatt’s Rebellion?

Answer 3

-xenephobia
-it happened shortly after Mary’s Marriage Treaty was announced by proclamation
-the rebels didn’t want Mary to marry a foreigner
-people were scared that Mary’s interests in England would be preoccupied by Spain
-some rebels didn’t want to see a Catholic Restoration
-there had been a decline in the Cloth Industry in Kent (where the rebellion started)->led to economic hardship
-there was also political instability in Kent and younger gentry feared that Philips presence at court might adversely affect their career opportunities

Question 4

Where did the rebellion start?

Answer 4

-Kent

Question 5

What struggles were happening in Kent?

Answer 5

-decline in the cloth industry led to economic hardships
-political instability->younger gentry feared that Philip’s presence at court might affect their career opportunities

Question 6

What did some gentry begin to discuss the possibility of engineering in the autumn of 1553?

Answer 6

-some gentry at court (some MPs) began to discuss the possibility of engineering a protestant succession->Mary would be deposed and Edward Courtenay would marry Princess Elizabeth who would become Queen

Question 7

What plan was concluded in December 1553?

Answer 7

-plans were concluded for co-ordinated rising in Kent, Herefordshire, Devon and Leicestershire on March 18th 1554

Question 8

When did the emperors commissioners arrive in England to begin doing?

Answer 8

-December 17th 1554
-to begin negotiations on the Marriage Treaty

Question 9

When was the Marriage Treaty announced by proclamation and what was the cause?

Answer 9

-14th January
-provoked earlier action on the Marriage Treaty than the rebels had planned

Question 10

Who got wind of the plot and what happened and what did it lead to?

Answer 10

-Renard
-Courtenay was made to confess all he knew->3/4 locations did not raise supporters but in Kent Wyatt raised 2,500 armed men

Question 11

Who was Renard?

Answer 11

-Spanish Ambassador to Charles V

Question 12

How many supporters did Wyatt raise in Kent?

Answer 12

2,500 armed men

Question 13

Who was chosen by the government on the 29th January 1554 to stop Wyatt’s men? What was a result of this?

Answer 13

-the Duke of Norfolk who was chosen by the government to stop Wyatt’s men was forced to return to court when his troops were persuaded to join the rebels
-Duke of Norfolk’s men were persuaded to join Wyatt’s men

Question 14

Where did Wyatt eventually reach on the 3rd February?

Answer 14

-the Thames at Southwark

Question 15

Where did Wyatt lead his troops to on the 20th February? What was a result of this?

Answer 15

-Wyatt led his troops about 20km West to Kingstron
-were stopped at Lugate (half a km away from the Queen in the Tower
-Wyatt and his supporters were forced to surrender and ask for mercy

Question 16

How far away from the Queen were the rebels when they were stopped?

Answer 16

-half a km away from the Queen who was in the Tower

Question 17

How many rebels were executed?

Answer 17

-90 (including Wyatt)

Question 18

What did Wyatt become?

Answer 18

-became something of a martyr as people dipped their handkerchiefs in his blood after his execution

Question 19

What happened to Lady Jane Grey and her husband and why?

Answer 19

-they were executed even though they were innocent
-LJG’s father was involved in the rebellion

Question 20

What happened to Princess Elizabeth?

Answer 20

-her life was spared because she had not been involved personally in Wyatt’s plans

Question 21

What were the aims of the rebellion?

Answer 21

-to remove Mary from the throne and replace her with Princess Elizabeth
-Edward Courtenay to marry Elizabeth

Question 22

What were the key events of the rebellion?

Answer 22

-autumn 1553->plot emerges to marry Edward Courtenay to Elizabeth
-December 1553->a plan for 4 uprisings to occur on the 18th March
-14th January 1554->Mary’s Marriage Treaty announced through proclamation->forcing the plot to move forward
-mid January 1554-Renard discovered the plot and Courtenay confessed everything->3/4 of the uprisings did not occur->only in Kent led by Wyatt where he raised 2,500 men

Question 23

What were the causes of the rebellion?

Answer 23

-her Spanish marriage
-xenophobia
-political reasons
-economic reasons
-religious reasons

Question 24

Why was marriage a cause of the rebellion?

Answer 24

-January 1554 was when the Marriage Treaty was announce and Wyatts Rebellion started in January
-fear of Philip taking priority over England and him having more control

Question 25

Why was xenophobia a cause of the rebellion?

Answer 25

-people feared that the government would be taken over by a foreigner ->English interest would be subservient to those in Spain

Question 26

What political reasons caused the rebellion?

Answer 26

-people feared that Philips presence at court might affect their career opportunities
-most of the men had held office under Henry VIII and feared they would loose influence
-feared that the Spanish would dominate the English government

Question 27

What economic reasons were there for the causes of the rebellion?

Answer 27

-decline in the Kent Cloth Industry ->economic hardships->meant people didn’t want change as it could make things harder for them

Question 28

What religious reasons helped caused the rebellion?

Answer 28

-Wyatt was Protestant and the area around Maidstone (where he gained most support) was Protestant
-when the rebels reached London they attacked the Catholic Bishop of Winchester’s property

Question 29

What was the plan for the attack?

Answer 29

-the plan to campaign had been based on the four-pronged attack from all sides of the capital

Question 30

How did Wyatt show good leadership?

Answer 30

-the weakness of the overall leadership was demonstrated by the fact that only Wyatt was able to raise a force to march on London->but once he decided to go alone his options were fewer
-he had a social standing and expertise to summon a militia rapidly->he had the ability on playing on people anti-Spanish fears
-he was wise to focus on the threat from Spain and to emphasise that his aim was only to protect the Queen from unsuitable counsellors

Question 31

What happened when people found out that Wyatt wanted to overthrow the Queen?

Answer 31

-he lost some of his loyalist members of his rebellion
-many members were Protestant which gave them another reason to overthrow the Queen

Question 32

How much support did Wyatt’s rebellion have?

Answer 32

-raised a force of about 2,500 in Kent despite being forced to act quicker than he intended due to the Marriage Treaty being announced
-the effectiveness of Wyatt’s propaganda ensured that those of the gentry who should have raised forced to check on Wyatt’s progress through Kent refused to do so ->allowed rebels to reach London

Question 33

Why did the rebellion fail?

Answer 33

-the reaction of the government and Mary’s skilful handling of the situation was key to the rebellions failure
-they diverted Wyatt with offers of discussions Mary gained the time she needed to build up London defences and dispatch the Royal Army under Pembroke against the rebels
-not enough members
-lack of local opposition that it got as it did and challenged London->once the government was finally able to rally it’s forces the rebellion collapsed
-Wyatt could have won if the queen had been unable or unwilling to muster a royal army to fight him
-Wyatt’s rebellion was an elite rebellion led by members of the ruling class but it simply didn’t have enough members of the elite class and their followers to extend the rebellion beyond the border of Kent

Question 34

Why did parliament delay the coronation of Philip of Spain?

Answer 34

-they wanted to make sure the rebellion was completely over

Question 35

What did Mary do after the rebellion?

Answer 35

-Mary also backed down from her intentions to disinherit the Protestant Princess Elizabeth and she also insisted on the return of the monastic lands to the Catholic Church

Question 36

How serious was the threat to Mary?

Answer 36

-it could’ve been more serious that it was if she didn’t muster a Royal army to fight the rebellion
-it threatened her support, leadership and power
-she hadn’t fully secured her role and support

Question 37

What were the reasons for the failure in the rebellion?

Answer 37

-Mary rallied support in her Guildhall speech
-Mary stayed in London where they were stronger (apart from the small force led by Norfolk which deflected the rebellion)
-the French did not seize the opportunity to invade like Wyatt said they would
-did not call for assistance form the Spanish as it would fuel xenophobia
-Renard and Paget took the sting out (removed a lot of the danger) of the rebellion because they discovered the plot early
-Wyatt took too long to reach London->took Cooling Castle but took time which gave Mary time to prepare
-the events moved too quickly and had to be moved forward 2 months
-opposition to Mary’s marriage was strong but not as strong as the feeling that had been to put Mary on the throne