Edward VI - Somerset 0.0 / 5 ? HistoryBritish monarchy - Tudors and StuartsA2/A-levelAQA Created by: emilyfgxCreated on: 05-01-17 10:53 Somerset Edward VI = minor when Henry VIII died Henry set up Privy Council of 16 trusted advisors - regency council Edward Seymour took charge of council 1 February 1547 - Seymour announced head of Privy Council End of Feb 1547 - Seymour given title Lord Protector Seymour made Duke of Somerset Protestant Complicated religious scenario and financial/economic problems Henry VIII deliberately left Bishop Stephen Gardiner from the regency council William Paget had plotted with Somerset to gain control of England Set up commission to investigate enclosure 1 of 6 Religious Policy Somerset = Protestant Abolished medieval laws against heresy and allowed the printing of scripture in English Introduced Protestant changes which Cromwell and Cranmer had wanted: The Act of Six Articles was repealed 1549 - Clerical marriage was permitted 1549 - Book of Common Prayer was imposed, translated into English by Cranmer (rather than latin) 1549 - Act of Uniformity - English prayer book = compulsory in all churches; Latin Mass was to be abolished Chantries abolished Chapels set up for priests to say prayers for souls for dead; full of costly treasures Money frm sale of treasuries in dissolved chantries = used to found number of King Edward VI Grammar Schools Catholic priests = imprisoned or had to flee to Europe Bishops put up little resistance - only Stephen Gardiner and Edmund Bonner stood firm 2 of 6 Foreign Policy Bound by Henry VIII's will - involved marriage arrangement of marriage between Edward VI and Mary, Queen of Scots Scots didn't want this Tried to isolate Scotland with alliance with France French king Francis I died in 1547 - new king Henry II Henry II renewed Anglo-Scottish alliance and sent fleet of warships with 4000 troops to Scotland Somerset had to intervene in Scotland Land and naval invasion 16,000 infantry, 4000 cavalry, 30 warships and 50 supply ships Battle of Pinkie - 10 September 1547 Scots were defeated south of Edinburgh Gave Somerset control of border region Mary, Queen of Scots moved to France with intentions of her marrying heir to the French throne - Francis II Costly foreign policy - £600,000 Cemented links between France and Scotland Summer 1549 - withdrew troops from Scotland to deal with rebellions & protect the south coast 3 of 6 Economic Problems Commission established to investigate legality of recent enclosures Many poor families in the Midlands and south had lost customary rights Welcomed commissioners Not everyone welcomed arrival of enclosure commissioners Gentry landowners who made wealth from sheep farming feared loss of livelihood 1548/9 - new laws raising tax on sheep and cloth Major economic problem in the first half of the sixteenth century = inflation Biggest rises affected food stuffs such as bread, cheese and meat Rising population put pressure on agriculture and wages were failing to keep pace with rising prices reached peak in 1540s caused more economic and social problems among poorer classes, even when harvest was good 1548 - tried to pay for foreign policy via coin debasement only worsened economic conditions Food prices had risen by 100% since 1500 4 of 6 Fall of Somerset Western and Kett rebellions threatened a complete breakdown of government in 2 English regions Somerset's response = slow almost to the point of paralysis Western rebels beaten by royal army mid-August Earl of Warwick put end to Kett's rebellion Combined total of 4,000 deaths Rebellions shook government to the core and gave those who were aggrieved at Somerset's leadership an opportunity to strike Somerset arrested 11 October and imprisoned in Tower Released Feb 1550 and rejoined Privy Council Rumours circulated; arrested again on charge of treason Specifically of plotting to assassinate rivals in council January 1552 - Somerset Executed 5 of 6 Key Chronology: Regency of Somerset, 1547-49 Jan 1547 - Accession of Edward VI; Edward Seymour (Somerset) became Lord Protector Sept 1547 - English defeated Scots at Battle of Pinkie Nov 1547 - Parliament repeals anti-Protestant legislation of 1539 in Treason Act; Act abolishing chantries 1548 - In the summer the French army landed in Scotland; Mary, Queeen of Scots moved to France Jan 1549 - Act of Uniformity and new Prayer Book; taxes increased on sheep and cloth June 1549 - Outbreak of Western rebellion in Devon; Kett's rebellion in Norfolk Oct 1549 - Fall of Somerset 6 of 6
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